A Scoping Review on Simulation-Based Design Optimization in Marine Engineering: Trends, Best Practices, and Gaps

Area of Science:

• Marine Engineering
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Optimization Techniques

Background:

• Simulation-based design optimization (SBDO) is increasingly vital in marine engineering.
• A comprehensive review of SBDO applications and trends in the marine sector is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current utilization of SBDO in marine engineering.
• To identify research trends, methodologies, and application domains of SBDO.
• To highlight areas for future research and development in marine SBDO.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review methodology.
• Systematic literature search of 277 studies from Scopus and Web of Science.
• Analysis of research trends, optimization methods, and application areas.

Main Results:

• SBDO is predominantly applied to marine vessel hulls (surface and underwater), components (bows, sterns, propellers, fins), marine structures, and renewable energy systems.
• Deterministic single-objective optimization methods are favored, suggesting opportunities for multi-objective and stochastic approaches.
• Existing SBDO methodologies require enhanced efficiency and robustness for complex marine challenges.

Conclusions:

• SBDO is a mature but evolving tool in marine engineering design.
• There is a significant need for advancing SBDO methodologies, particularly in multi-objective and multidisciplinary optimization.
• Future research should focus on improving the efficiency and robustness of SBDO for complex marine applications.