Ship hull optimization – past, present, prospects

ABSTRACTThe paper surveys the development of practical ship hull optimization over more than five decades and trends to extrapolate to (likely) future applications. The paper looks at individual elements of hull optimization, such as geometric model, hydrodynamic model, optimization algorithms, and objective functions (and constraints). For all elements, the discussion includes further room for improvement or further R&D efforts.KEYWORDS: OptimizationCFDparametric modellingcontainer carrieroperational profileFuel consumptionCO2 reductionCost reduction AcknowledgementsIn writing this paper, we drew on the expertise and insights of many colleagues who have contributed over the years much to our knowledge of the field of practical hull optimization. We acknowledge gratefully Adrian Biran, Emilio F. Campana, Matteo Diez, Thomas Hildebrandt, Stefan Harries, Daniele Peri, and Auke van der Ploeg and of course Horst Nowacki.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).