Flexcom

Aldert Otter, PhD and his co-authors present a comprehensive review of modelling techniques for floating offshore wind turbines. Flexcom is noted amongst the popular mid-fidelity numerical modelling tools, while our numerical modelling of the Eolink concept is also mentioned. The paper is open-access and well worth a read for anyone involved in FOWT design or analysis.   https://lnkd.in/e5Cvhuz8  

Sean Leen paid a fitting tribute to Prof. Sean McNamara RIP as part of his presentation at OMAE 2024. The founding father of Flexcom, Sean established Marine Computation Services (MCS) in 1983 as a spinoff company from the University of Galway, where he headed up the Mechanical Engineering department for many years. The name Flexcom derives from its origins as a COMputational software initially geared towards the analysis of FLEXible risers – the emerging riser technology of the North Sea in the 1980s. Nowadays, the former MCS group forms part of Wood having been acquired in 2008, while Flexcom to this day remains a leading finite element solution for offshore structural analysis, popular amongst commercial organisations and universities worldwide. 

Sean Leen is attending OMAE 2024 in Singapore this week, presenting Oisín Conway's research work performed as part of OC6, an international research project focused on validating FOW modelling tools. Oisin developed a Flexcom model of the Stiesdal TetraSpar and benchmarked his results against experimental data and other numerical modelling tools. The presentation is on Tuesday at 1:30pm in the “Wind Energy: Aero-hydrodynamics 5” session. Say hello to Seán if you bump into him at #OMAE2024!

Flexcom, along with numerous other tools, was represented in OC6 Phase IV, a research project focused on the validation of numerical models for novel floating offshore wind support structures...

Adding a directional compass to a Flexcom model – very useful for visualising real-world orientations… https://lnkd.in/ePSzWFjA.

Hi all, I thought I'd share a demo video of a FOW mooring design tool I'm currently working on with my PhD supervisor Susan Gourvenec. The tool uses neural networks (trained from Flexcom FEA) to produce efficient fully-coupled mooring analysis and concept design optimisation, without the need for full dynamic modelling. The aim is to provide a simple web-based platform where engineers can play around with parameters and consider cheaper, lighter designs earlier in their projects. We are currently building it for the UMaine 15MW FOWT, but it could be expanded to other floating structures and design problems. With this work, I've recently been awarded a place on the ICURe programme, which provides support for academic researchers to take their research outputs to industry (thanks Future Worlds for help with the application). As part of the programme, I'm trying to engage with developers and FOW design engineers to find out how we can shape this tool to maximise its impact. As such, I'd love to hear any suggestions & feedback - so feel free to get in touch. I will also be in Bilbao for #windeurope next week, look forward to seeing some of you there! As usual, big thanks to the Royal Academy of Engineering and University of Southampton for enabling this research. #innovateuk #floatingwind #offshorewind

Congrats to Oscar and his colleagues at Southampton uni on their recent publication on LRDs in FOWT mooring systems. Numerical simulations performed using Flexcom. Further details, including a link to the full paper, available here… https://lnkd.in/dXH56hzY

Flexcom 2022.1.2 is now available. This version corrects some known issues in Flexcom 2022.1.1, most notably a fault relating to wind turbine yaw. Refer to Known Software Faults for full details. We recommend that all Flexcom users download and install the latest version from... https://lnkd.in/eFpvDfnd

Congratulations to Oisín Conway who was awarded the Marine Renewable Industrial Association (#MRIA) Prize for Best MaREI Project of the Year at the annual forum in Dublin. The award was presented by Eamon Ryan, Irish Minister for Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport. Also pictured is Oisin’s academic supervisor Sean Leen, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Galway. Oisin was an active participant in OC6 Phase IV, a research project geared towards the validation of numerical simulation tools for floating offshore wind, where he benchmarked Flexcom models of the “Stiesdal TetraSpar” against experimental tank test data. Coordinated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), OC6 Phase IV was a collaborative effort involving a total of 17 academic and industrial partners from 10 different countries. Oisin is now employed at Wood following the successful completion of his Masters.