The paper outlines means for an efficient RANS-based hull-design optimisation process. The adjoint-based wake design method previously applied to an unpropelled ship [5] was now extended to optimise a ship hull in self-propelled conditions using a body-force propeller model. The shape optimisation aimed to improve the propeller inflow conditions quantified through an established wake objective function. The redesign was carried out manually guided by an adjoint-based sensitivity analysis that provides a continuous sensitivity map over the entire hull surface. The initial design evaluation and two re-design cycles can thereby be performed on a workstation in approximately one day. The proposed method was applied to a Panmax container vessel at model-scale Reynolds number. Encouraging improvements of the wake objective function were achieved. At the same time required propulsion power was reduced at negligible changes of the displacement.
