9362135 Duraiswami Optimization in ship system design is a problem which, if properly formulated and solved, would have great economic impact. However, the problem cannot be easily cast mathematically as a classical single objective optimization problem. In ship system design a considerable number of criteria must be satisfied of which some can only be formulated in fuzzy terms. This is particularly true in modeling/simulating ship maneuverability, where the adequateness of a simulator can only be judged by consulting a ship master/pilot. To build a successful ship simulator, the equations of ship motion must be identified. This systems identification problem is ill-posed. In the proposed research we tackle the problem of developing a framework for optimizing design, by incorporating in the procedure the mathematical simulation and identification of ship dynamics in real time. The ill-posed problem will be formulated using multiple physical constraints/objectives, and solved via pareto- optimization. Efficient computer programs implementing our theory and algorithms will be developed. Phase I research will develop an inexpensive prototype ship maneuvering simulator, based on simple PC architectures. In future phases the developed tools will be used to develop procedures for optimal ship system design, and in assisting shipboard decision making.
