The enlargement of ships has increased the relative hull deformation owing to draft changes. Moreover, design changes such as an increased propeller diameter and pitch changes have occurred to compensate for the reduction in the engine revolution and consequent ship speed. In terms of propulsion shaft alignment, as the load of the stern tube support bearing increases, an uneven load distribution occurs between the shaft support bearings, leading to stern accidents. To prevent such accidents and to ensure shaft system stability, a shaft system design technique is required in which the shaft deformation resulting from the hull deformation is considered. Based on the measurement data of a medium-sized oil/chemical tanker, this study presents a novel approach to predicting the shaft deformation following stern hull deformation through inverse analysis using deep reinforcement learning, as opposed to traditional prediction techniques. The main bearing reaction force, which was difficult to reflect in previous studies, was predicted with high accuracy by comparing it with the measured value, and reasonable shaft deformation could be derived according to the hull deformation. The deep reinforcement learning technique in this study is expected to be expandable for predicting the dynamic behavior of the shaft of an operating vessel.
Up-Tower Investigation of Main Bearing Cage Slip and Loads
