Page 86: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1998)

Virtual Ocean Simulates Action of WorlcTs Largest Floating Structure (Continued from page 67) cal calculations, the animations closely match actual sea-state motion. "The key to successfully per- forming physics-based simulation with multiple software is coupling the programs so they exchange data accurately and efficiently," explained John Cardner, MOB project manager at the Technology

Center.

According to Mr. Cardner, inte- grating these high-end programs represents cutting-edge technology and required engineers at the

Technology Center to work in coop- eration with consultants at

Mechanical Dynamics Inc. and

Dynamic Animation Systems in developing specialized routines for linking the geometry and motion data from FORAN and WAMIT into ADAMS for dynamic analysis and the resulting cargo transfer motion data fed into Easy Scene for visualization. "Creating a virtual prototype of this scope and fidelity required us to leverage a variety of technolo- gies," explained Patrick

O'Heron, senior engineering ana- lyst with the Mechanical

Dynamics Consulting Services

Group. "To accomplish this goal we developed advanced mathematical models and extensive training courses tailored to the project. The result is a complete simulation- based design system that inte- grates CAD, simulation and high- end animations."

Studying Cargo Transfer

ADAMS was used to analyze the two primary operations for transferring cargo from adjacent ships to the MOB: vehicles driving over ramps between RoRo ships and the MOB; and cranes lifting 30-ton cargo containers from ves- sels to automated transports on the MOB.

Mingli He, a mechanical engi- neer at the Technology Center who ran the ADAMS analysis, said the software determined not only motion paths for the various parts and subsystems but also loads, forces and displacements.

Determining these dynamic para- meters was important in evaluat- ing critical details of cargo transfer operations.

He further reported that simu- lation of the cargo lifting crane to determine the magnitude and duration of the container swaying at the end of the 150-ft. hoist cables had to account for momen- tum imparted to the container by the ship motion as well as the damping coefficient of restraining cables attached to the sides of the container.

In studying the RoRo's ramp from the ship to the MOB,

ADAMS provided information on vehicle stability in making the run. The analysis will prove use- ful to engineers in designing end- rollers needed for the ramp to slide freely on the MOB platform.

Otherwise, heavy vehicles could potentially immobilize the end of the ramp so that ship motions would introduce buckling loads on the ramp and possibly overstress joints connecting the ramp to the ship.

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