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Less expensive due to automation and speeds up design by several months Test times reduced from current 24 hours to 1 hour
About
The Technology QALE-FEM (Quasi Arbitrary Lagrangian and Eulerian Finite Element method) specialised software package, which has at its heart the novel QALE-FEM algorithm, based on non-linear wave kinematics. This provides the capability for calculating wave and environmental loads on offshore structures under extreme weather conditions. Slender member structures are widely used in oceans, such as jack-up and jacket platforms for oil drilling and production, jacket-type breakwaters and jacket-type off-shore airports. In addition, these kinds of structures are also employed for off-shore wind, tidal, stream energy and for fish farming. Revenue for organisations operating in these markets is projected to be worth several hundred billion dollars over the next ten years, in line with increasing exploration and use of ocean resources. The impact of risk reduction in structural failure and design improvement through innovative analytical techniques is therefore likely to be substantial. These structures are subject to numerous forces including the effect of sea waves over their lifetime. It is critically important for structures to withstand the action of the waves, particularly under extreme conditions which are the most dangerous to these structures. QALE-FEM software can consistently and accurately deal with extreme conditions up to 20 times faster than conventional methods Key Benefits Less expensive due to automation and speeds up design by several months Test times reduced from current 24 hours to 1 hour Highly accurate modelling, reduces design time man hours Calculates loads for extreme conditions Market Sectors Oil industry Wind turbine manufacturers Offshore and Marine Shipping Industry Marine insurers Design engineers Bridge, pier and sea wall design & manufacturers Commercial fish farmers Wave electricity manufacturers Technical QALE-FEM offers the potential not only to improve the accuracy of existing solutions for small and medium waves but also to provide new capabilities (for which there has been no numerical solution to date) for extreme (or breaking / overturning) waves, in three main areas: the simulation of extreme waves interaction of extreme waves with seabed effects coupled wave-current wave and wave-wind effects.