What questions arise when building a ship?
During ship designing the following questions are solved: displacement, main measurements and various ratios and coefficients are determined, the general arrangement of mechanisms, systems and devices, cargo, living and service rooms, command posts, etc. is established, the ship load and its center of gravity (CG) position, cargo capacity and tonnage, survivability and combat protection of a warship are drawn up, the theoretical drawing of the ship is drawn.
The design of the ship bwts engineering companies also implies the last and decisive conclusion on the design, strength, navigability and other principle issues of the ship's main elements as a whole.
In the process of ship design the problems arising are solved ambiguously. Therefore the designer should:
- firstly, choose those methods of research which are most suitable for the solution of a particular problem,
- Secondly, on the basis of the executed study to identify which solutions among the possible ones most fully satisfy the task requirements and thus obtain the optimum variant.
The first group of questions has a methodological character, due to what this part of the design theory is often called the design methodology.
The second group of questions is related to substantive solution of the problem, e.g. selection of scheme and system of constructive underwater protection, atomic defense system, armor, type of power plant, layout of cargo holds, etc. The implementation of such a task causes considerable difficulties, and it is not always possible, even on the basis of existing experience, to determine in each specific case which solutions are more appropriate. However, as a rule, it is still possible to understand the essence of the question (if not from the quantitative side, then from the qualitative one) and to outline the ways of quantitative solution of problems arising in the process of designing. This part of the issues is also solved by ship design theory.
Thus, ship design theory as a science covers two groups of issues mutually related to each other. The first one is devoted to development of separate issues of ship design and ship design as a whole; the second one is devoted to study of design methods, ways of various works which constitute, as it is customary to say, design methodology.
