Integration of aboard logistic processes in the design of logistic driven ships during concept exploration

Abstract

The Defence Materiel Organisation found that using a design margin to estimate required space for logistic systems (e.g. staircases, hallways) during the concept exploration design phase is insufficient and impractical. A more educated estimation of required space for logistic systems is hard, because the configuration of systems is varied significantly. Indeed, the size and location of logistic systems are dependent on the location of functional systems, amongst others, which could be driven by logistic systems in turn. To solve this iterative problem, a novel Logistic Model was created and integrated in the TU Delft Packing approach. Based on a network representation of the ship's structural subdivision, a novel path finding and selection approach, initial positions of functional systems and upfront defined logistic relations between these functional systems, the size and location of logistic systems has been determined for and integrated in each concept design created by the TU Delft Packing approach. The logistic performance of the low detail designs was calculated by a novel Logistic Performance Measure and used to find logistically promising designs during concept exploration. Test cases indicated that the new method meets the research objectives.