Hydromax has basic batch processing capability. With a single command, Hydromax will run Large Angle Stability and Equilibrium analyses for all combinations of load and damage cases. Further, Limiting KG and KN calculations can be made for each damage condition. There are other options which allow the analysis to be performed heeling to both port and starboard. For the Limiting KG analysis you may also check the Limiting KG for each criterion individually. You may also choose to perform a Large Angle Stability and Equilibrium analysis at the final VCG.
The aim of the batch processing function is to:
§ Provide the user with a simple and consistent way of carrying out Large Angle Stability and Equilibrium analyses on a large number of load and damage cases.
§ Facilitate time consuming Limiting KG analyses, especially where results for all individual criteria are required.
§ Enable Limiting KG and KN analyses to be performed automatically for all damage cases.
§ Facilitate testing with heel to port and starboard for vessels with asymmetric loading and/or damage conditions (or hulls).
§ Facilitate export of the data from Hydromax and import into MS Excel for post processing and report generation.
§ Provide all relevant results and the data required to be able to reproduce the runs, i.e.: analysis parameters, file name etc.
Before you can perform a Batch Analysis it is recommended that you run a number of Analyses manually to check whether the Model has been defined correctly and all Analysis Settings and Environment conditions have been set correctly.
Once the loadcases, damage cases, key points, criteria and analysis parameters for the required analyses have been set up, the Batch Analysis is started
§ Analysis | Start Batch Analysis
Batch analysis runs all combination of loadcases and damage cases.
Tip: Under most operating systems, minimising Hydromax can reduce the time required to perform the calculations. This is because time consuming redrawing of the design windows, graphs and tables is avoided.
Analysis parameters such as trim, heel angles etc. are set in the normal way for each analysis type included in the Batch analysis. For example, if you want the Large Angle Stability to use a fixed trim of 0.5 m:
§ first select the Large Angle Stability analysis type from the analysis menu
§ set the trim to Fixed trim and 0.5 m
§ then select Analysis | Batch Analysis
Any Analysis Environment Options specified prior to a Batch Analysis will be used during the Batch Analysis. Any criteria that have been set are evaluated at the end of each analysis and the results of these are also output to the text file.
Important:
For important information on varying displacement while evaluating criteria, see Important note: heeling arm criteria dependent on displacement on page 183.
Before analysis starts, you will be prompted to enter the name and location of the file where Hydromax will write the results of the batch analysis. Once the analysis is complete, this tab delimited text file may be imported directly into MS Excel for further processing.
Because the analyses are simply carried out one after the other, it is not possible to go back to the results for a specific analysis from within Hydromax; only the results of the final analysis will be stored in Hydromax.
At the bottom of the dialog is a check box which allows users to select whether the results of a batch analysis should go to the Report window in Hydromax as well as the batch analysis text file. When the option for Sending the results to Word is selected in the Edit | Preferences dialog, the batch analysis will automatically create a Word document.
Warning:
Sending the results to the Report can slow down analysis considerably and also consume considerable system resources. For large batch analysis, it is advisable not to include the results in the report. The report is stored in memory and if you have insufficient memory, it is possible that your computer will become very slow to respond and under some circumstances with certain operating systems even cause Hydromax to crash.
Also see: Reporting on page 108.