Damen Shipyards Group
The Damen Shipyards Group, based in the Netherlands, comprises more
than 30 operating companies engaged in shipbuilding, repair and
maritime services. The Group has a consolidated turnover of US$ 950M.
On this page the use of Maxsurf software is described for two of the Damen Shipyards Group companies:
Further information about the Damen Shipyards Group and Damen Shipyards Singapore can be found on their web site: http://www.damen.nl/
Damen Fast Ferries Gorinchem
Today’s fast ferry market demands a very
fast response from the shipyard and designer. When a potential customer makes
an enquiry for a new vessel, there are often only days available to offer a
competitive design. In this early design phase it is important to have design
software tools that allow the naval architect to quickly generate a new design
or modify existing design data. Additionally, the performance of the proposed
fast ferry has to be guaranteed and all critical design issues must be addressed
in a matter of days.
|
| Maxsurf in action on the
Damen DFF4212 fast ferry for IDO. |
At the start of the preliminary design
phase for the DFF4212 series for IDO, a standard Damen catamaran hullshape meeting IDO
requirements closely was selected. Modifications were then made to the stern
shape in order to change the propulsion arrangement from quadruple waterjets to
twin CPP propellers in tunnels as this seemed the best solution for IDO. The
modifications to the standard lines were easily made in Maxsurf: lifting the
keel line aft and adding propeller tunnels. Speed calculations with the new
design proved the new lines were highly effective and optimal for the intended
operation. Hydromax was used to study the freeboard heights at the loading
ramps during various stages of loading and unloading. The 2000 High Speed Craft
code criteria in Hydromax were used to test the intact and damaged stability in
every condition and to optimise bulkhead positions so that engine and machinery
rooms are conveniently placed across the vessel while meeting the damage
stability criteria.
The Maxsurf suite of software has helped
Damen to win the contract for Turkish ferry operator IDO. Project engineer
Sjoerd van Herk: “Modelling the
ship lines with Maxsurf enables us to produce preliminary ship lines in less
than a few hours. The hydrostatic data derived from the preliminary lines form
input for performance calculations such as the speed and stability prediction.”
Once awarded with a contract, the
preliminary design can then be upgraded into a production model. During this
phase the design software plays an even more important role in the race to meet
delivery deadlines.
The lines have to be faired to perfection
and features such as steps in the deck are added at this stage. Maxsurf’s well
known and proven fairing tools reduced the manual and time consuming work
involved in fairing the hull lines. After the fairness is perfected and checked
against Maxsurf’s various curvature display options, the final fairness is
judged from large scale plots.
Damen also uses a combination of Maxsurf
and Rhino to model the superstructure. The IGES standard file format in Maxsurf
is used to export the surface geometry. Rhino offers additional surface
modelling tools to create features, such as fillets, which are often seen in
complex superstructures. Eventually the Rhino model is used to generate 3D
renderings. In the latest version of Maxsurf the Rhino .3dm file format is
supported. This will allow Damen to do a “round trip” from Maxsurf to Rhino and
back without loss of critical data; taking advantage of Rhino’s strong surface
modelling and rendering features on top of the specialist naval architecture
tools in the Maxsurf suite.
|
| Maxsurf hull model exported to Rhinoceros for
superstructure features and rendering. |
As the design progresses, the hydrostatic
model is also upgraded whilst regularly updating the hull sections to the
latest Maxsurf surface design file. During these final stages of the stability
calculations, all significant details are modelled in Hydromax. Items such as
downflooding points, evacuation stations and the exact location and geometry of
tanks are added to the model. Loading conditions are entered into the Hydromax
loadcase and the criteria are used to check the loading conditions combined
with many different damaged conditions. The end result is a stability model
containing all data to write the stability booklet for class approval.
Mr van Herk: “Maxsurf and Hydromax have proven to be
useful tools in the design of Damen Fast Ferries. The quick and simple
operation of the software enables a designer to make a quick start in a
project. Further on in the process the design can grow into a production ready
model. Although there is still some room for even more improvements, it is very
user friendly and effective software.”
| |
| DFF4212 under construction. |
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Damen Shipyards Singapore
In 2000 the Damen Shipyards Group took over Kvaerner Fjellstrand's Singapore Yard to form Damen Shipyards Singapore (DSS). DSS specialise in the construction of high-speed aluminium craft. These include the Damen Fast Ferries (DFF) and the Damen Stan patrol boat.
DSS started using Maxsurf in early 2003 in order to develop an in-house design capability. From Formation Design Systems' (FDS) Maxsurf suite, Maxsurf and Hydromax are used for initial design and hydrostatic analysis. For production design, a combination of FDS' Workshop and Albacore Research Ltd's (ARL) ShipConstructor is used. Karl Nilssen, DSS's Manager Engineering, explains:
"A combination of Maxsurf's user friendly interface and FDS's excellent technical support has enabled us to get up to speed and be productive with the software in a very short period of time."
Workshop is used for the generation of parts that require accurate surface geometry: frames, plates, longitudinal stiffeners etc. Workshop calculates these parts directly from the Maxsurf surface model ensuring that the parts exactly match the surfaces that have been faired in Maxsurf. DSS use Workshop's advanced tools to lay out and fair the longitudinal stiffeners on the hull surfaces. This and other structural data is then exported to the ShipConstructor suite of software for further detailing.
ShipConstructor is the natural down-stream progression from Workshop taking the design through to production. Ship-Constructor allows a single vessel database model to be generated. The model can include structure, piping, outfit and HVAC; ShipConstructor is also able to nest parts and produce NC-code. Built around an SQL Server database, Ship-Constructor offers up to date, accurate production reports at any time.
The main structural elements generated by Workshop form the basis for the Ship-Constructor structural model. Using Ship-Constructor, detail is added to these main parts as necessary and then piping and outfit can be placed into the vessel. DSS have successfully used this combination of software to design and produce their latest catamaran ferry designs the DFF 3007, DFF 3009 and DFF 3810. They also plan to continue using this process on all new projects.
"We have found that the combination of Maxsurf, Hydromax, Workshop and ShipConstructor gives us a cost effective solution for our new developments and our on-going production engineering" says Mr Nilssen.
ShipConstructor is a product from ShipConstructor Software Inc and is sold and supported by Formation Design Systems. For further information visit our ShipConstructor page.
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