A METHOD FOR MODULARIZATION OF SHIP HULL Field of the invention
The present invention relates to modularization of shiphull form for its production and to the production of ship hull form involving modularization of three modular zones of the ship hull involving the aft body, mid body and fore body. The invention is also directed to a system for use in separate modularization of the three zones based on the desired functional and geometric requirements and finally provide a composite form of the ship hull depending upon the end user requirements. The process of manufacture of the ship hull of the invention is directed to serve in large scale production of varieties of ship hull forms at reduced time span and at cost effective rates thereby serving better the requirements and demands of the ship building industry.
Description of the known art
Ships are generally custom-built I'.ach ship is developed as per the owner's requirements independent of previous developed/designed hulls except in case of sislci ships in which the same ship is repeatedly produced. Considering the varied uses and cost factors involved in the developments of such ships, it is not convenient to generate ship hulls as per the customer's requirement readily and often the development of such ship hulls is found to be time consuming and cost extensive process
Additionally, as and when any ship is required to be developed involving alterations in form in view of the complexities involved, the conventional ship manufacturing processes are found to be not well equipped to generate such altered forms as per the end user's requirements. Therefore, it is usual after the ship is developed the customer may not be satisfied and the builder may be required to rework on the existing module to make it somewhat satisfactory for the customer However, it would be apparent from Mich conventional processes of ship manufacture that such processes are not streamlined and arc usually attended on an ad-hoc basis involving lot of time and cost to develop a particular form of the ship More importantly due to lack of direction in obtaining the modules of defined characteristics to suit the end users requirement, the conventional processes of manufacture often lead to products which do not have the desired uni l rmitv or compatibility between the three modular zones of the ship i e the aft
body, mid body and fore body. This again results in a ship hull, which may not achieve the desired functionality and geometric requirements for effective use.
Objects of the invention
5 It is thus the basic object of the invention to provide for improvement in the in ship hull form development and its production and enable the manufacture of various forms of ship hull which would avoid the above discussed limitations and constraints of the conventional art of developing ship hull forms.
0 Another object of the present invention is directed to a process for modularization of ship hull to favour industrial production of varied modular forms of ship hull which would match the requirements of the end user by way of a more confirmatory and composite developmental process steps leading to ship hull forms meeting customer's requirements and avoiding the conventional forms of reworking to meet customer's
15 satisfaction.
Yet further object of the present invention is directed to the development of ship hull taking into account the complexities of the three dimensional structure .and in particular the specific requisite of the aft body, fore body and mid body of a ship hull and provide () process steps which could not only provide variations in the forms of the respective zones of the ship hull depending upon the varied end uses but would also provide for a compatible relation of the three zones to provide a continuous surface of the hull form improving its functional and geometric characteristics.
5 Yet further object of the present invention is directed to providing a method of development of ship hull forms which can be industrially applied to generate varied forms of ship hull at cost effective rates meeting consumer requirements.
Sum ary of the invention
;|' I'hus according to the basic aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for modularization of ship hull for its production comprising
piowding a system of database concerning the usual technical and building specification for a number of such ships, identification of the desired specifications for such modular ships including their functional and other features , 5 analyzing the available database and generating the specifications for the aft region, fore region and mid body region for the range of identified ships, dividing the ship length into three distinct zones comprising a) aft body extending from aft till forward of engine room forward bulk head, b) fore body extending from fore end of the ship till aft of fore peak bulk head and c) mid body consisting of the middle l() portion between the aft body and fore body, identifying the functional requirements of the thus defined three zones comprising said aft body mid body and foie body aseei taining the constaictional paiametei s I i the said thiee /ones based on the available input database and the functional icquirements of the three /ones , 15 geneiating the modular design of the said thiee zones satisfying the sepaiate functional lequnement and the oveiall geometuc constiaints , and meiging the ones into a single continuous three dimensionally faned bodv to thei ebv obtain the modulai ship
20 I he above disclosed method of modularization of ship hull, involve conventional softw are packages to support the various database and input data, execute statistical anah is, economic analysis, technical calculation, surface modeling and CAD 'I he method effectively integrates the above to facilitate simple and cost-effective modularization of the ship hull
According to a preferred aspect of the present invention there is provided a method foi modulai ization of ship hull compnsing pioudmg database concerning the usual technical and building specification foi a numhei of ships pi efeiabh hav ing stored data concerning laws of flotation cargo •>u l equii eme ts of v olume and weight l equiiements on operating economics i cquii emenls of building economics technical constiaints imposed by the ship building \ u d stdtulorv l equii ements and lequiiements ol ship classification societies
identification of the desired specifications for the modular ship including its functional and other features such as the desired hydrodynamics, propulsion, steering and accommodation of the aft body, the cargo, cargo volume and production kindliness of the mid body and hydrodynamics, production kindliness of the fore body;
5 analyzing the available database and generating the specifications for the aft region, fore region and mid body region for the range of identified ships; dividing the ship length into three distinct zones comprising a) aft body extending from aft till forward of engine room forward bulk head, b) fore body extending from fore end of the ship till aft of fore peak bulk head and c) mid body consisting of the middle
Hi portion between the aft body and fore body; identifying the functional requirements of the thus defined three zones comprising said aft body, mid body and fore body ; ascertaining the constructional parameters for the said three zones based on the available input database and the functional requirements of the three zones ;
15 generating the modular design of the said three zones satisfying the separate functional requirement and the overall geometric constraints ; and merging the zones into a single continuous three dimensionally faired body to thereby obtain the modular ship.
0 Importantly, in the above method of the invention the modularized design of the three zones should satisfy separate functional requirements which would meet overall geometric constraints as hereunder : a) The parallel mid body should be adapted to be changed (thereby changing length of ship) to suit the requirements of the product mix. The depth can be varied to a 5 limited extent by change of the above water portion of the ship to suit the requirements of the product mix maintaining requisite freeboard. b ) Block Coefficient and Longitudinal Centre of Buoyancy ; the three zones should be so designed that the final 0. and LCB confirm to the optimal values with regard to Froude number ) c ) Deck area • The overall deck area must be adequate with regard to cargo arrangements (e container arrangement above deck)
d) Merging of the Zones The most stringent requirement of the modularization concept is merging of the zones shapes into a single continuous three - dimensionally faired body This requires that slope and curvature must maintain continuity in the water line and buttock planes m the merged region aft body and
•> mid body, mid body and fore body
Λlso, the above steps of modularization in the process of invention is carried out by modeling the three regions so that slope and curvature continuity can be achieved across the meiged lines ensuring geometric requirements such as main dimensions, deck area, 10 Cn and LCB location and smooth merging of the three zones
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a system foi modulai i/ation /designing and pioduction of ship hull comprising means for piovidmg database concerning the usual technical and building specification l -> foi a number ol such ships means lor identification of the desired specifications foi the modular ship including its functional and other features means toi analyzing the av ailable database and geneiating the specifications ioi the alt legion ioie region and mid bodv legion for the range of identified ships,
20 means foi dividing the ship length into thiee distinct zones comprising a) aft body extending from aft till forward of engine room forward bulk head b ) foie bodv extending from fore end of the ship till aft of fore peak bulk head and c) mid body consisting of the middle portion between the aft body and fore body, means for identifying the functional requirements of the thus defined three zones i compr ising said aft bodv mid body and fore body , means tor ascertaining the constiuctional parametei s for the said thiee zones based on the av ailable input database and the functional requirements of the three zones, means foi generating the modulai design of the said three zones satisfying the sepai ate lunctional l equnement and the o ei all geometric consti aints and muging the /ones into a singl continuous thiee dimensionallv failed bodv to theiebv obtain th modulai ship
The above disclosed system for use in manufacture of modularized ship hull, involve conventional software packages to support the various database and input data, execute statistical analysis, economic analysis, technical calculation, surface modeling and CAD. The system used should integrate the above to facilitate simple and cost-effective 5 modularization of the ship hull.
According to a preferred aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for modularization and production of ship hull comprising: means for providing a system of database concerning the usual technical and building in specification for a number of ships preferably having stored data concerning laws of . floatation, cargo requirements of volume and weight, requirements on operating economics, requirements of building economics, technical constraints imposed by the ship building yard, statutory requirements and requirements of ship classification societies,
1 means for identification of the desired specifications for the modular ship including its functional and other features such as the desired hydrodynamics, propulsion, steering and accommodation of the aft body, the cargo, cargo volume and production kindliness ol'the mid body and hydrodynamic, production kindliness of the fore body ; means for analyzing the available database and generating the specifications for the aft
20 region, fore region and mid body region for the range of identified ship; means for dividing the ship length into three distinct zones comprising a) aft body extending from aft till forward of engine room forward bulk head, b) fore body extending from fore end of the ship till aft of fore peak bulk head and c) mid body consisting of the middle portion between the aft body and fore body;
25 means for identifying the functional requirements of the thus defined three zones comprising said aft body, mid body and fore body ; means for ascertaining the constructional parameters for the said three zones based on the av ailable input database and the functional requirements of the three zones ; means for generating the modular design of the said three zones satisfying the separate
<ι ι functional requi ement and the overall geometric constraints , and means for merging the zones into a single continuous three dimensionallv fai red body to thei ebv obtain the modular ship
Description of the invention
To meet the above objectives of the invention a detailed study and analysis of the complexities involved in the manufacture of ship hull forms were studied It was identified that the development of modular form of ship hull is basically subject to the following constrains i laws of flotation, ii cargo requirements of volume and weight, lii requirement of operating economics, lv requirement of building economics, v technical constraints generally imposed by the ship building yard, v i statutory requirements of port state control authorities i e safety, stability, free board, maneuverability, noise, pollution etc , ii lequiiements of ship classification societies i c structural anangements, standards, machinery and equipment iii I Ivdrodynamic design requirements of powenng, flow chaiaeteπstics. etc
I o meet the above complex requirements of ship hull forms and possible val iants thereof and to make the possible process of manufacturing of such ship hull forms industrially applicable and to have control over the manufacturing process to meet consumer demands and end user requirements keeping in view the above complexities, the complex three dimensional structure of the ship hull is categorized under the process of modularization of the invention into three longitudinal zones comprising the aft bodv (from aft and till forward of engine room forward bulkhead), fore bodv (from fore end of the ship till aft of fore peak bulk head) and mid body (middle portion between the aft body and the foie body) Lengthwise arrangement of the three selected zones is shown m accompanying Fig 1
1 he aft bodv is found to be the most complex portion of the ship hav ing maximum content in terms of construction and assembly of equipment It is also most demanding in tei ms of cost and time fhus thete exi sts a need for development of piocess of modulai i/ation/standaidi/ation of the aft bodv w hich could suit a iange of product mi x of ships in combination w ith di ffer ent lor e bodv and mid bodv w hei ebv the cost and
time of construction could be brought down. Importantly, such process of manufacture involving modularized/standardized aft body would enable standardization of machinery, equipment and production process of the aft body. The basic functions and requisites of the aft body for such purpose are identified as hereunder: 5 a. hydrodynamics - good flow characteristics around the stem, propeller disc and rudder; b propulsion - adequate internal volume to house a range of main machinery of the propulsion system subject to various requirements of the product mix; c steering - proper aft body shape with constant position of aft perpendicular and lo stem aperture; d accommodation - standardize accommodation matching with after body shape to serve the varying requirements of the product mix.
It is also identified the mid body of the ship constitutes the biggest portion in terms of 15 volume and length and is provided as the freight earning portion of the ship. It is structurally simpler than the other two zones of the ship but contains the maximum steelwork in terms of weight. The variations in this area are identified to include length, bilge radius (mid ship area) and prismatic co-efficient.
0 It is also found that this mid body construction is subject to constraints of function and requirements such as; a cargo - different internal arrangements for varying product mix such as containers, liquid cargo (POL), bulk cargo and general cargo etc; b cargo volume - cargo volume can be adjusted to suit product mix by adjusting the 5 following geometric characteristic in this region- i length (change in parallel middle body length), ii block co-efficient (by changing sectional area curve), production kindliness - this can be introduced into the product mix by keeping the same internal volume but varying the bilge radius and thereby altering the length of '-" parallel middle body
It is further identified that the fore body of a ship is highly three dimensional, structurally complex and difficult to fabricate Therefore, the process of modulanzation was directed to achieve a standardized fore body which could reduce production cost and time substantially The fundamental requirements of the fore body module which required consideration were identified as follows a hydrodynamics - to suit the varying requirements of the product mix particularly with regard to design draught (container ship design draught is lower than that of a tanker) and ballast draught (found to be important for tankers and bulk earners) Hydrodynamic designs of the bulb is also required such that it takes into account the range of speeds of the varying product mix, b production kindliness - it is important the foie body shape is developed such that it can be produced easily and is able to house standardized anchonng and mooung equipment for the production mix
Keeping in view the abov e identified requisites for producing varied ship hull forms depending upon end usei reqυπement the process of development of such ship hulls inv olving modularization in accordance with the piesent invention basically involves the following steps
1 identification of product mix iequued in teims of the dimensional and other requirements such as length, breadth, depth, draught, speed, block co-efficient and longitudinal centre of buoyancy
2 Identifying the iequued division based on such dimensional chaiactenstics of the three sections comprising the aft body, mid body and fore body,
■? selectively ptoviding desued numbei of units of each of the three modulai ones to satisfy the product mix requirements,
4 selectively developing each of said modular zones keeping in view the functional and geometric requirements detailed above based on end user requirements/applications
It is iound that by follow ing the abov e piocess steps and modular izing the ship hull loi ni and Us utilization in the process of manufactuic of ship hull one w ould piov ide f oi a moi e conv enient and cost ef fecti v e manuf actui c of \ dr ied loi ms of ship hull s
Importantly, it is found that by way of following the above process of modularization and integrating the same in the manufacture of ship hulls the various geometrical constraints of development of ship hull forms could be satisfied including : 5 a. the parallel middle body can be adapted to suit the requirements of product mix. The depth can be varied to a limited extent by change of the above water portion of the ship to suit the requirements of product mix maintaining requisite freeboard; b block co-efficient and longitudinal centre of buoyancy values are optimized with regard to Froude number by way of modularization of the three zones; o c. the overall deck area can be maximized depending upon cargo arrangements/requirements; and d effective merging of the three zones into a continuous three dimensional faired body The slope and curvature selected to ensure the continuity in the water line and buttock planes in the merged regions of the three sections.
he invention is explained m further detail by way of the following non-limiting example and the accompanying figures thereunder:
Reference is first invited to accompanying figure I A which is a block diagram () illustrating the method of manufacture of modularized ship hull in accordance with the present invention. As represented in said figure such modularization of ship hull basically comprises of database (1 ) concerning the usual technical and building specification for such ship hull; identification (2) of the desired specifications for the modular ship including its functional and other features ; 5
Analyzing (3) the available database and generating the specifications for the aft region, fore region and mid body region for the range of identified ship ; dividing (4) the ship length into three distinct zones comprising a) aft body extending from aft till forward of engine room forward bulk head, b) fore body extending from fore end of the ship till aft ( I of fore peak bulk head and c) mid body consisting of the middle portion between the aft bodv and fore body; identifying (5) the functional requirements of the thus defined three zones comprising said aft body, mid body and fore body ; ascertaininu (6) the
constructional parameters for the said three zones based on the available input database and the functional requirements of the three zones ; generating (7) the modular design of the said three zones satisfying the separate functional requirement and the overall geometric constraints ; and merging (8) the zones into a single continuous three 5 dimensionally faired body to thereby obtain the modular ship.
Reference is now invited to accompanying figure I B which schematically illustrates by way of a block diagram and an embodiment of the system for use in the method of modularization of the ship hull in accordance with the present invention. As shown in
10 . said figure the system basically involves means for providing database (A) concerning the usual technical and building specification for such ship hull; means for identification (B) of the desired specifications for the modular ship including its functional and other features, means for analyzing (C) the available database and generating the specifications for the aft region, fore region and mid body region for the range oϊ
15 identified ship ; means for dividing (D) the ship length into three distinct /ones comprising a) aft body extending from aft till forward of engine room forward bulk head, b) fore body extending from fore end of the ship till aft of fore peak bulk head and c) mid body consisting of the middle portion between the aft body and fore body, means for identifying (E) the functional requirements of the thus defined three zones 0 comprising said aft body, mid body and fore body ; means for ascertaining (F) the constructional parameters for the said three zones based on the available input database and the functional requirements of the three zones ; means for generating (G) the modular design of the said three zones satisfying the separate functional requirement and the overall geometric constraints , and merging (H) the zones into a single 5 continuous three dimensionally faired body to thereby obtain the modular ship.
Exam pie
STLP 1 : Using a conventional shipping market database covering current published -u literature and in-house economic analysis to generate technical specifications for identified product mix
I he bioad product mix identified was as follows
550-650 TEU feeder container vessels
9000- 12000 t DWT product tankers for short sea voyages
9000- 12000 DWT bulk earners and multipurpose cargo carriers
Identifying specific vessel types suitable for production based on available resoucees
• 550 TEU Feeder Container vessel for 14 0 knots to 15 5 knots design speed
• 600 I LU Feeder Container vessel foi 14 0 knots to 15 5 knots design speed
• 650 rEU Feedei Container vessel foi 14 0 knots to 1 5 5 knots design speed
• 9000 t DWT Product ankers/Bulk Caners/Multipurpose Cargo Carriers foi 1 > 5 knots to 14 5 knots design speed
• K)s(K) t DW I Pioduct Tankers/Bulk Caners/Multipurpose Cargo Camel s for ! i 5 knols lo 1 1 5 knots design speed
• 12000 t DW I Pioduct I anker s/Bulk Canci VMuHφur ose Cargo Carr iers f or H ^ knots to 14 5 knots design speed
S I M' 2: Identification of desired fr-iUii e1* of the ship based on modulai concept and bv utilizing the client l equiremcnt database based on the available resources of shipbuilding and the feedei contamei and POL service tiade patterns for defined sea utes
1 he v ar iation in the following main dimensions and ship particulai s were determined
• Length to vary between 1 13m and 127m
• Breadth not to exceed 19m
• Depth to vary between 10 3m and 1 1 m
• Draught - fully loaded 6 6m for feeder container vessel and 7 8m for the other vessels
• Draught ballast No special lequirement for container vessel, 5 5m aft and 4 0m foi ai d foi othei v essels
• Block coefficient to vary between 0 68 and 0 72
STEP 3: Identification of the functional specification of the aft region mid body region andfore region by utilising the technical information and preliminary design calculations foi the desired range of ships
The following manufactunng specifications were identified for the modular region I e aft region, midbody region and foie iegion
The vessel with length 113 m should have the smallest length of parallel middle bodv
lo T he vessel length should be changed by steps of 7m to generate ships of length 120 and 127m
1 his length ariation to be obtained υnlv bv changing the paidllel middle bod\ 1 he depth vaπation between 10 ". m lo 1 I 0 ni is to be obtained bv extending the above 1^ water portion til the hull only without affecting hvdiodvnamic peifbimance of the ship
I oi an optimum hydiodviidimc perioimance of the entire lange of products it was lound that the 1 CH should vaiy between 0 m and 1 m forward of midship
(i 1 he toie end should be suitable for two diaught operations, (1) suitable foi contamei ships and (2) suitable for tankers, bulkeis and multipurpose vessels I he stem required to be standardized foi the given range of vessels
MKP 4 : I he ship length for the entne pioduct mix was divided into thiee distinct ^ modulai legions
I ig I shows such selective division of ships into thiee legions which aie as follows
• \lt bodv was selected tiom aft end till toiwaid bulkhead of aft engine loom bulkhead
• \hd bods was selected tiom the foie end of the alt bodv till the ioie peak bul head
• 1 oie bodv was selected liom loic peak bulkhead till Ioie end
STEP 5 : The functional requirements of the three module regions of the ship hulk were identified by utilizing the conventional information data base and naval architectural calculation software
5 The following desired functional requirements were identified for the three separate- regions
\ft iegion ( I ) is to be suitable for providing a uniform distubution of wake in th< pi opcller disc region for all vessels (2 ) is to have adequate volume to pro ide piopulsio and auxiliary machinery foi all vessels (3 ) is to have adequate area in the uppei dec. region to provide standardized accommodation
Yl idbodv i egion ( 1 ) to piovide adequate volume based on the payload requirement ot all vessels (2 ) the foie and aft ends of the midbody iegion should merge with the fore region and aft region respeclivelv m such a manner thai the fore shoulder and aft - shoulder of the ship hull is smooth and does not create adverse wav e making effects (3 ) the di stubution of the aiea along the length of this region is to be such that the iequued I ( H of the v essel is attained
Foie body the functional requirement of the foie body is primarily hydrodynamic 0 which is ( 1 ) to have a bulbous bow to opeiate at 6 6 m draught for the container vessels and (2 ) to have a bulbous bow to operate at a full load dr aught of 7 8 m and a ballast draught 5 5m aft and 4 0 m forward for all other vessels
STE P 6 : Identifying the possible constructional parameters of the three modular s l egions meeting the pioducibtlity requirements and consumers requirements
\i t iegion ( 1 ) one stern shape was identified as a standard stern for all products mentioned abov e (2 ) two standai d accommodation suiting the stei n hav e been designed In) ( a ) the contamei ship hav ing a o-tir e accommodation and (b ) a -tie i accommodation for all othei v essels
Mrdbody iegion (1) two midbodies with bilge radius 22m and 35 m were identified dunng different parallel middle bodies which can be selected based on the producibihty requirements
Fore body region two fore body shapes are rdentified (a) one for container vessel and (b) another for all other vessels The desired fore body shape was selected taking into account the manufacturing capabilities
STEP 7 : Providing various shapes of the three regions utilizing standard CAD lo softwaie packages for the three separate regions I he following figures demonstrate the producible shapes of three regions identified
• Fore bodv F 1 (fig 2) with bulbous bow couesponding to contamei ship hav ing a design diaught of 66m foi entne speed lange ol' 14 to 15 s knots
• I ie bod\ F2 (lig 4 with bulbous bow couesponding to bulk Is caiuei/tanker/multipuipose ship foi entue speed lange of 1 i to 145 knots
• Stern S (fig 4) for entue pioduct mix given above
• id bodv Ml 1 (fig 5) M12 (lig 6) and Mil (fig 7) corresponding to i lermths with 22m bilge radius couesponding to the overall Cn oft) 71
• Mid body M21 (fig 8), M22 (fig 9) and M23 (fig 10) couesponding to ? lengths Ό with ι 5m bilge ladius giving a laige parallel middle bodv corresponding to the overall C' B of 071
• M3 corresponding to a length of 120m with 22m bilge radius and minimum parallel middle body giving an overall O. of 068 for a speed of 160 knots
ι SI El' 8 : Selectively merging the three /ones to form a selective numbei of continuous ship hulls with detailed specifications for manufacture by conventional suildce fairing and modeling softwaie
I he thus uenerated selective specifications ol the ship hull involving the abcwc method 11 ol modularization in accordance with the invention can be adv antd-icouslv used to
manufacture cost-effectively user specific ship hull using conventionally available gadgets and by following known methods
The hull shapes were found to be successful and as further illustrated by integration of modules Stem S, Fore bodies FI and F2, superstructure SS5 and SS6 (figs 1 1 & 12) and mid bodies M l 1 , M l 2, M l 3, M21 , M22, M23 to generate ships as per the product mix T hirteen ( 13 ) different ship types dev eloped using the modularization steps and aie 12 of these aie shown in figuies 13 to 24
lo It is thus demonstrated by wav of the above exemplary illustrations that the step of modularization in the manufactuic of ship hull forms would enable generating varied f or m of ship hull at cost effectiv e rates and involving less time and complexities than thai ol the piesent ait of manulactui e o\' such ship hulls Importantly, the invention w ould piovide foi standaidi/ation in manulactuie of ship hull forms of varied
I s speci fications depending upon the- end usei s lequiiements at an industrial level theiebv av oiding of non-unifoi m modules and/or iequued reworking on modules to meet i. onsumei demands/specifications