Jump to content
Back to Maritime

Simulation- and data-driven ship hull design

Explore and optimize hull forms through parametric geometry variation, automated simulation workflows, and multidisciplinary design studies.

Try CAESES for free
CAESES Hull Design GUI

Why choose a simulation- and data-driven design approach?

Faster exploration of design alternatives

Simulation-driven design enables engineers to evaluate hundreds or even thousands of hull variations virtually, identifying high-performing concepts much earlier than with traditional trial-and-error methods. This allows for more innovative and better-performing hull designs within the same development timeframe.

Improved hydrodynamic efficiency and sustainability

By leveraging simulations and operational data, designers can optimize hull forms for lower resistance, reduced fuel consumption, and lower emissions across real operating conditions. This helps shipowners meet both economic and environmental targets.

Better-informed decisions through data insights

Large simulation datasets provide detailed insight into how specific geometric changes influence vessel performance. This enables engineers to make informed design decisions based on quantified trade-offs rather than relying solely on experience or limited design iterations.

CAESES’ ship hull design capabilities

CAESES is a specialized CAD and automation tool for optimizing complex, performance-critical geometries, with some dedicated capabilities that make it particularly suited for the design of cutting-edge propellers.

Ship Hull Design Types

Smart parametric modeling 

Complete parametric modeling capabilities for any type of hull, including container ships, tankers, bulkers, ferries, cruise ships, catamarans, yachts, planing hulls, etc.

Smart parametric modeling approach based on parameterized cross-sections and continuous control of the respective input parameters.

Ship Hull Design Workflow

Intuitive yet customizable 

Dedicated component-based modeling workflows for ship hulls greatly simplify the process.

Yet, high level of customization, i.e., no black box models and full freedom to set up user-defined parameterizations and workflows.

Ship Hull Design Variation

Robust variation

High robustness and flexibility of parametric models for reliable automated design studies and optimization.

Ship Hull Design Morphing

Fast geometry morphing

Alternatively, morphing methods (generic or marine-specific, like Lackenby shift) to deform existing – imported – geometry.

Morphing can be applied to NURBS surface geometry and be exported as IGES/STEP/etc., or to discretized geometry such as meshes or tessellations.

Ship Hull Design Hydrostatics

Integrated hydrostatics

Computations of basic hydrostatics, i.e., upright hydrostatics and intact stability.

Ship Hull Design CFD

Workflow integration

Dedicated interface for SHIPFLOW CFD solver and generic interface for coupling to arbitrary external simulation and calculation tools.

Simulation-ready geometry exports, including support of offset and panel data.

Ship Hull Design Arrangement

Constraint handling

Full consideration and integration of constraints typical for ship design, including displacement, stability, center of buoyancy, hard points (engine foundations, containers, tanks, thrusters …), number of containers in hold, spaces, and more.

Interested in a specific capability?

Contact us

What our customers say

Martin Fischer

CAESES was a big help. It saved us a lot of time. Also, our hull looks very dif­fer­ent from the hulls of our com­peti­tors. It was, amongst other factors, thanks to CAESES that we found this approach. I doubt, we would have found it just by empir­i­cal trial and error.”

Martin Fischer
Chief Designer, 37th America’s Cup campaign

John Doe

If the hull is already opti­mized using CAESES, it cannot be improved any further.”

Cho Tae-Ik
Executive Vice President

John Doe

CAESES is a powerful tool to find the best design. The fully-para­met­ric mod­el­ling tech­nol­ogy helps us break through the lim­i­ta­tions of the original design and brings us far more innovation.”

He Jaiyi
Lead Engineer at MARIC

Bardo Krebber

We have been using CAESES as a geometry tool for opti­miza­tion of ship hulls and appendages since 2008. The open para­met­ric approach exactly meets our way of working. CAESES combines distinct math­e­mat­i­cal CAD with modern handling and appear­ance. It is easy and intu­itive to use, but does also provide full control for all who need it. With its inbuilt feature pro­gram­ming, it even allows us to quickly imple­ment solu­tions for almost all kinds of addi­tional ideas. CAESES proved to be the best avail­able solution in the market for our services.”

Bardo Krebber
Naval Architect and Optimization Specialist

Getting started

FAQs

Why would I need an additional CAD system?

The advantages of early-stage Design Space Exploration (DSE) are well recognized within the fast-ship design community. By evaluating design variations in the process, DSE can significantly influence both fundamental design and business decisions, and enhance the effectiveness of later simulations that rely on resource-intensive, higher-order methods.