A Co-simulation-Based System Using Vico for Marine Operation

Abstract

Marine operations are becoming more and more demanding. Efficient modeling and analysis of marine operations under environmental effects, especially in high sea states, will provide a means to improve operational safety. Traditional modeling and analysis are often carried out based on establishing the combined equations of the multi-body system. However, modeling, simulation and analysis of sub-systems may be performed in different software tools or require extensive derivation. It is inconvenient to vary the system configuration regardless of manufacturing design or behavior analysis perspectives. Co-simulation as an emerging technology enables the reusing and sharing of models so that different sub-systems can be modeled independently but simulated together. In this study, a system based on a co-simulation platform - Vico is proposed, which enables the digitalization of marine operations from modeling, configuration to simulation. The system consists of multiple sub-models of the ship, the marine crane and their coupling component, which are all converted and exported as functional mock-up units (FMUs). Various scenario settings such as environmental effect, ship maneuver and crane payload can be configured for the simulation of specific marine operations. Taking the research vessel Gunnerus as the testbed, two case studies about the impacts from the environment and a shipboard crane on marine operations are conducted. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the marine operation system. The system could also be a foundation for further research on onboard support of marine operations.