Collaborative multidisciplinary decision making based on game theory in ship preliminary design

The design of ships is an inherently complex process. Traditionally, designers (or engineering teams) must address such factors as hull form (overall and local), structural strength, mechanical systems, electrical systems, control systems, and other essential subsystems on board. All the contradictions between subsystems should be resolved and the final solution be reflected in the general plan. The interaction of these sophisticated systems makes the design process a highly coupled collection of interrelated physical attributes determined by specific rules. Previously, a classical ship design spiral was found useful to indicate the interactive nature of the design process, but due to descriptive inadequacies, that model is seen as necessary but not sufficient. A method based on game theory is proposed here to handle the collaborative multidisciplinary decision-making problems in the preliminary ship design process, and a 26,000 DWT oil ship design and analysis scenario is used as an example to illustrate the efficacy of the method.