Update to FORAN Lets Users Manage Series of Ships

 

Version V80R1.0, which was launched onto the market when FORAN celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, was a revolutionary change. A year later, version V80R2.0 has added significant features such as a new geometric core and the ability to manage a series of ships (Applicability), in addition to other improvements in all of its disciplines.

 

Developing the concept of managing a series of ships has been demanded by the market for some time, especially in the military field. In FORAN, ships in the same series have shared characteristics, and modifications can be made to a single ship, to several ships or to the entire series. Meanwhile, a ship can also be taken out of a series and handled as an independent ship.

 

With respect to the change in the geometric core, FORAN now uses Open CASCADE (OCCT) technology, which makes it possible to represent analytical surfaces, making it significantly easier to define corrugated bulkheads, a notable improvement in the design and production processes.

 

In the surface definition module (FSURF), new types of entities can now be defined for creating surfaces and hulls. These entities are grouped into basic entities (spheres, cones, cylinders, etc.) and analytical entities (extruding entities, revolving entities, etc.). When combined with the analytical features of the FHULL hull structure module, these new functionalities in FSURF mean that FORAN can now be used for defining full offshore structures.

 

The structure standard management module (FNORM) now includes a new corrugated bulkhead standard. A new work method has also been added to the FHULL structure module for defining analytical surfaces. This is in addition to the existing functionalities for defining internal structures and the structures of shell and decks, which allow users to generate cylinders, cones, extruding or curved surfaces, and corrugated dividers based on a previously defined pattern. The geometry of the plates that are developed is calculated when the information is saved, while profiles can be created following the surfaces’ curvature.

 

On top of this, the automatic nesting module in FORAN now has a new multi-pass method for generating parametric bevels. The new version also allows for standardized bevels or margins to be added to the auxiliary structure. In the FBUILDS build strategy module, the calculation of welding contacts has now been optimized.

 

Two new entities have been added to the machinery & outfitting and electrical modules, together with the zone and service concept: service line and service-line routing, which deal with the line segment in a specific zone, with both of them applied to pipe lines, ventilation ducts and cable trays. These new concepts will make design tasks easier by making it possible to block a single distributor (an entire service or a routing zone) instead of an entire zone. This will also provide additional advantages: on one hand making it possible to make modifications to a series of ships at a more basic level, while on the other hand optimizing management in PLM (Product Lifecycle Management tools) with a new concept called a “line operator”. All of these improvements can be applied in the machinery & outfitting and electrical definition modules, in both 2D and 3D diagrams.

 

In the electrical solution, the FBCABLE module improves how cable end accessories are managed, especially multipolar connectors, and it also optimizes the watertight penetrations for a single cable passing through a bulkhead or a terminal box. Being able to access the connector catalog will now provide a simpler way to conduct searches, with the ability to filter by connector type, style and number of contacts.

 

Lastly, the integration of FORAN with PLM tools should also be noted, which even though it was already extremely advanced, is nevertheless improved in each new version of FORAN. In this version, of particular note is the ability to manage line entities, as noted above, together with the possibility of alternatively viewing material lists, and a new utility for configuring data-modeling maps with the goal of optimizing configuration tasks. This functionality now includes multiple selection, a directory and file selector, and the ability to drag and drop. Several improvements have also been made to the JT file-generation mechanisms, both in the export field and for publishing scenarios in PLM. The new features give users greater control over which information is imported or exported. All of this, when combined with the synchronization of the maturity information of the FORAN model from PLM (which provides a highly intuitive way to view maturity statuses in different colors) makes integration extremely useful.

 

This new version of FORAN is one result of this constant commitment, providing a highly effective solution to the problems and difficulties that arise in all of the design and production phases for ships and offshore structures.