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

TL;DR

The paper maps how simulation-based design optimization (SBDO) is used across marine engineering by surveying 277 journal articles from Scopus and WoS up to August 1, 2022. It shows a strong prevalence of deterministic single-objective formulations, a reliance on hull- and vehicle-focused optimizations, and rising use of high-fidelity solvers like RANS, alongside surrogate-based methods and dimensionality-reduction techniques. Key gaps include limited adoption of multi-objective and stochastic approaches (e.g., RDO, RBDO, RBRDO), inconsistent constraint handling and problem formulation reporting, and relatively sparse multidisciplinary optimization (MDO) uptake. The study points to opportunities in integrating multi-fidelity surrogates, active learning, and MDO frameworks to address complex marine-environment challenges, with implications for efficiency, reliability, and renewable-energy applications in marine engineering.

Abstract

This scoping review assesses the current use of simulation-based design optimization (SBDO) in marine engineering, focusing on identifying research trends, methodologies, and application areas. Analyzing 277 studies from Scopus and Web of Science, the review finds that SBDO is predominantly applied to optimizing marine vessel hulls, including both surface and underwater types, and extends to key components like bows, sterns, propellers, and fins. It also covers marine structures and renewable energy systems. A notable trend is the preference for deterministic single-objective optimization methods, indicating potential growth areas in multi-objective and stochastic approaches. The review points out the necessity of integrating more comprehensive multidisciplinary optimization methods to address the complex challenges in marine environments. Despite the extensive application of SBDO in marine engineering, there remains a need for enhancing the methodologies' efficiency and robustness. This review offers a critical overview of SBDO's role in marine engineering and highlights opportunities for future research to advance the field.

Figures (16)

• Figure 1: PRISMA flow chart.
• Figure 2: Publication trend (a) and journals occurrence (b).
• Figure 3: Publications occurrences geographical distribution (absolute value per country on a logarithmic scale).
• Figure 4: Publications origin occurrences by entity.
• Figure 5: Problem formulation: (a) occurrences by year (top) single- versus multi-objective and (bottom) deterministic versus stochastic; (b) number of objectives overall occurrence for multi-objective problems; (c) use of constraints overall occurrence.