A FEM based potential theory approach for optimal ice routing

Publikationstyp
Conference Paper
Publikationsdatum
2016-06
Sprache
English
Author
Piehl, Henry 
Milaković, Aleksandar-Saša 
Ehlers, Sören 
Institut
Konstruktion und Festigkeit von Schiffen M-10 
TORE-URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11420/5715
Volume
8
Article Number
V008T07A004
Citation
International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering - OMAE (8): V008T07A004 (2016-06)
Contribution to Conference
ASME 2016 35th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, OMAE 2016 
Publisher DOI
10.1115/OMAE2016-54649
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84996503807
Shipping in ice covered regions has gained high attention within recent years. Analogous to weather routing, the occurrence of ice in a seaway affects the selection of the optimal route with respect to the travel time or fuel consumption. The shorter, direct path between two points - which may lead through an ice covered area - may require a reduction of speed and an increase in fuel consumption. A longer, indirect route, could be more efficient by avoiding the ice covered region. Certain regions may have to be avoided completely, if the ice thickness exceeds the ice-capability of the ship. The objective of this study is to develop a computational method that combines coastline maps, route cost information (e.g. ice thickness), transport task and ship properties to find the optimal route between port of departure A and port of destination B. The development approach for this tool is to formulate the transport task in form of a potential problem, solve this equation with a finite element method and apply edge detection methods and line integration to determine the optimal route. The functionality of the method is first evaluated with simple test problems and then applied to realistic transport scenarios.