# US 10,501,152 B2 · Structural monitoring system of the hull of a ship integrated with a navigation decision support system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,501,152 B2 - Document ID: US10501152B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/540,503 - Filed: 2015-12-29 - Published: 2017-12-28 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2014-12-30 - Assignees: CENTRO PER GLI STUDI DI TECNICA NAVALE-CETENA S.p.A. - Applicants: CENTRO PER GLI STUDI DI TECNICA NAVALE—CETENA S.p.A. - Inventors: Giovanni Cusano; Mauro Garbarino; Stefano Qualich - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10501152B2 ## CPC - B63B 49/00: Arrangements of nautical instruments or navigational aids (nautical measuring instruments G01C; radio navigation, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - B63B 71/00: Designing vessels; Predicting their performance - B63B 71/10: using computer simulation, e.g. finite element method [FEM] or computational fluid dynamics [CFD] - B63B 79/15: for monitoring environmental variables, e.g. wave height or weather data - B63B 79/20: using models or simulation, e.g. statistical models or stochastic models - B63B 79/30: for diagnosing, testing or predicting the integrity or performance of vessels - G01S 13/956: {mounted on ship or other platform} - Y02A 90/10: Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation - B63B: SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING (arrangements of vessel ventilation, heating, cooling, or air-conditioning B63J2/00; floating substructures as supports of dredgers or soil-shifting machines E02F9/06) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE ## Abstract A system assists the driving of a ship and is configured to estimate the structural loads of the ship due to the direct wave excitation, and structural loads of the ship due to the whipping effect caused by the wave slamming. The system includes at least one reference sensor adapted to provide an indication of a motion or stress magnitude at a predetermined point of the ship structure, and is further configured to calculate an estimate of the magnitude at the predetermined point in the ship structure, compare the indication of magnitude with the estimate of the magnitude so as to determine an offset value, and correct the estimates of the structural loads and/or the estimate of the magnitude on the basis of the offset value. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for assisting the driving of a ship, comprising: a navigation detector adapted to provide an indication of motion of the ship; an environmental detector adapted to provide an indication of sea wave motion; and at least one processing unit, configured to execute in real time, during the motion of the ship, the following steps: determining rigid body ship motions due to direct wave excitation based on the indication of the ship motion and on the indication of the sea wave motion, estimating structural loads of the ship due to the direct wave excitation, said estimation being calculated on the basis of said determination of the rigid body ship motions, evaluating and providing an indication of wave slamming on the ship, estimating the structural loads of the ship due to the whipping effect caused by the wave slamming, said estimate being calculated on the basis of said indication of wave slamming on the ship, wherein said estimates of structural loads are based on 3D finite element models, which reproduce dynamic behaviors of the ship structure, calculating a combination of the estimated structural loads, and graphically and/or numerically presenting the combination of the estimated structural loads; at least one reference sensor adapted to provide an indication of a motion or stress magnitude at a predetermined point of the ship structure, said at least one processing unit being further configured to execute in real time, during the motion of the ship, the following steps: calculating an estimate of said magnitude at the predetermined point of the ship structure, said calculation including: calculating a first estimate contribution due to the direct wave excitation, said first estimate contribution being calculated on the basis of said determination of the rigid body ship motions, calculating a second estimate contribution due to the whipping effect caused by the wave slamming, said second estimate contribution being calculated on the basis of said indication of wave slamming on the ship, wherein said estimate contributions are based on 3D finite element models, which reproduce dynamic behaviors of an area of the ship structure at said predetermined point, calculating a combination of said first and second estimate contribution, comparing said indication of magnitude, provided by the reference sensor during the motion of the ship, with the estimate of said magnitude to determine an offset value; and correcting the estimates of the structural loads and/or the estimate of said magnitude on the basis of said offset value. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein estimating structural loads of the ship due to the whipping effect caused by the wave slamming includes estimating phasing between a whipping component and a wave slamming component. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one processing unit is further configured to execute in real time, during the motion of the ship, the following steps: calculating an estimate of said magnitude at at least one second, sensorless predetermined point of the ship structure, said calculation including: calculating a first estimate contribution due to the direct wave excitation, said first estimate contribution being calculated on the basis of said determination of the rigid body ship motions, calculating a second estimate contribution due to the whipping effect caused by the wave slamming, said second estimate contribution being calculated on the basis of said indication of wave slamming on the ship, wherein said estimate contributions are based on 3D finite element models, which reproduce dynamic behaviors of an area of the ship structure at said second predetermined point, calculating a combination of said first and second estimate contribution; graphically and/or numerically presenting the combination of said first and second estimate contribution. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) A system according to claim 3, wherein said at least one processing unit is further configured to execute in real time, during the motion of the ship, the following steps: correcting the estimate of said magnitude at the second, sensorless predetermined point based on the offset value determined by the comparison between said indication of magnitude provided by the reference sensor during the ship motion, with the estimate of said magnitude calculated at the first predetermined point provided with the reference sensor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) A system according to claim 4, wherein said step of calculating an estimate of said magnitude at the second, sensorless predetermined point includes: calculating an expected maximum value and minimum value of said magnitude of the second predetermined point at each acquisition instant within an exposure time interval before a reference instant, and calculating, at the reference instant, the maximum, minimum, average and RMS value of the expected maximum values and minimum values in the exposure time interval for the second predetermined point; said step of calculating an estimate of said magnitude at the first predetermined point provided with reference sensor includes calculating an expected maximum value and minimum value of said magnitude of the first predetermined point at each acquisition instant within the exposure time interval before the reference instant, and calculating, at the reference instant, the maximum, minimum, average and RMS value of the expected maximum values and minimum values in the exposure time interval for the first predetermined point; said step of comparing said indication of magnitude with the estimate of said magnitude includes: extracting a maximum, minimum, average and RMS measurement value from recorded data of measurements provided by the reference sensor in the exposure time interval, and determining offset values as the difference between the maximum, minimum, average and RMS measurement value and the expected maximum, minimum, average and RMS value of said magnitude in the first predetermined point in the time interval. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) A system according to claim 5, wherein said step of correcting the estimate of said magnitude at the second, sensorless predetermined point includes: correcting the expected maximum, minimum, average and RMS value of said magnitude in the second predetermined point on the basis of said offset values.