Course content

After completing the course the students will have acquired knowledge related to - The concept of design - Establishment of background and basis of marine design - Abstraction, idea generation and convergence - Modeling the design process - Design models as means of communication - Pros and cons of design models - Criteria of system building and limitation. The students will also acquire skills in applying the design theories to concrete application areas through the work with the term report. A minimum of three student is required for the course to be arranged.

Learning outcome

The goal of the course is to give provide fundamental knowledge and insight into advanced topics in design theory, models and methods, both by presenting the historical context of this field, as well as providing insight into the current state-of-research. Further, to provide competence and skills into applying theories and methods for research and technology development of ocean engineering systems. After completing the course, the student should have gained a fundamental understanding of the definitions and characteristics of (marine) design, design vs science, design model & process taxonomy, design representations, basic inference processes in design, systems engineering and design, important schools and directions in design, including Catalogue Design (Pahl&Beitz), Robust Design (Suh), Decision-Based Design (Mistree), Building-Block Design (Andrews), Configuration-Based Design, Knowledge-Based Design (Coyne, Gero), Risk-Based Design (Papanikolaou), design optimization, multi-criteria models, rule-based design frameworks, and the handling of uncertainty and complexity in design. The student should also be able to discuss and develop a personal system critical assessment of current research topics and directions, and place this in the context of his/her own research agenda.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures. Mandatory exercises: Preparing a report on a given subject. A sufficient number of candidates must be registered for the course to be given. To pass the course a score of at least 70 percent is required. Both the oral exam and the report must be passed for the course to be passed.

Normally, a minimum of three students is required for the course to be given.

Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

Recommended prerequisites are TMR4115 Design Methods, TMR4150 Design of Marine Vehicles or equivalent classes approved by the responsible course instructor.

Course materials

Text: Articles handed out in class.

Credit reductions