An Automated Method for Pipe Routing in Ship Unit Modules

Abstract

This study addresses challenges in ship arrangement design by proposing an automated pipe routing method in ship unit modules. Currently, designers rely on experience, lacking quantitative assessments and causing difficulties for non-experts. The proposed method incorporates expert knowledge and design rules into an expert system, evaluating expertise and adherence to rules. The system’s evaluation result was used as the objective function of an optimization problem formulated for pipe routing in conjunction with metrics such as total pipe length, the number of bends, and space availability. Through validation by comparing actual unit module designs, it is demonstrated that the proposed method suggested improved pipe routing design while adhering to expert knowledge.