Simple Buoy Optimization: Find Optimal Buoy Design


Find the Optimal Size of a partially-submerged cylinder, with a user-specified Cargo applied at the deck.



This simple utility combines the entire design problem into ONE routine.

The optimizer not only achieves Archimedean equilibrium, but it also varies the dimensions of the buoy to generate an optimal (lightest by material mass) buoy design. All of the work of designing the buoy, and ensuring the buoy Floats and is Structurally Sound, is performed by the model, and becomes a fully-integrated cost function. The cost function model is then subjected to (Equality) constraints for Archimedean balance, and (Inequality) constraints to ensure the deck is not submerged.

To use this applet:
  1. Specify the Mass of a cargo object (assumed to be located at the top, outboard edge of the Cylinder).
  2. Specifiy the material the buoy is made of (to determine the weight of the buoy)
  3. Specify the type of water the buoy is floating in (to determine buoyancy)
  4. Then press the button to go to the next page where you will:
    1) Review the detials generated by the selected first phase inputs
    2) Set the runtime options for the Automatic Design process.

For detailed documentation on all the modeling assumptions and theory used to generate the results go to the Simple Cylindrical Buoy Design documentation page.
For details on the model used, see the Simple Submerged Buoy Model here


Input Data


Problem Definition Variables
Cargo Mass: kg, @ Top Outboard Edge
Structural Material:
Water Density:

Method for Selecting Initial Guess
of Optimized Variables
User-Defined
Mean of Bounds
Use PreScreener
Generate 2D Slice plots?
The 2D Slice routine works by brute-forcing a grid of ~200 X 200 solutions of the Objective Function/Process to create enough granularity to fill in the Countour Plot and Constraint Level Curves. The 2D snapshot is taken at the final location of the solver. The non-selected dimensions are fixed at this solution.

This is very helpful to examine the domain of the search path. In N-dimensional solution spaces, this gives us a glimpse into the behaviour of the hyperspace, although only 2 dimensions at a time.


This is still a BETA tool. The model is sensitive to the inputs used, and there is no error trapping implemented yet.


RunTime Options

Press the button above, and proceed to the 'Set RunTime Options' page.

There, fill in the RunTime Options

Then... Press that button to generate the optimimum design for the given Inputs above.


Calculated Values

Cylinder Diameter kN, +right
Cylinder Height kN, +up
Cylinder Rotation deg, +CCW @ CL & WL
Displacement % Submergence, Unrotated
Hull Weight kN

**** Output PLOT(s) ****



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