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DSA Streamlines Marine Hydrodynamics Analyses with HyperWorks, ProteusDS and ShipMo3D
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases
Applicable Industries
- Marine & Shipping
- Transportation
Use Cases
- Mesh Networks
- Virtual Reality
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
DSA, an ocean engineering consultancy and software company, faced a significant challenge in creating high-quality hydrodynamic meshes and models for ship and marine structures. The task of creating high-quality meshes is a complex one in CAD software, as the mesh often isn't well conditioned for hydrodynamic solutions which require a closed surface for resolving hydrodynamic effects such as nonlinear hydrostatics and BEM solution. To build an accurate ship hydrodynamic model, ShipMo3D, one of DSA's software, requires the development of a mesh of the vessel hull. This could be achieved either through the creation of hull lines or through importing an OBJ mesh file created using third-party software. However, both these methods were time-consuming and often resulted in less than optimal meshes.
About The Customer
DSA is an ocean engineering consultancy and software company that provides solutions to marine service providers, project developers, ocean engineers, naval architects, oceanographers, and anyone with business in the water. The company's solutions enable these stakeholders to assess the effect of currents, winds, and waves on their vessels, technologies, and projects. DSA produces two advanced hydrodynamic marine analysis software packages, ProteusDS and ShipMo3D, and also provides a range of ocean engineering consulting services to marine businesses, often using ProteusDS and ShipMo3D.
The Solution
To overcome this challenge, DSA turned to Altair HyperMesh to create these mesh files from CAD files in a fraction of the time it took to enter hull line data. Altair HyperMesh allowed DSA to adjust the mesh effectively and ensured the most efficient and accurate mesh was used. Once the mesh was imported into ShipMo3D, the software used a boundary element method, based on a paneled surface, to determine the hydrodynamic response of a ship to waves and motions. This allowed users to determine things like vessel pitch and roll response, vertical and lateral accelerations, and overall maneuvering and seakeeping characteristics. Similarly, ProteusDS, another software from DSA, used hydrodynamic meshes for the calculation of hydrodynamic loads. DSA also began using Altair AcuSolve and Altair Virtual Wind Tunnel on a routine basis as part of its consulting work, forming integrations in their software that allowed results of AcuSolve and VWT to be readily exported.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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