Running Simulations |
 
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Running Simulations |
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Once you are satisfied with your selection of Device and Environment, you can proceed to running a simulation. Simply select the simulation of interest in the Project View, right-click and select 'Run Simulation' from the list of options.
•Flexcom Wave uses all the data which you have defined in the Device component and uses it to create a Flexcom model in standard Keyword File format.
•The ambient environment is characterised by a Scatter Diagram in the Environment component. This provides Flexcom Wave with a large number of different combinations of Hs and Tz/Tp/Te. Each combination requires a separate numerical simulation, and the software automatically sets up the required input files, and neatly organises all the simulations into individual, appropriately named files within your project workspace.
•Depending on your Designation of Seastate Blocks and Nomination of Reference Seastates, Flexcom Wave may run all, or a selection of, seastates from your scatter diagram. If you are running only a selection of seastates for computational efficiency, Flexcom Wave estimates simulation results for adjacent seastates based on an Extrapolation Technique.
•Assuming the simulation has completed successfully, Simulation Results will be available for review and inspection.
While the simulation is in progress, you will notice a green progress bar to indicate the simulation progress. Progress may appear quite slow, as each combination of Hs and Tz/Tp/Te requires a separate Time Domain simulation, and each simulation may consider 1800s (30 minutes) of simulation time or perhaps even longer.
Simulation Progress
When the simulation has fully completed, you can proceed to examining Simulation Results.
In case you are wondering what is happening in the background; for each Simulation Component, Flexcom Wave actually creates a series of analysis files which run consecutively.
•Firstly an Initial Static Analysis is performed in order to determine the static equilibrium configuration of the system subject to gravity and buoyancy loads only.
•Depending on the complexity of the selected Device, Flexcom Wave may perform the initial static simulation in two stages in order to aid solution convergence. In such cases, the floating bodies are temporarily restrained using additional boundary conditions, which are subsequently removed in a Restart Static Analysis. Floating systems can be sensitive to minor changes in displacement, so this second stage is typically performed as a Quasi-Static Analysis.
•Finally the ambient environmental loads are simulated in a series of separate Time Domain Analyses. Each combination of Hs and Tz/Tp/Te requires a separate simulation, so the software neatly organises these into appropriately named sub-folders within your project workspace.
Existing Flexcom users will be familiar with the concept of an Analysis Job, which typically contains a series of individual analysis files which run consecutively. The procedure is very similar here, except that Flexcom Wave has automatically set up the analysis job for increased convenience to the user.