Flexcom:与海上能源工业和谐发展的仿真软件

海上油田开发进入更深的水域和更恶劣的环境, coupled with progressively more stringent safety requirements, 是否需要高质量的软件来支持工程设计过程.

With a global track record spanning almost 40 years, Wood的专有软件Flexcom是动态海上结构的模拟器，为主要运营商提供了先进的10bet十博网址, EPC contractors, equipment suppliers and engineering consultancy firms. This all-round software is suitable for a variety of scenarios, ranging from FEED studies, detailed engineering design, fatigue life assessment, structural installation and decommissioning. It is highly versatile, 很容易将其应用于海洋可再生能源和浮动海上风能等不断增长的领域.

The name Flexcom derives from its origins as a computational software simulating flex可再生立管，适合20世纪80年代初北海新兴的石油生产技术. 相比之下，最新版本的开发重点是浮式海上风电. 该工具的发展是创新解决方案提供商适应不断变化的行业需求的典型例子. From humble beginnings of just one client back in 1983, Flexcom now has a global user base of over 300.

So, what makes Flexcom unique? Fundamentally, Flexcom是一个有限元分析(FEA)工具，使用行业验证的有限元公式, widely acknowledged as best-in-class. 当受到海浪的作用时，近海建筑物会发生明显的运动, therefore, unlike some other FEA solvers, Flexcom使用一种对流坐标技术来适应大规模的位移. 有限元离散化的每个单元都有一个与之相关联的局部轴系, which realigns with the element as it moves in space and time. This allows small, 应变诱导弹性变形，以准确地识别从大的刚体运动. 这种技术使Flexcom特别适合于对具有大运动的结构进行建模, 例如海上浮动风力涡轮机之间的高动态阵列间电缆.

鉴于海上风电在许多国家的脱碳战略中日益重要, 尤其是预计未来漂浮风的指数级增长, 现在比以往任何时候都更需要经过验证的数值建模工具来支持详细的工程设计. Wood established an independent technical advisory group in 2016, alongside some key players in floating offshore wind, which has helped to shape a new product known as Flexcom Wind. 该工具通过与业界公认的OpenFAST软件的完全集成耦合提供了最先进的空气动力学建模, while detailed structural analysis of subsea components, such as mooring lines and dynamic cables, is ensured by Flexcom itself.

在Flexcom wind的支持下，Wood已经获得了多个浮式风电项目的合同. 其中一个例子是拟议中的位于爱尔兰西海岸的风力发电场, an ambitious project targeting up to 1.35GW of wind power. In practical terms, this wind farm has the potential to power as many as 1,145,000 homes by harnessing the power of the North Atlantic wind. However, 这个位置代表了一个恶劣的环境，有严重的海蚀和大风, 对系泊系统和动力电缆的设计提出了重大挑战, including long term fatigue performance and integrity of the cables. A truss element has recently been introduced to Flexcom, 专为低结构弯曲刚度的结构建模而设计, such as mooring chains. The new feature provides a highly efficient solution, with faster computation times compared with a traditional beam element.

不断发展的技术和解决方案，以满足不断变化的行业要求是伍德的重点关注领域. 一个典型的1GW浮动海上风电场将有超过120根动态电缆, 浮式风所需的大量电缆为利用数字孪生和机器学习技术协助完整性管理提供了独特的机会.

Wood is actively developing a ‘Subsea Cable Digital Twin’. 这个数字双胞胎考虑了机械疲劳和电致热损伤, the former based on FEA in quasi-real time, where Flexcom is set to play a key role. This will sit alongside Flexcom’s sister product Layercom, 一种模拟工具，可在局部横截面水平上提供额外的疲劳分析，包括动态电缆中的铠装线和电缆股. The benefit of a digital twin approach is that an integrated, as-maintained picture of cable health can be developed, giving the owner confidence in real-time integrity and performance. 该方法已经在北海的许多运营电缆资产的电缆热监测和电缆疲劳损伤评估中得到了很好的验证. Wood的长期愿景是提供满足当前和未来行业需求的专业软件, 在哪里大规模部署漂浮风成为商业现实.

Originally published in Global Underwater Hub Magazine (page 14)