The future of simulation in marine engineering design

Computer simulation has been steadily increasing in importance in the work of marine engineers and naval architects. The paper considers the development of computer-based simulation from its relatively humble beginnings some 50 years ago to the modem sophisticated tools that are used by engineers today. Using Moore's law, the authors postulate the likely impact of rapidly increasingly computational capability and the opportunities and difficulties this will bring to simulation when used in ship design in the 21st century. It also identifies some of the bottlenecks in the present processes and highlights some of the potential problem areas for future development of simulation systems.