H2/H∞ Antivertical Controller Based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Using Active T-Foils and Trim Tabs for a Fast Catamaran

Abstract

A wave-piercing catamaran (WPC) is a high-performance ship that has been developed in recent years. Compared to other common ships, the WPC has higher lateral stability, larger deck area, lower oil consumption, and higher speed. However, under rough seas and at high speeds, the coupled heave/pitch motions of the WPC can easily produce coupled oscillations that seriously affect its seaworthiness. To solve these problems, a ride control system was designed for the WPC in this study. This system comprises two T-foils, two trim tabs, and a catamaran motion controller. The H2/H∞ controller was designed based on memory-based particle swarm optimization to alleviate the coupled oscillation resulting from heave/pitch motions. Numerical simulations were conducted to validate the proposed method, and the results showed that the proposed motion controller could obviously improve the sea-keeping performance of a WPC.