Interactive evolutionary concept exploration in preliminary ship design

Preliminary ship design (or early stage design in US terminology) is the very first step in designing a new ship. In this stage ship designers attempt to find an affordable balance of the future owner's (customer or operator) ambitions and operational needs. This balance is then translated into more tangible design requirements. However, the search for such a balance and the accompanying design requirements is not a trivial task. Ships, and service vessels in particular, are considered as some of the largest, most complex, moving man-made structures which often need to operate for extended periods of time in a hostile environment. Not surprisingly, the preliminary design of such ships is also inherently complex. The search for a balanced design solution benefits from early insight into the complex interrelations and interactions between the design requirements, the accompanying solutions, and their performances and cost. Insight which is often gained by generating and studying numerous design alternatives with varying requirements, performances, and costs, in a broad and investigatory phase of preliminary design called concept exploration. However, the complexity of ships and the design problem also challenge concept exploration.