Study on Optimal Design of a Folding-Type Hatch Cover Considering Material Selection

Most shipyard companies maintain efficiency in all aspects of their business to survive. One of these aspects is ship production costs and their reduction. This study proposes a solution to this problem using an optimization method. A hatch cover composed of plates and stiffeners was selected as a case study. In this study, the mass and material cost of the hatch cover was optimized as an objective function using the Pareto approach with developed optimization methods. Plate thickness t, stiffener shape s, and plate material type m were selected as the design variables in this study along with some constraints. To estimate the optimal plate thickness, an expression of stress equations was Developed using an optimization technique. Furthermore, stiffener shape and plate material type selection were optimized using a genetic algorithm (GA). The results show that the optimization method is effective to decrease the mass and material cost of a hatch cover. The demand for new shipbuilding has decreased because of the effect of the economic crisis that hit almost every country in the world. Shipyard companies must think innovatively and creatively to survive under the pressure of this crisis by evaluating various studies and improvising new methods to achieve efficiency. One of the studies that has been performed examines the methods to reduce the fabrication cost of ship structures to stay profitable through the optimization of work hours, workflow production systems, and structural design.