Naval Architecture

ABSTRACTThis article reviews the warship design process, starting with the requirement. In real life, the requirement will inevitably be a mixture of functional statements and specified hardware with some topics mentioned, if at all, at a trivial level. Though inevitable, lack of clarity in the requirement makes it very difficult to select the best option. The conflict between cost and survivability leads to unstable areas in which there is no viable design.The design process is not sequential as usually represented but can only be described as a multidimensional web of interacting closed loops. These interactions are represented by functions which are nonlinear and often discontinuous, contributing to an unstable solution. The closed loops can be broken using experience, diminishing at all levels today, and by the use of formal standards.Many of the most significant interactions concern the layout of the ship and its resistance to enemy attack. It is suggested that many topics, such as cost, depend more on the zoning philosophy and compartmentation of the ship than directly on length. The “architecture” of the warship greatly affects its effectiveness and its through life cost, justifying “Naval Architecture” as the title of the profession.