A global optimization method for naval structure op- timization

The paper proposes a global optimization method for the preliminary structural design of large vessels in shipbuilding industry. We face a combinatorial problem of large size, with constraints modeled as implicit functions with nonlinear behavior. We present a heuristic method that performs a global search over the feasible solution space, combining a large neighborhood search and a heuristic local search. Experiments on actual structural optimization problems show that the heuristic converges towards discrete feasible solutions of good quality.