Objectives  The method of rewriting the element node information file to realize parametric modeling is commonly employed in existing structural optimization based on finite element (FE) strength calculation, but it remains difficult to consider variations of the profile number in hull section structure optimization. To this end, a container ship structure optimization method based on FE strength calculation is proposed using an artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm and parametric FE modeling method.

  Methods  First, the bee colony algorithm is written on the Matlab platform, and a script file which can generate the geometric model in its CAE module is established based on the ABAQUS kernel in the Python language. A Python script file which can submit the FE calculation and read the results is established. The geometric model is updated by rewriting the solution generated by the algorithm to the corresponding position in the script, then ABAQUS is called in the background and the script files are run in turn. Finally, the calculation results are returned to Matlab for verification, and the parametric geometric modeling and FE analysis are completed.

  Results  The feasibility of this method is verified by taking the section structure optimization of a 4600 TEU container ship as an example. It is found that the weight reduction of the container ship cabin structure reaches 18.7%.

  Conclusions  When the results of the FE strength optimization and code optimization are compared and analyzed, under the set conditions, the FE optimization method is more sufficient than that based on code.