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The purpose of this study is to determine the correct estimation of the concept design for high strength composites applied to the intermediate shaft of a ship. Recently, the application of composites has increased in the ship industry area for weight reduction and marine environmental protection. Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) has characteristics of high strength, high elasticity and high corrosion resistance. Therefore, it is a suitable material for reducing the weight of the ship. So, weight reduction and high fuel efficiency can be expected. However, little research has been carried out on the technology development of a composites shaft for ships. In this study, analysis is carried out on the application of a high-strength CFRP shaft.

Resistance welding is to bond two pieces of metal materials together by melting the materials in the contact area. An elevated temperature is generated by contact resistance when electrical current flows through the contact area of the two materials. Generally, a current is applied through two close electrodes. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to set the two electrodes far apart when the contact area is physically unreachable. The far separation of the electrodes makes difficult to generate reliable welds. This paper describes a reliability and robustness design method for the welding process. In particular, a concept design was conducted to avoid welding failure modes. The critical dimensions of a work piece were defined to make a successful weld. Then the welding processes for various dimensions of the work pieces were optimized using Taguchi's parameter design method. A thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the reliability of the welds. It is shown that the welding process is robust and the welds have high reliability.

Assembly model is the key information applied in 3D design software. The information of the character, hierarchical and assembly relationship of assembly model are discussed. And the expression method of component information model and storage model are established. The relationship of the components should content not only the assembly information but also the function information in order to help the designers for problem solving. The mapping library for assembly relationship and function relationship is founded in order to support the component analysis. Knowledge model of the component is realized by object-oriented method. As an example, the function relationship of a tug-of-war robot is gotten based on the assembly model of it in Solidworks. The efficiency of the knowledge model for the inventive problem solving is illustrated.