A complexity metric for practical ship design

The paper introduces an innovative complexity metric for practical ship design taking into account the shape complexity of steel parts, the assembly complexity of steel components and the material complexity of the structure. The goal is to provide the designer with such information throughout the design process so that an efficient design is obtained at the first design run. Real-time assessment of complexity and quality measure-ments is rather imperative to ensure efficient and effec-tive optimality search, and to allow real-time adjustment of requirements during the design. Application and validation on a real passenger ship show that the new method is effective in giving a complementary aid to decision process for ship designers.