Sustainable Marine Structures

Interval-Based Multi-Body Dynamics Simulation of Special-Purpose Vessels in Rough Sea Conditions

Nijalingappa Yogeesh

Department of Mathematics, Government First Grade College, Badavanahalli-572112, Madhugiri Taluk, Tumakuru District, Karnataka 560001, India

Suleiman Ibrahim Shelash Mohammad

Department of Electronic Marketing and Social Media, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Zarqa University, Zarqa 13110, Jordan  

Natarajan Raja

Department of Visual Communication, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600001, India

Asokan Vasudevan

Faculty of Business and Communications, INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Putra Nilai 71800, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Thirumalesha Babu Tumkur Rangaswamy

Department of Sociology, Government First Grade College, Badavanahalli-572112, Madhugiri Taluk, Tumakuru District, Karnataka 560001, India

Ashalatha Kodihalli Siddagangaiah

Department of Mathematics, Vedavathi Government First Grade College, Hiriyur-577598, Karnataka 560001, India

Anber Abraheem Mohammad

Digital Marketing Department, Faculty of Administrative and Financial Sciences, University of Petra, Amman 11196, Jordan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36956/sms.v7i3.2435

Received: 9 July2025 | Revised: 24 July 2025 | Accepted: 12 August 2025 | Published Online: 9 September 2025

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Abstract

Vessel motions in offshore operations are heavily influenced by uncertain wave loads and hydrodynamic parameters. Yet, traditional deterministic or probabilistic models often fail to capture epistemic ambiguity when data are scarce. We introduce a fuzzy–set framework using α-cut interval analysis to represent imprecise wave heights, periods, added mass, damping, and stiffness as fuzzy numbers. These are incorporated into the multi-body equations of motion and solved via a fuzzy Runge–Kutta scheme across nested α-levels. A simulation architecture iterates over α-cuts and time-steps to produce interval bounds on heavy responses. A case study off the Karnataka coast, with realistic sea-state data for moderate and severe scenarios, yields heave-amplitude envelopes whose widths quantify response uncertainty. At mid-confidence (α = 0.5), moderate seas produce amplitudes of 8.30–9.65 m (± 15 %), while severe seas yield 7.15–8.90 m (± 22 %). Envelope narrowing as α→1 confirms that increased parameter confidence reduces prediction spread, and bias analysis against crisp baselines highlights the impact of imprecision on mean responses. This non-probabilistic approach provides interpretable, worst- and best-case motion bounds without requiring large datasets, offering marine engineers robust safety margins and guidance for targeted data collection and real-time uncertainty updating.

Keywords: Epistemic Uncertainty; α-Cut Interval Analysis; Interval Arithmetic; Hydrodynamic Modelling; Heave Response; Marine Structures; Wave-Induced Motion

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