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Home > Version History > What new in Version 5.6

What was new in Version 5.6

Version 5.6.2 : (patch) the following issues have been fixed:

  • Problem of units display with specific native language options.
  • Problem to select Offsets in the combo-box of an EnvironmentSet Combination matrix.
  • Python script function "replaceLineHydroOptionFile" was not translating the right arguments in log files for keywords CDPOL and ADMAPOL.
  • Wrong units in the Online help for Marine Growth.
  • For Flexible type properties, the multi-linear torsion strain unit was missing, now torsion strain is inverse of length (1/m).
  • The delete option could become unavailable for floaters.
  • When loading a former model, a HAWT object was not correctly associated to an analysis using a waveset.
  • Problem with spring properties: default values were used for post-processing.
  • Code checks on joints: in some situations, shear force or bending moment components have not the good sign; problem of taking into account beams beta angles.
  • The problem of the display of units on some Chineese versions of Windows was resolved.

Version 5.6.1 gathers many improvements inspired by users' feedback with a specific focus on the setting up of wind turbines analyses.

New features:

  • WindTurbines: The list of modifications about this topic is too large to be detailed here. Nevertheless, two main new features may be mentionned:

    • Introduction of turbines parameters in the combination matrix of an EnvironmentalSet,
    • The use of encrypted blades files.

To avoid overloading the on-line help, two specific users documents are provided: * DSL.214.013.02_DeepLinesWind_V5R6_HAWT_new_features.pdf which describes all new features.

  • DSL.214.029.01_DeepLinesWind_V5R6_HAWT_example.pdf which presents some model examples on how to use the new features.

On the aerodynamic side, some adaptations were performed for the use of encrypted file. Some new features for secondary effect are available. The basic aerodynamic files are now created by the interface, but the file defining the aerodynamic solver option can also be modified directly for specific options. More can be found in the following two updated documents:

  • AeroDeeP-V2R2 Theory Guide.pdf

  • AeroDeeP-V2R2 User Manual.pdf

  • Springs / Flexjoint definition : Spring and flexjoint elements are often used as connections in complex models and up to now, they were not considered as real components of a model; some userfriendly functions were misisng in the GUI properties to help creating or modifying many elements. In V5R6, springs and flexjoints properties are now defined through new dedicated types and can be modified using the Quick Data Access.

  • Marine Growth: Marine Growth line properties may now defined and added to a line for some selected analysis to avoid duplicating the same line when considering different marine growth profiles.

  • Variation Tables: ** the notion of "variation tables" has been introduced into the GUI to define the variation of different values as a function of another one. This new notion is intensively used for all new features (existing features being kept unchanged). For instance, a variation table may define a marine profile with depth or a turbine start-up with time...

  • Environmental Tables: By extension, a specific type of table named "enviromental tables" was created to manage the variations of different loading parameters with respect to the analysis order in an AnalysisSet. The user can for instance impose a turbine rotation of 10 RPM at the first analysis, 15 RPM at the second one and so on.

  • Wave spatial shift: when a user defined wave spectrum is used, the spatial shift may be applied considering the position of a reference node at the end of the quasi-static steps. In previous version, the initial position was used. This allows defining the reference node on a floating unit for instance which may be moved during the quasi-static steps.

  • Improvements to the FE engine:

    • Saving of outpout database (DTB, DTBR...) may be optimized using a Memory Mapfile scheme; this option shall be selected in the menu "global settings Miscellaneous" and is recommended when many runs are launched simultaneously to optimize the physical disk access; it may significantly improve the CPU performance .

    • A new keyword *GMOVE4 has been created to impose motions to a node in time domain using an external file usually generated by a monitoring device (Motion Reference Unit). To avoid spurious peaks often met with usual interpolation process, a DFT is first perfom on the time series, then a range of periods may be defined to filter very low or high contents before the motions are regenerated for the computations. This keyword also offers series of userfriendly options so as to avoid as much as possible a pre-treatment of the input data.

    • Up to now, the blades structural twist was used as the driving parameter to define the local frames of beam finite elements in DeepLines (refer to TheorBeam element for details). Experience shows that blades are often defined with large variations of structural twists between two consecutive profiles (even for cylindrical profiles) and this lack of continuity between one node to another would sometimes disturb the computed turbine response. To overcome this problem, initialization of the beam finite elements has been changed to remain independent from the structural twist. Of course, the structural twist is still used to compute the efforts in the blades but the continutity of the beams local frames along a blade is now ensured which greatly improves the stability of the simulations.

    • For recent applications, floaters are modelled as series of beam elements connected to each other. These elements have usually diameters much higher than classical pipelines or risers. Problems of convergence were reported during static or quasi-static steps with the floater oscillating between two positions, these problems being overcome when the floater is set free during a dynamic simulation. For these structures, the hydrostatic stiffness is the driving parameter of their static equilibrium and it must be carefully computed which is not done by default for risers or mooring lines. A specific procedure is put in place to compute accurately the hydrodstatic sitffness (see hydrostatic). This procedure is not activated by default but may be selected with a new keyword *HYDROSTIFF

    • Multi-linear laws are often used for springs/flexjoints or bar/beam elements. Their management is improved to ensure convergence even when the slope of the multi-linear curve becomes close to zero, that means when the element has very low stiffness at some step.

    • Soil-pipe interactions:

      • API curves for clay reaction are updated following API RP 2A WSD 2007.

      • In the frame of the OC6 project led by the NREL, different soil models developped in Norway through a research program can be plugged to DeepLines solver as an external REDWIN.DLL (see keyword *NODECONT,NAME=REDWIN )

    • R&D works on Synthetic ropes:

      • A synthetic ropes behaviour law model has been developed by IFREMER(*). This local model accounts for a non-linear viscoelastic and viscoplastic behaviour of aramid fibres using a macroscopic formulation. For a given synthetic rope, specific parameters need to be identified from tests with creep/recovery cycles. For R&D purpose only, this local model has been implemented into DeepLinesTM.

      • In a specific contract with France Energies Marines, behaviour laws dedicated to polyamide ropes are implemented into DeepLines. The model developped by ENSTA Bretagne allows defining a visco-elasto-plastic, elasto-pastic or non-linear elastic behaviour. This feature is protected by a specific license key.

    (*) "Modelling the Non-Linear Viscoelastic and Viscoplastic Behaviour of Aramid Fibre Yarns" E. CHAILLEUX and P. DAVIES Mechanics of Time- Dependent Materials 2003 an A Non-Linear Viscoelastic Viscoplastic Model for the Behaviour of Polyester Fibres", E. CHAILLEUX and P. DAVIES Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials 2005

Bug fixes:

General :

  • In HAWT pannel, Turbine tab, variables NaxCMxn and NacCMzn were not saved when OK button was clicked.
  • For "Clearance check analysis", when option "Use the .. last wave periods" was used, the whole simulation duration was still used.
  • In the Floater Motion type panel, when selecting "Calculated low & wave frequency motion" on General tab, then going to "Calculated Motion" tab, the Z coordinate of "Point of application relative to COG location" was not editable for specific screen resolutions.
  • For the two rigid bodies of a hawt (hub & nacelle), the COG position was always selected for a batch post-processing even if a specific fairlead point was specified.
  • When the internal cross section of a pipe was equal to zero, a default cross section value was computed from the pipe dimensions and considered to include the internal fluid weight.
  • Springs/flexjoints display during animation was sometimes wrong and they seemed to be rotating; this was a pure display error, the points motions were still correct.
  • Curvature of flexjoints was null on this specific case.
  • When saving for the first time a recently installed DeepLines model in HDF5 file format, the proposed name was wrong (Deep1*.hdsk).
  • When creating a Ballast element and defining "Anchor user defined', the Edit button to define the degrees of freedom was not available.
  • For the output "rotation acceleration with gravity", the unit was not correct.
  • On the left tree view of the model, when unselecting a group within an analysis set without opening the group, all group elements stayed selected whereas the group was not selected anymore.
  • When changing the tower shape from a "user defined" type with one section only to a "canonical" type, if there was an additional mass on the former shape, this additionnal mass was still applied but hidden on the new canonical type.
  • In some specific cases, if "save non-converged solutions" was checked in advanced parameters of a static analysis, and if the number of steps and the number of nodes was too high, the needed memory was too high for a 32 bits process and GUI crashed. Now an explicit error message is displayed.
  • In Post treament windows, the selection was not kept when changing of graph type (Time evolution or snapshot) or when changing tabs (static curves to Dynamic). The selection of objects or variables is now saved.
  • When using Clearance check tool, a crash occured when trying to select the path of dss files.

  • When performing a modal analysis, it is possible to create MDS file. Originally, MDS files are used as input for SHEAR7 software for a VIV computation. These are text files with modes shapes, slopes and curvatures and are often used to simply check the computed natural modes. In this context, it was not possible to access to HAWT elements to output MDS file.

  • The Batch mode definition sometimes doubled the selected set of log files, which doubled the number of simulations.

  • When a line was attached to "Sea and ground", it was not possible to choose which portion of the line to consider for the contact.

Structural Code Checks :

  • For all code checks: the computation of the design efforts has changed: see section Design efforts for details.

  • DNV-RP-C201-2010: the tank pressure pd, which takes part in the computation of the design lateral pressure, has been corrected: pdnew=max(pdold,0).

  • DNV-RP-C202-2010: The iterative computation of ratio (3.8.2) for stiffened shell has been added. The general formulation (3.9.5) is now taken into account when geometric ratios (3.10.4) and (3.10.5) are not satisfied.

Remaining issue:

On some Chineese versions of Windows, some unit, such as m2 for instance, may not be displayed properly with the power "2" replaced by some strange character. This issue has been reported very recently and will be fix in a next patch.