APPLICATION OF OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY TO SUPERSHIP MANEUVERING

In this Report, which is in microfiche form, modern control theory methods are applied to key problems involving the dynamics and control of large ships; the vessel whose characteristics are employed in the study is a 165,000-dwt tanker. The work is aimed at increasing the safety and efficiency with which such ships can be manoeuvred in restricted waterways. A computer program has been developed that can generate optimum ship trajectories through channel transitions. The program determines rudder control as a continuous function of time so as to manoeuvre the ship along the channel centre lines with minimum average deviation. In addition the program can be used to simulate ship trajectories for arbitrary control inputs, and can plot the results on an interactive graphics terminal.