Minimum-time ship routing by calculus of variations methods.

Abstract

The manual method of minimum-time ship routing has proved so successful over the last several years that ever increasing numbers of ships" captains are requesting this service . Hie desirability of the electronic computer for the computation is therefore readily apparent,, In this investigation the minimum-time route is determined by calculus of variations, rather than the conventional manual technique. The present method consists of solving the associated Euler equation by numerical integration on the Control Data Corporation model 1604- digital computer,. In case 1 the ship's speed is assumed to be primarily a function of position; and in case 2 the ship's speed is taken to be a function of its direction as well as position. Case 2 is recommended for operational adaptation.