(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004-08)
Frits, Andrew P.; Weston, Neil R.; Mavris, Dimitri N.
In the current torpedo design process, torpedoes are often designed independently from the tactics with which they are employed. This serial design process, of first developing tactics, then designing the torpedo, then re-developing tactics leads to torpedo designs that are sub-optimal when viewed from the greater system-of-systems perspective. This paper looks at the effects that tactics have on the design of torpedoes. It proposes a new paradigm, of simultaneous tactics development and torpedo design, and looks at the implications of various tactics on the optimal design of torpedo systems.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004-08)
Frits, Andrew P.; Reynolds, Kristen; Weston, Neil R.; Mavris, Dimitri N.
Non-dimensionalization is useful at many stages in the conceptual design process. One area of usefulness is in the creation and execution of Design of Experiments. A Design of Experiments that is run with dimensional quantities can often have a large number of failed or infeasible cases or require frustratingly small ranges on the design variables in order to execute cleanly. However, with the use of non-dimensional parameters in the Design of Experiments, the dimensional values being used in the analysis tool automatically scale themselves so that appropriate magnitudes of each parameter are always being used. This automatic scaling greatly increases the stability of Design of Experiments when non-dimensional parameters are used, limiting the number of failed cases. This paper explores potential non-dimensional parameters for use in the conceptual design of torpedo systems. The paper shows that traditional non-dimensional parameters used in propulsor design, such as advance ratio and thrust coefficient, also work well as torpedo design parameters. A short example is given where the performance of a Design of Experiments for a torpedo system is improved via the use of non-dimensional parameters.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2002-09)
Frits, Andrew P.; Weston, Neil R.; Pouchet, Colin; Kusmik, Aldo; Krol, William, Jr.; Mavris, Dimitri N.
In historical torpedo design, mission analysis, which relates torpedo performance to mission success, has been used as a stand-alone tool to derive specific torpedo performance requirements. These performance requirements must then be met by the torpedo designer. However, the incorporation of mission analysis into the engineering design of a torpedo system grants more freedom to the designer. The designer can immediately see the effects of design variable changes on mission success, and can infuse new tactics in addition to new technologies to expand the available design space. This paper serves to explore the performance space of a torpedo, then relate this performance space to the design variables by mapping the performance space directly to the design space and design variables. The paper also studies how granting the designer control of weapon tactics expands the design space, allowing the torpedo and its tactics to be concurrently optimized. This new approach results in significantly greater design freedom and the ability of the find a system-level global optimum.