Cloud-based simulation of the response of marine structures to waves

Seakeeping is the study of a ship or a marine structure subjected to the action of waves. The objective of this experiment is to develop an HPC-Cloud service for seakeeping assessment for the end-users WAVEC and VICUSDT. WAVEC is a private non-profit association active in applied research and consulting. HPC-Cloud-based simulation of marine structures has the potential to expand WAVEC’s activities as a consulting company specialized in services for the offshore renewable industry and other related industries (aquaculture, oil and gas). VICUSDT operates in the shipbuilding and shipping industries.

The challenge addressed in this experiment was demonstrate how advanced computing can optimise seakeeping design. Seakeeping simulations are large and complex, and so require significant compute power to be completed in a reasonable time. To achieve this, existing seakeeping software would need to be adapted to run on remote HPC resources. This would give WAVEC and VICUSDT a powerful design tool and a significant competitive advantage.

The relevant software packages have been ported to the HPC-Cloud-based system and integrated into an overall simulation package. An interface between the end-user and the HPC resources has been implemented, so simulations can be run from a familiar desktop system whilst using the full capabilities of the HPC system. The simulations have been benchmarked using a model of an off-shore floating wind platform and a model of a stern trawler, which showed a speed-up by a factor of 45 on the HPC system.