It is in the final phase where results for a midship section will be obtained. Initially only weight and material cost is taken into account in the optimisation process. The mechanical properties of the panels are obtained by evaluating a Navier exact analytical solution derived from Reddy's Third Order Shear Deformation theory. The use of this theory ensures correct parabolic distribution of transverse shear stresses. In the second phase the above optimisation process is expanded to incorporate production cost aspects.
Genetic algorithms require, in general, large quantities of objective function evaluations.
The number of expensive FEA runs will therefore be substantially reduced. This new addition will require the use of fuzzy theory. Finally, once the whole simple plate optimisation process integrating weight, cost, and recycling aspects works, it will be expanded to the optimisation of a midship section. I Mechanics of Solids. Part I Fluid Mechanics.