A MIXED CONTINUOUS AND DISCRETE NONLINEAR CONSTRAINED ALGORITHM FOR OPTIMIZING SHIP HULL STRUCTURAL DESIGN

A nonlinear search algorithm for optimizing constrained design of ship structures is presented. The decision variables can be continuous or discrete and the constraints can be homogeneous or inequality nonlinea r functions of those variables. The algorithm does not use gradients; therefore, it can work with non-systematized functions such as tables or another class of design routine. It was tested in the structural de sign of a Patrol Boat and has proved to be a powerful tool decreasing the time expended in preliminary design when it is done by the convent ional spiral approach. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reser ved.