AVEVA MARINE 3D MODELING CONCEPT

1. General
AVEVA Marine consists of a suite of several applications for Hull and Outfitting
disciplines. In this document the main focus is in Hull Modeling (Planar and Curved)
Modeling and Outfitting Modeling (Structural Design) concepts.
Hull and Outfitting modelling concepts differ greatly from each another. Hull is based
on former TRIBON and Outfitting is based on PDMS with additional marine
functionalities. To compare them is almost as mixing apples and oranges, but since
they both are used together as a marine design package, I'll give it a try anyway.
Table 1. shows simplified Hull and Outfitting comparison, which underlines the
differences between the two disciplines.
Note that this is a simplified presentation and concentrates on mainly above
mentioned applications with along typical and widely used industry practices, which
are slightly different in every shipyard or design office, depending on the used
applications, production capabilities of the shipyard and if AVEVA Marine is used only
as a CAD tool instead of CAD/CAM system to drive production (profile and plate
fabrication, assembly construction).
Also worth mentioning is that AVEVA Marine can be used in various ways, starting
from a Out-of-the-Box-version to a highly customized version with multiple number
of In-house developed applications and links to external software systems, such as,
Material Handling, Document Control and/or Model Management. All in all, it is fair to
say that every AVEVA Marine set-up is customized, at least to some extent.
In some cases AVEVA Marine drawings are simply exported with some basic
annotations to AutoCAD for further detailing of the final drawing, in which case the
link between the 3D model and drawings is lost, which, in turn, makes updating
drawings based on modified model at later stage time consuming and defeats the
whole idea of the dynamic link between 3D model and drawings.
2. Benefits
The common centralised 3D model provides the following main benefits:

Naval Architectural Calculations

Inter-Discipline Clash check
Weight and Center of Gravity
Initial Material Take-Off

Other benefits include efficiently updatable annotated (dimensioned and labelled)

drawing production and various reports extracted from the 3D model.

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To what detail degree (quality and maturity) the 3D model data is defined depends on
the nature and design stage of the project. For FEED or Study project the model data
is typically less detailed than for a full-blown production project.
3. Hull Concept
Hull concept is based on a panel, which is the logical modeling unit. A scheme is the
textual presentation of a panel, which in turn, consists of of sentences based on the
design modeling language. Picture 2. shows simplified Hull hierarchy breakdown.
A panel can be a deck consisting of stiffeners, brackets, holes etc. In simplest terms a
panel can be just a single plate.
Panels and its members are topologically connected, ie. referenced to an existing
structure. When, for example, deck stiffener size changes, bracket attached to that
stiffener gets moved along the stiffener. Another example is a bulkhead connected to
the hull surface. In case surface changes, bulkhead referenced to it gets updated
accordingly.
The backbone of the hull modeling system is the hull surface and shell profiles, which
can be referenced, with predefined frame table consisting of frames (X), horizontal
(Y) and vertical (Z) positions combined with the mould line convention.
Also various hull standards, for example, stiffener end cuts/end connections, brackets
and bevel handling support topological modeling making creating and modifying easy.
4. Outfitting Concept
Outfitting modeling concept is based on the element hierarchy. A hierarchy
breakdown can be divided into several sites and zones, which act as administrative
area/unit/system/discipline elements. The physical model elements (3D model data)
reside below these main elements in the hierarchy structure. Picture 1. shows
simplified Outfitting Structural hierarchy.
Depending on how the hierarchy has been set-up, affects greatly for effective and
easy model creation and at the later stage modification of the model when design
changes are to be applied. This also applies to drawing creation and modification.
There is no true topology available, even though panes (plates) can be connected,
but this is not commonly used practise. Sections also can be connected to each other
and joints (end cuts) applied to them. This works only to one direction, ie. if horizontal
connected section position moves up or down the connected section does not follow
it (move along it).

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Outfitting applications support parametrised modeling, but there is not a true

connectivity between the elements, which means that in case, for example, an
equipment needs to be modified, all individual elements need to be modified one by
one.
There are tools available, for example, List- functionality for easy modification of
multiple elements at one go, but its usage requires adhering to strict modeling rules
for it to be easy and efficient. Also Graphical Model Editor can be used for userfriendly and efficient modification.
5. Modeling Guidelines
The purpose of these general guidelines is to make Hull and Outfitting modelling and
drawing creation easier. Afterwards these guidelines contribute to easier and more
efficient model modifications and drawing updates.
Note that company specific tools (In-House developed applications) might have some
enhancements and/or restrictions to modeling practices.
The most important thing before starting to model is to create a mental model of the
area to be modelled. What it means is to determine to what degree of detail and in
what sequence structures needs to be modelled (references to existing structures).
The next step is to divide the model into smaller logical chunks of structure, which
can be easily created, copied, moved and rotated using various tools within Design.
After above steps the actual modeling should be done using as many standard parts
(brackets, equipment etc.) as possible, while adhering to company specific standards
and practices.
When modeling either with Hull or Outfitting applications the following guidelines
should be kept in mind, especially when learning the usage of the software and when
working with different companies and customized AVEVA Marine projects:

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Use standard menu functions to learn to understand the organisation of functions.

Use standard toolbar functions for frequently used functions.
Use available keyboard shortcuts for easier and more efficient usage.
Use company specific tools only when instructed to do so.
Use company specific naming conventions, standards and instructions.
Understand the difference between the standard AVEVA and customized
Company functionality. This means that when working in different project set-ups,
same task can be done in more than one way.
Use available workarounds in case of software bugs.
Keep modeling simple, but not too simple.

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Concept
Topology
Specifications
Positioning
Model Updates
View Types
Build Strategy
Profile End Connections
Profile End Cuts

OUTFITTING
Hierarchy (picture 1.)
Partial
Catalogue Database
Pline & Ppoint justification
Align Snodes
Model views
Assembly Planning
Snodes
Sjoints & Fittings

HULL
Panel (picture 2.)
Full
Marine Catalogue Database
Mould line position
Recreate panels
Symbolic & Model views
Assembly Planning
End connection table
End cut table

Table 1. Hull and Outfitting Comparison

World

Site

Zone

Structure

Framework

Structural Elements (Design Data)

Picture 1. Outfitting Structural Hierarchy

World
Block

Panel

Structural Elements (Design Data)

Picture 2. Hull Structural Hierarchy

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