Integrated Ship Design Tool - Hydrodynamic Workbench

During the past few years MARINTEK has been developing a hydrodynamic workbench called ShipX. The basic idea behind ShipX is to provide a platform that integrates all kinds of hydrodynamic analyses for ships into an integrated design tool in which all analyses can be performed on the basis of the same set of input data.

ShipX is based on a STEP-compatible product model that can easily be extended. The database stores ship and propeller geometries together with the input to and results of related analyses, which can be generated by calculations or by model testing. ShipX reads a large number of different geometry file formats (DXF, LIN, MGF, AutoShip, AutoHydro, NAPA). Since ShipX is STEP-compatible, it is prepared for exchange of ship data based on the ISO/STEP protocol, which may become the universally adopted standard for exchange of ship data.

By eliminating the need for file format conversions and re-entering input for each analysis module, systematic design studies using highly advanced hydrodynamic analysis tools are made easy. Integrating all the analysis programs in the same package facilitates systematic design studies to be automated to a certain extent.

In addition to the basic functions built into ShipX, which include hull geometry manipulation and database operations, advanced functions are added in the form of Plug-Ins. The basic functions built into the ShipX Workbench Environment make it a simple and rapid process to create new Plug-Ins.

At the moment, the Plug-Ins shown in Table 1 are available or are under development.

Table 1

ShipX provides an excellent platform for the development of hydrodynamic calculation programs, due to the availability of high-quality basic functions in the package. MARINTEK plans to use ShipX as the platform for future developments and updates of hydrodynamic calculation programs. An automatic update function makes it easy to ensure that all users are using the latest version of all applications of the workbench. ShipX is being distributed to all users of our hydrodynamic analysis programs in order to give them the best possible product.

Contact at MARINTEK: Dariusz Fathi

(Article in MARINTEK Review 2-2003)