Flexcom

Flexcom is a premium structural analysis software package which has underpinned the engineering design on some of the world’s most demanding offshore projects. Developed by MCS Kenny’s software solution specialists, the program is designed and maintained by engineers who are immersed in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Flexcom is designed to simplify the quality assurance process. The keyword style input readily lends itself to QA inspection by project managers. The integrated Keyword Editor facilitates rapid data specification, aiding the user with helpful input prompts and command auto-completion. Any inaccurate specifications are detected by automatic syntax checking and data validation.

Pre-defined input parameters form an integral part of a typical model specification. Once a parameter is altered, all dependent parameters are automatically updated, with consequent savings for model setup effort. Environmental simulation is also seamless, as one parameterised master template keyword file may be used to generate all the required input files (e.g. to accommodate a matrix of varying wave periods and headings).

The latest software development technologies, including .NET Framework and Windows Presentation Foundation, underpin the power and versatility of Flexcom’s next-generation user interface. Element forces may be presented in traditional plot format, graphically illustrated via colour contouring, or automatically collated in Microsoft Excel. These versatile post-processing options deliver tangible benefits for engineering teams, as pertinent results may be extracted quickly and easily.

    

MCS Kenny’s vision is to be the acknowledged world leader in engineering services and software solutions for the offshore oil and gas industry. As the flagship software product, Flexcom remains central to the achievement of this vision.

Flexcom is suitable for a broad range of offshore and marine applications, including…

    1, Top tensioned risers

    2, Steel catenary risers

    3, Flexible risers

    4, Hybrid riser systems

    5, Umbilicals

    

Mooring lines

    1, Turret moored systems

    2, Spread moored vessels

    3, Cables

    4, Wires

    5, Chains

    

Floating bodies
    1, Offshore platforms (standard RAOs)
    2, CALM buoys (detailed coupled analysis)

    3, Mid-water arches (detailed contact modelling)

Seafloor conduits
    1, Pipelines
    2, Flowlines
    3, Rigid spools

    4, Internal fluid and slug flow

Production lines
    1, Submerged offloading lines
    2, Floating hoses
    3, Flexible jumpers
Installation processes
    1, Riser bundle towing and up-ending
    2, Flexible riser/J-tube pull-in (sliding pipe-in-pipe)
    3, PLET/FLET installation
    4, Cable pay-out & reel-in (winch element)
Renewable energy
    1, Wave energy devices (detailed coupled analysis)
    2, Mooring systems
Technical Features
Flexcom possesses a broad range of advanced technical features, including…
    1, Superior finite element formulation
        1）Hybrid beam element with fully coupled axial, bending and torque
        2）Highly accurate 3D kinematics algorithm
    2, Time and frequency domain analysis
        1）Fatigue post-processing
         2）Modal analysis, interfacing with Shear7
    3, Wealth of practical modelling components
        1）Hinges, flex joints, springs & dashpots
         2）Bend stiffeners & tapered stress joints
         3）Subsea buoys, winch elements etc.
    4, Various seastate models

        1）Regular: Airy, Stokes V, Dean’s Stream

        2）Random: Pierson-Moskowitz, JONSWAP, Ochi-Hubble, Torsethaugen, User-defined

    5, Advanced modelling capabilities
       1）Non-linear materials, plus hysteretic bending
       2）Pipe-in-pipe & pipe-on-pipe configurations
       3）Wake interference
       4）Contact modelling
       5）Contact surfaces
       6）Line clashing
       7）Coupled analysis
       8）Soil-structure interaction