Improved ship design and operation, by operational data aggregation, key performance indices and numerical optimization

The project has developed a demonstrator version of a ship design tool. Based on simulation models of possible components of an energy system design, the software can find which components should be installed for the best possible fit to the expected operating profile of the design. The project has developed a system for logging of distributed measurements. This includes functionality for obtaining measurements, local storage and main storage. It has further been developed Key Performance Indicators to quantify the efficiency of the vessel. It has been developed methods to generate new hull forms based on existing hulls using 3D morphing. The project has developed a tool for analyzing large amounts of operational data so that these can be applied to research, design development and decision on board. The results from this project has already been taken in use in several other research projects.

The project can be summarized through the following tasks: WP1: Data acquisition and development of KPIs The goal of WP1 will be to create a prototype of the hardware and software necessary to acquire the measurements from the vessel systems, as well as to define some key performance indices (KPIs) able to reflect the performance of the vessel. 4.2 WP2: Development of unified ship models and state estimators based on acquired data The parts and subsystems of the vessel which are most important for its performance in relation to the stated objectives will be identified. This will typically include the vessel hull, the propeller, various engines, frequency converters, generators and so on. The identified components will be modeled at the accuracy require d to be useful for optimization, while their complexity is restricted increased computational effort associated. 4.3 WP3: Development of optimization strategies and tools for ship operation The simplest way to improve the ship operation with respect to chosen objectives, can be to develop a system providing the captain with relevant information, so that he can take informed decisions and design may be found using related methods. A more advanced solution will be to create a system able to advise the ca ptain of which actions to take. To achieve this, the concept of model predictive control (MPC) will be employed. 4.4 WP4: Development of optimization strategies and tools for ship design The objective of this work package is to create the tools necessa ry to optimize the design of a vessel, based on a suggested operational profile and a database of available ship components. 4.5 WP5: Development of prototype full-scale systems, case studies and verification The main activities in this work package will be to transfer the developed systems into prototypes of commercially usable products, and to verify their validity.