Numerical Modelling for Shipbuilding. Physical Models, Industrial Uses and Innovation Challenges

Numerical modeling, which is now becoming an established feature of the industrial world and of many scientific disciplines, makes a major contribution to innovation in this sector, by meeting two main objectives: technical risk management, as it enables different solutions to be analyzed and their robustness assessed, regulatory dossiers to be compiled, safety and reliability to be demonstrated, environmental impact studies to be drawn up, etc.; economic performance, as it contributes to optimizing products, predicting their performance or reducing their cost of manufacture and use.

The aim of this article, which is mainly aimed at young engineers and researchers, is to provide an introduction to the uses of numerical simulation in shipbuilding, as well as an overview of the different numerical methods that engineers can use, to show and discuss the challenges of innovation for simulations responding to problems in this sector, and to present some innovations, helping to overcome some of the limitations of current modeling.

Readers will find these references in the "Further reading" section of this article. An additional bibliography and links to Internet sites provide useful resources for further knowledge on the subject.