September 13, 2018
In the true spirit of collaboration, OFFshore ITRH Research Fellow Ian Milne of the Project 2 stream (Wave-structure interaction) has been working closely with Senior Metocean Engineer Matthew Zed from Woodside Energy to develop a new software tool to efficiently predict the hydrodynamic motions of a floating facility from long term wave hindcasts, which is critical for ensuring safe and efficient operations.
The new software, Vessel Operability Planning Software (VOPS), has been adopted by Woodside’s Operations team, resulting in significant ongoing cost savings.
The software was validated using new field data from a drillship operated by Transocean Ltd. and wave spectra hindcasts provided by Metocean Solutions Ltd. for a swell dominated site. Initial results of which were jointly presented at OTC Asia 2018 in March – see here.
This work has since been expanded upon and also demonstrates the ability to use ships as large wave buoys for independent validation of the hindcast wave spectra. The results of which have been recently published in the international journal Ocean Engineering – see here.
The key focus of the OFFshore ITRH is to work collaboratively to deliver real impact for our partner organisations (and the broader engineering community). The creation of the VOPS tool is just one of the ways we are doing this.
Well done to all involved!
