OrcaFlex is a structural finite element (FE) package for the global analysis of a variety of offshore marine systems. It is widely known for its excellent user interface, which gives unrivalled efficiency in model building and analysis. Behind the user interface OrcaFlex is built on a fast, robust, and flexible FE engine. OrcaFlex also has the unique capability in its class to be used as a Windows DLL, allowing ready integration into third-party software.
I use a software package called OrcaFlex for modeling marine structures. It has extensions in MATLAB, Python, and C (I use MATLAB) that are used for setting up the models and retrieving and analyzing the model results. Setting up the models requires a lot of tricky choices that would be nice to discuss with others, but the only choice is emailing the (very helpful) support staff, or posting questions to the software developer's blog. Is there a place on Stack Overflow or related sites that would be an appropriate place start posting questions about use of OrcaFlex? Or is the software too specific to marine engineering? There are no existing OrcaFlex questions on Stack Overflow.
OrcaFlex is primarily used by naval architects, engineers, consultants and designers to analyse and solve engineering problems. Our software and approach is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of large corporates requiring hundreds of licenses and individuals who just require one.
The core sectors we serve are focused on research, analysis and engineering in oil & gas, wet renewables, oceanographic, seismic, defence, and aquaculture. However we are constantly developing our software to meet the needs of evolving engineering challenges and new market requirements.
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs) dynamic analysis can be quite challenging as it requires to model within the same calculation aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, controller, moorings and structure behaviour. Mooring and anchor design are strongly affecting FOWTs dynamic behaviour. Also, floater structural behaviour can be complex to model in a decoupled finite element analysis software. To do so, Innosea and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy developed a coupling between BHawC software and OrcaFlex software. BHawC is a nonlinear aeroelastic tool performing dynamic analysis of wind turbines. OrcaFlex is a generalist offshore marine engineering software that can perform the dynamic analysis of floaters and their mooring system. This paper describes the method and the mathematical background that is used to perform detailed time-domain simulations of a floating wind turbine coupling BHawC and OrcaFlex. The coupling is verified comparing time domain simulations on several load cases for rigid floaters coupled to a turbine with a rigid RNA. This shows a good agreement which confirms the correctness of the coupling.
Jacob Technologies & Software (JTEC) act, along with Heron Offshore, as joint exclusive agents for Orcina Limited in North America. We work in support of their flagship software tool, OrcaFlex, as well as OrcaWave and OrcaBend. We work closely with Orcina and other Orcina Agents.
Abstract:The focus on alternative energy sources has increased significantly throughout the last few decades, leading to a considerable development in the wave energy sector. In spite of this, the sector cannot yet be considered commercialized, and many challenges still exist, in which mooring of floating wave energy converters is included. Different methods for assessment and design of mooring systems have been described by now, covering simple quasi-static analysis and more advanced and sophisticated dynamic analysis. Design standards for mooring systems already exist, and new ones are being developed specifically forwave energy converter moorings, which results in other requirements to the chosen tools, since these often have been aimed at other offshore sectors. The present analysis assesses a number of relevant commercial software packages for full dynamic mooring analysis in order to highlight the advantages and drawbacks. The focus of the assessment is to ensure that the software packages are capable of fulfilling the requirements of modeling, as defined in design standards and thereby ensuring that the analysis can be used to get a certified mooring system. Based on the initial assessment, the two software packages DeepC and OrcaFlex are found to best suit the requirements. They are therefore used in a case study in order to evaluate motion and mooring load response, and the results are compared in order to provide guidelines for which software package to choose. In the present study, the OrcaFlex code was found to satisfy all requirements.Keywords: mooring; station keeping; dynamic analysis; wave energy; OrcaFlex; DeepC
Open iT, Inc. is an independent software vendor that specializes in metering, analyzing, and optimizing usage of critical IT assets. It was founded in 1999 by Eistein Fosli, who obtained his Master of Science in Information Technology from the University of Oslo.
Open iT LicenseAnalyzer is a software usage metering and optimization tool used for managing software licenses. This module provides an enterprise-wide view of software license usage, allowing companies to align purchases and maintenance with user needs. There are more than 30 license managers that are being supported such as Abaqus / Elan, Aladdin Hardlock (NetHASP), Altair, Animator, Bentley SELECT (on local servers), Beta LM, ClearCase, Codemeter (Dongle), Dassault Systemes License Server (DSLS), EasyCopy, Encom, Enterprise Architect License Manager, EOD (Exceed onDemand), Fekete License Manager, FlexNet/FLEXlm, Gemalto License Manager, Green Hills License Manager (GHSlm), Honeywell ULM License Manager, HQMS, IBM-LUM, Jazz Team Server, LM-X, LS-DYNA, MathLM, Olicense, OrcaFlex (Orcina License Manager), Parasoft License Server, Peloton, Reprise License Manager (RLM), Sentinel HASP (NetHASP), Sentinel RMS, SlickEdit, SmartPlant, STI License Manager, Vector (Dongle), Wibukey (Dongle), etc. Some of this module's primary functions include the following:
ApplicationTracker has advanced reporting capabilities and enables tracking of software usage, independent of licensing method, allowing companies to manage even wider selections of expensive software, such as CATIA, MATLAB, Solidworks, ANSYS, MATLAB, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Autodesk, ESRI, Dassault Systemes Software Suite and many others. ApplicationTracker generates reports showing detailed usage of CPU and elapsed time, keyboard, mouse and I/O usage, portraying each application, where and when it is running, and who is running it.
LicensePredictor is a forecasting tool designed to help organizations in decision making, proper planning and allocation of IT resources by providing essential inputs regarding their projected software license usage over the next 18 months. It also detects and alerts users of possible data anomalies, which is key in maintaining system integrity.
As with any other engineering software, the true value that OrcaFlex creates is only accessible by having a deep engineering knowledge and experience, which is where we come in: we are expert users of the software and have a deep knowledge of the industry and regulatory frameworks (DNV, API, etc) and are internationally recognised as a leading authority in delivering advanced global analysis on increasingly complex engineering projects.
Certain firms specialize in designing integrated suites that have many of the above software and tools integrated into a single workstation. By installing various plug-ins or features, an entire structure can be designed from scratch.
In this article, we take a look at the 20 most common software in the naval architecture industry. This list of software is by no means exhaustive- experienced naval architects use a variety of diverse applications to meet their requirements.
Some of these range from complex modelling and CFD tools to applications as simple as MS Excel. While many of this software tools are licenced, we have included exceptional free and open source options that are in use by the industry.
Developed by Dassault Systèmes, SolidWorks is a Windows-based CAD and CAE software that has been in use since 1995. It is a solid modeller that works using features and parameterized functionalities. Parameters are used to define sketches that are then converted to models and assemblies.
SolidWorks offers users three main options- drawings, parts, and assemblies. Parts define the core of the SolidWorks software and enable users to create distinct parts by defining geometry conditions from a GUI display.
SolidWorks operates as a parametric software, meaning that relations and the driving feature behind sketches, parts, and assemblies. Sketches can be either 2D or 3D and support a variety of features to model real-world construction of parts.
For naval architects, SolidWorks is the right choice to create complex geometries ranging from marine engines and piping to structural members and the outer hull. Models from SolidWorks can be easily exported to other software for further analysis. A nifty feature is the cost estimation tool that forecasts expenses during the construction process.
AutoCAD is a CAD software in use since 1982 and developed by Autodesk as a standalone application that provided CAD features to users outside mainframe systems. AutoCAD was a defining software in the engineering sector and remains one of the top CAD software in use. It can be used on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices, with options for student trials, academic licences, and enterprise versions.
Ansys Workbench collectively refers to several modules available for Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), thermodynamic analysis, structural strength tests, and hydrodynamic response analysis. The most widely used module is Ansys Structural that is used to study the strength and response characteristics of complex geometries. Parts can be designed either in the native Design Modeller and Space Claim suites, or imported from SolidWorks, CATIA, and other CAD software.
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