Proliferation of low-cost, low-technology means of access denial threatens the effectiveness and raises costs of military force projection. Current and future naval platforms rely heavily on manned and unmanned surface vehicles to more effectively perform missions. High power-density efficient engines combined with high performance electrical generators and motors offer great flexibility in energy conversion and therefore provide a vehicle designer with attractive drive train options for a variety of applications within the Navy, Coast Guard, and other agencies. Some applications are unmanned surface vehicles, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command’s combatant craft, and Coast Guard craft and small ships.
The Advanced Surface Ship and Submarine Evaluation Tool (ASSET) is the US Navy’s concept design synthesis tool for surface combatants and submarines. ASSET’s ship design capabilities do not extend to ships or craft less than several thousand tonnes displacement. To assess the performance and cost impact of new payload, power and propulsion technologies, a design synthesis modeling capability for high performance small craft and small ships is required.
This paper presents an overview of the SEAQUEST – Small Craft project involving system design synthesis module development, design evaluation module development, and systems design integration of the Small Craft/Ship Evaluation Tool (SCET) Modules and the Integrated Propulsion Assessment (IPAS) Module. The SCET model architecture is being developed from an analysis, optimization and extension of the ASSET architecture using Design Structure Matrix (DSM) methods to minimize process iteration and feedback and improve computational speed for use in multi-objective optimization with maximum use of COTS tools.