Prof. Aries Sulisetyono, ST, MA, SC, Ph.D., ITS Professor from the newly inaugurated Department of Naval Architecture

ITS Campus, ITS News – Ship accidents at sea are something that must avoid because they can have an impact on the loss of human life and valuable property. Prof. Aries Sulisetyono ST MA SC Ph.D., a professor of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) inaugurated last Wednesday (31/3), was moved to develop ship dynamics simulations to help the safety and comfort of passengers and shiploads of ships.

The National Transportation Accidents Committee (NTSC) released the results of the investigation of ship accidents from 2011 to 2019 with a total of 123 incidents. It recorded that the types of accidents that occurred were mostly due to technical factors, amounting to 59 percent. The Vessel technical factors consist of construction, systems, maneuver tests, test systems, and equipment as several other variables.

Aries explained in his oration that according to government regulation. Ships must meet the sailing eligibility requirements marked with several certificates. However, there are not a few ships that have certificates but still experience technical problems. “So it needs more in-depth elaboration to find out other causes ranging from design, fabrication in circles, and sea tests in ship dynamics simulations,” he said.

The Professor of the Naval Architecture Engineering Department emphasized that the development of ship dynamics also helps ship designers to evaluate the maneuverability of ships by the safety standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). “Besides, the science of ship dynamics can technically explain the phenomenon of ship accidents at sea such as sinking or overturning, collisions, structural failures, and others,” he said.

Prof. Aries Sulisetyono, ST, MA, SC, Ph.D. when delivering his scientific oration at the inauguration

In this study, there are three programs developed. First, the Ship Movement Simulation Program (PSG) functions to simulate the movement of ships in 6 degrees of freedom using the Green’s Function Method approach. With this method, this program proved to be able to speed up computation and reduce errors compared to other numerical methods with an RMSE (prediction error rate) of 0.05 and an elapsed time of 28 times faster. 

Furthermore, the PSG program can estimate the chances of a ship experiencing slamming ( impact on the bottom of the ship) and deck wetness (seawater rising to the deck), calculating wave resistance, and ship operability. “This program is still in code form and in the process of being developed into an easy-to-use application,” said this master and doctoral graduate from Dalhousie University, Canada.   

Second, the Ship Maneuvering Simulation Program (PSM) was developed to simulate ship maneuvering to evaluate the ship’s design ability to maneuver according to IMO standards. “This program aims to produce a ship’s maneuver trajectory in a circular motion ( turning ) and zigzags due to forces acting like inertia,” he explained. 

Corvette ship model and control instruments

This program approach uses the Open Free Running Model Test which is a model test in a quiet open pool. Models are equipped with a motor, prototype, and steering wheel which can be controlled remotely using a remote control. “The difficult thing is taking the test data, therefore in this case the GPS ( Global Positioning System ) technique is used, image processing, and color object tracking which can be used with relatively the same results,” he explained again.  

The third program, namely the Ship Maneuver Identification System (PSIM) Program developed with the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) method combined with simple Linear Regression in mathematical models and algorithms with Matlab program. 

Figure AUV model in numerical, drag test, and maneuver test

“Furthermore, this program can identify ship hydrodynamic coefficients and develop an autopilot system which is a future ship technology,” he concluded. In the end, Aries expressed his hopes regarding this ship dynamics system so that it could contribute to helping the government overcome ship accidents at sea. (pan/ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Shinta Ulwiya