BUSAN — Safety reviews for "partial launches," in which a ship is floated before construction is complete, are set to be automated. The new approach replaces a method that required engineers to rebuild hull structures piece by piece and recalculate loads and buoyancy each time, and is expected to cut review times at shipyards while giving them more flexibility in dock operations and construction schedules.
The Korean Register (KR) said on the 15th that it has completed joint development with HD Hyundai Samho of an automated structural analysis program for partial launch conditions based on direct strength assessment (DSA). The two sides developed the program over eight months starting in February this year, then applied it to an actual vessel to complete field verification.
A partial launch involves floating a hull before shipbuilding is finished and continuing subsequent work outside the dock. Because it raises dock turnover rates and allows more flexible management of construction processes, it is considered an important process for improving shipyard productivity.
The challenge lies in safety reviews. Previously, engineers had to build a new analysis model excluding structures not yet installed at the time of launch, and recalculate changes in loads and buoyancy. Because the work had to be repeated whenever the construction state changed, reviews took considerable time.
The newly developed program uses the analysis model of the completed vessel as a base and automatically reflects structures that are not installed or not connected at the time of the partial launch. It automatically builds a hull analysis model matching the construction stage and calculates loads and buoyancy while accounting for changes in hull weight and attitude caused by uninstalled structures. This allows rapid assessment of the loads acting on the hull and its structural strength under partial launch conditions.
In the project, HD Hyundai Samho provided partial launch scenarios and load conditions used at an actual shipyard, while KR implemented functions that analyze hull strength and structural safety using direct strength assessment techniques. HD Hyundai Samho then applied the program to an actual vessel to verify its usability in the field.
The shipbuilding industry expects that as partial launches are used more widely at a time when dock shortages and productivity gains are both pressing concerns, the speed of related safety assessments will also grow in importance. In particular, if automation drawing on structural data from each construction stage takes hold, links between design, production and inspection processes could become considerably smoother.
The two sides plan to expand the program's scope to a wider range of ship types and partial launch scenarios, and to advance functions for predicting and responding to stability under different launch conditions.
Kim Dae-heon, vice president of KR, said the joint development has secured "technology and standards that allow efficient assessment of hull strength during partial launches," adding that KR will "strengthen technical review and approval capabilities to actively support safe and efficient shipbuilding at shipyards."
