ON APPLICABILITY OF MATHEMATICAL MODELS BASED ON FRACTIONAL CALCULUS TO SHIP DYNAMICS

Perspectives of application of mathematical models using concepts of fractional derivatives and integrals in ship dynamics are analyzed under the assumption that these must approximate the well-known and generally acknowledged model described by a set of integro-differential equations. Possible equivalence is discussed mainly on the basis of the Fourier image in the frequency domain. It is demonstrated that advantages of invoking extended calculus techniques are far from being evident and it seems premature to declare such models as very promising in ship dynamics and control applications. Copyright ©2010 IFAC