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<p>This thesis examines density reduction as an alternative to weight or size reduction when decision makers seek  options for lower-cost submarine designs. The parameter density measures how tightly systems and equipment are  placed within a hull structure. To address design characteristics unique to submarines, this research focuses mainly  on submarine design and procurement--though the general concepts are applicable to surface ship designs and may  be applied more broadly. Based on an examination of density as it relates to cost, this research indicates that: (1) the  use of weight-reduction policies as a means to reduce cost have often generated the opposite effect; (2) increased cost,  schedule and performance risk and an improper mix of design capability and flexibility are the inevitable outcomes of  unnecessarily dense designs; and (3) Arc-permeability and Internal Density, measures developed for this research, are  sufficient approximations of how tightly systems and equipment are placed within a compartment. Indeed, they may  reveal how density represents a significant and previously underemphasized, if not unexplained, driver of historic  submarine cost-growth in excess of inflation.
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<br>Subjects: Submarines (Ships); United States; Design and construction; Experimental design</div>
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Grant, Benjamin P.</div>
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