On the application of network theory in naval engineering: Generating network topologies

Network topology of technical systems (i.e. the way in which components of technical systems are connected to each other through connections like pipes, cables, shafts, etc.) in naval vessels is quickly fixed in current design methods. This means the vulnerability of these systems is also quickly fixed. Variation in network topology may lead to new, unknown topologies that have better survivability characteristics. Therefore a new approach to designing technical systems is explored in this paper. This approach applies mathematical network theory in a naval engineering context. Basic concepts of network theory are explained and then used to make automatic network topology generation possible. Preliminary results using a first version of a network topology generation algorithm are presented and discussed. Future work within the PhD research of which this network topology generation is one aspect is then described.