TANKER PRELIMINARY DESIGN-AN OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM WITH CONSTRAINTS

The task of selecting the principal characteristics and operating speed of tankers on the basis of economic measures of merit is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem with constraints. A general design method is developed with special emphasis on its adaptability to arbitrary sets of design constraints (strength, stability, freeboard, etc.). Two optimization methods are explored: an adapted variant of the Direct Search by Hooke and Jeeves, and a special version of the SUMT method. In the tanker design study, it was attempted to validate the input data for weight and resistance somewhat beyond the range of current design practice. The paper presents the design method, the actual assumptions in the tanker design model, and a few examples.