OrcaWave Training provides practical knowledge of hydrodynamic analysis for offshore and marine engineering applications. Participants learn vessel and structure modelling, wave diffraction and radiation analysis, hydrodynamic coefficients, added mass, damping, excitation forces and response calculations. The program also covers wave theories, frequency-domain analysis, model validation and interpretation of engineering results. Through practical exercises, learners gain confidence in analysing offshore structures, vessels and floating renewable-energy systems. This course is suitable for engineers seeking specialized expertise in advanced marine hydrodynamics.
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
1. What is OrcaWave?
Answer: OrcaWave is a hydrodynamic analysis software used to perform frequency-domain analysis of floating bodies. It calculates parameters such as added mass, radiation damping, wave excitation forces and other hydrodynamic coefficients.
2. What is the primary purpose of hydrodynamic analysis in OrcaWave?
Answer: The primary purpose is to understand how floating structures interact with waves and to obtain hydrodynamic coefficients and forces required for motion, load and response analysis.
3. What is diffraction analysis?
Answer: Diffraction analysis determines how incident waves interact with a floating body when the body dimensions are significant compared with the wavelength. It accounts for changes in the wave field around the structure.
4. What is radiation in hydrodynamic analysis?
Answer: Radiation refers to waves generated by the oscillatory motion of a floating body. These radiated waves create hydrodynamic forces that contribute primarily to added mass and radiation damping.
5. What is added mass?
Answer: Added mass represents the additional inertia experienced by a body because surrounding water must accelerate with the moving structure.
6. What is radiation damping?
Answer: Radiation damping represents energy carried away from a moving floating body by radiated waves. It is an important component of the hydrodynamic damping characteristics.
7. What are the six degrees of freedom considered in OrcaWave?
Answer: The six degrees of freedom are surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw.
8. What is wave excitation force?
Answer: Wave excitation force is the force and moment acting on a floating body due to incident and scattered wave effects. It is commonly represented through frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients.
9. What is a wave spectrum?
Answer: A wave spectrum describes how wave energy is distributed across different frequencies. Common spectra include JONSWAP and Pierson-Moskowitz.
10. Why is mesh quality important in OrcaWave?
Answer: Mesh quality directly affects numerical accuracy. A suitable panel distribution helps represent the body's geometry correctly and improves the reliability of calculated hydrodynamic properties.
11. What is panelization?
Answer: Panelization divides the wetted surface of a floating body into smaller panels for numerical hydrodynamic calculations.
12. What is frequency-domain analysis?
Answer: Frequency-domain analysis evaluates the hydrodynamic response of a floating structure at different wave frequencies rather than directly simulating its complete time history.
13. What is the difference between added mass and radiation damping?
Answer: Added mass represents an inertial effect associated with accelerating surrounding water, while radiation damping represents energy loss caused by waves generated by the body's motion.
14. Why are hydrodynamic coefficients important?
Answer: Hydrodynamic coefficients are essential inputs for predicting floating-body motions, calculating wave-induced loads and performing subsequent dynamic or response analyses.
15. What factors should be checked before running an OrcaWave analysis?
Answer: Engineers should verify geometry, panel quality, coordinate systems, water depth, draft, mass properties, wave directions, frequencies and other relevant analysis settings before executing the calculation.
ADVANCED LEVEL
1. How does OrcaWave calculate hydrodynamic coefficients?
Answer: OrcaWave uses a frequency-domain radiation-diffraction approach to calculate hydrodynamic properties from the interaction between the floating body's wetted surface and incident waves.
2. What is the significance of the Haskind relation in hydrodynamics?
Answer: The Haskind relation connects wave excitation forces with radiation characteristics. It provides an important theoretical relationship that can be used to verify hydrodynamic calculations.
3. What is the role of the Green function in boundary-element hydrodynamic analysis?
Answer: The Green function represents the fundamental response of the fluid domain and is used within boundary-element formulations to calculate wave-induced potentials and hydrodynamic interactions.
4. How does water depth influence OrcaWave results?
Answer: Water depth influences wave propagation, fluid particle motion and hydrodynamic interaction with the seabed. Therefore, finite-depth conditions can significantly affect calculated hydrodynamic coefficients and wave loads.
5. What is the importance of frequency selection in an OrcaWave analysis?
Answer: The selected frequency range should adequately cover the expected wave environment and relevant natural periods of the floating system. Insufficient frequency resolution can lead to poor representation of important response characteristics.
6. What causes numerical inaccuracies in panel-based hydrodynamic analysis?
Answer: Potential causes include poor panel geometry, insufficient mesh resolution, highly irregular panels, inappropriate surface representation and inadequate numerical settings.
7. How would you validate OrcaWave hydrodynamic results?
Answer: Results can be validated by checking convergence with mesh refinement, comparing symmetry and reciprocity characteristics, reviewing limiting behaviour and comparing results against analytical solutions, benchmark models or experimental data where available.
8. What is the relationship between RAOs and hydrodynamic coefficients?
Answer: Hydrodynamic coefficients contribute to the equations of motion used to determine a floating body's response. RAOs then describe the resulting motion response relative to the incident wave amplitude across different frequencies and directions.
9. Why is mesh convergence important for OrcaWave?
Answer: Mesh convergence demonstrates that calculated hydrodynamic results are relatively insensitive to further panel refinement. It helps establish confidence that numerical discretization is not significantly influencing the engineering conclusions.
10. What is the difference between radiation-diffraction analysis and Morison-based analysis?
Answer: Radiation-diffraction methods are generally suited to bodies where wave diffraction and radiation effects are significant. Morison-based formulations are commonly applied to slender members where inertia and drag forces can be represented using empirical coefficients.
11. How can symmetry be used effectively in hydrodynamic modelling?
Answer: When geometry and loading conditions permit symmetry, it can reduce computational requirements and provide useful checks on calculated forces and hydrodynamic coefficients.
12. What is the importance of the body's reference point in hydrodynamic analysis?
Answer: The reference point defines where forces, moments and motion quantities are evaluated. An inappropriate reference point can complicate interpretation and the transfer of hydrodynamic properties into subsequent analyses.
13. How do wave direction and heading affect hydrodynamic response?
Answer: Wave heading changes the distribution of excitation forces and moments across the floating body. Consequently, surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw responses can vary substantially with wave direction.
14. How would you investigate unexpected spikes in hydrodynamic coefficients?
Answer: First, review the geometry and panel mesh, frequency resolution, water depth and numerical settings. Then perform mesh refinement and frequency sensitivity studies and compare the results with neighbouring frequencies and independent or benchmark calculations.
15. How can OrcaWave results be used in an offshore engineering workflow?
Answer: OrcaWave results can provide hydrodynamic coefficients, excitation data and related information that can be used in subsequent floating-body motion, mooring, structural load and dynamic response studies, depending on the overall analysis methodology.
Course Schedule
| Sep, 2026 | Weekdays | Mon-Fri | Enquire Now |
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| Oct, 2026 | Weekdays | Mon-Fri | Enquire Now |
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