Intelligent Ship Arrangements: A New Approach to General Arrangement

Abstract

A new surface ship general arrangement optimization system developed at the University of Michigan is described. The Intelligent Ship Arrangements system is a native C++, Leading Edge Architecture for Prototyping Systems-compatible software system that will assist the designer in developing rationally based arrangements that satisfy design specific needs as well as general Navy requirements and standard practices to the maximum extent practicable. This software system is intended to be used following or as a latter part of ASSET synthesis. The arrangement process is approached as two essentially two-dimensional tasks. First, the spaces are allocated to Zone-decks, one deck in one vertical zone, on the ship's inboard profile. Then the assigned spaces are arranged in detail on the deck plan of each Zone-deck in succession. Consideration is given to overall location, adjacency, separation, access, area requirements, area utilization, and compartment shape. The system architecture is quite general to facilitate its evolution to address additional design issues, such as distributive system design, in the future.