DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEM FOR COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN OF SHIP HULLS

The paper describes a software system, developed to assist the hull design of ships with the emphasis in the link between the preliminary design and production. It includes modules for preliminary design, hull surface definition, generation of hull structural elements and management of information for production. The modules of preliminary design are oriented to assist the designer in the definition of the midship section scantlings and in the production of hull classification drawings. The system has tools to generate the hull shape and includes capabilities of curvature analysis and fairing of lines, intersection of the hull with decks and with conical elements. A module for the definition of seams and butts and for the development of plates is also available. The system was developed to run on personal computers so that it can be attractive to small and medium shipyards with limited computing power. The modules of hull structures were developed using the graphics engine of a commercial drafting package, and they allow the fast generation of structural elements by the use of parametric components.