applications ➤


members of the cranes, and the forces transmitted through the crane mounting points, can help in the design of on-board equipment to ensure that it better withstands loads seen in-service. Atkins also presented work recently on how


STAR-CCM+ was used to investigate a semi submersible platform to understand whether exhaust gases from process equipment and gas turbines will interact with the helideck – which is a potential safety hazard – as well as ensuring there is adequate ventilation of the topside to minimise explosion risks in the event of a leak. Te soſtware allowed Atkins to incorporate


TRANSFER OF DATA ACROSS NETWORKS OF COMPUTERS IS OFTEN AN ISSUE


complex topside geometries, combined with detailed and accurate physics modelling, to reduce the uncertainties and potential errors in the analysis. A recent study from ESI on a free-fall lifeboat


investigated how pressure forms on the surface of the lifeboat when it is dropped into the sea. El Khaldi said: ‘Te lifeboat example gives you an idea of the different factors that must be taken


Human interactions


The humans operating such machinery are one of the most unpredictable variables when modelling within the oil and gas industry.


The industry must also simulate and understand the complexities of emergency situations, such as a fire, leak, or even an explosion. Arnaud Ribadeau Dumas, solution experience director at Dassault Systèmes, said: ‘It is not just a case of training staff to use the equipment, but training them to use it correctly in very stressful situations, so that it is an automatic reaction. For example, there is a specific sequence when shutting down a pipeline, and the difference of a few seconds could be dramatic.’ A growing number of companies in the oil and gas industry are addressing these challenges through the use of 3D virtual planning, simulation, and visualisation technologies. Such


Lifeboat drop - the real and virtual events


into account: different angles of entry into the water; the number of people inside; the shock of impact; all these things need to be simulated.’ Tese pressures directly affect the design of the


lifeboat. In the virtual prototype, the lifeboat was dropped into the water at the correct angle and the pressures on the surface were compared to measured values. Te lifeboat trajectory, occupant acceleration, structural pressures and force predictions were extracted from the simulation and exploited to improve the design.


Big data Data management is one of the overriding challenges for simulation soſtware to address when modelling the vast range of equipment used in the oil and gas industry. Detailed 3D analysis requires access to additional computational resources, good data analytics, and the ability to process and store large amounts of data.


Te input, output, and transfer of data across


networks of computers is oſten an issue and the soſtware needs to operate on shared and parallel computers, as Ahmad Haidari, global industry director of process, energy and power at Ansys, said: ‘Te ability to streamline and optimise use of the soſtware performance on high performance computing enables users to include all relevant geometrical and physical details, making simulations as close to real life as possible.’ Haidari added: ‘At the same time there is a need


for continued improvement in data analytics and decision post-processing, to help reduce the need to store results generated from all the numerical studies.’ In other words, it is the extremity of data and


not the extremity of environmental conditions that the simulation soſtware must master to meet the demands of designing and testing equipment for the oil and gas industry. l


systems allow people to plan and schedule operational procedures, train workers, and meet health and safety requirements by interacting with a computer- simulated 3D environment, including cranes, plant assets, and workers to determine the best process to minimise costly project delays and mitigate risk. Typically, digital models are


created from a combination of plant drawings, CAD geometry, 3D master models of the plant and laser scans of the facilities. Such digital models are highly detailed and significantly more accurate than


30 SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD


physical mock-ups, which in most cases – are no more than rough approximations. Digital models can also be enhanced to incorporate representations of equipment such as cranes, and the movement of such equipment in relation to interaction with the human workers and surrounding environment.


In addition, the inclusion of physics representations can be used to simulate the realistic action of equipment, such as the resistive force that workers would encounter in turning a valve. All of this contributes to a virtual environment that looks and


behaves realistically. Different maintenance and operations scenarios can easily be performed without workers being on the actual plant or rig site. Workers can gain familiarisation with the plant or pipeline layout, equipment operation, walking paths and evacuation routes and memorise the location of safety devices. They can learn specific operations and maintenance procedures – such as plant start- up and shut-down, equipment maintenance, inspection and replacement – so they are immediately productive.


@scwmagazine l www.scientific-computing.com


Dassault Systèmes ESI Group


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