Offshore analysis

This article discusses design equipment built to withstand rigors of life in the ocean. Equipment called upon by the offshore industries undergoes hard use in the face of nature. Engineers in the offshore industry rely on finite element analysis (FEA) because of the demands of their business. Many engineers call upon the analysis technique to ensure that the equipment they design can withstand the unique ocean rigors and the dangers inherent in the offshore environment. Many offshore companies run FEA analysis to calculate that their equipment will function properly under conditions unique to the industry, like lifting heavy equipment in confined areas. Engineers rely on simulations and analysis to ensure that they have the basis of their design correct and that the equipment they create will function for two decades. While simulation will never totally replace the need to verify results by testing a prototype, analysis is useful in a number of ways. A prototype may run successfully, but actually be very close to failing. Engineers have no way to know that unless they also look at analysis numbers.