3D Visualisation as a Supportive Platform for Engineers
vii SUMMARY
This project named “3D Visualisation as a Supportive Platform for Engineers” was aimed to fulfill the following two goals:
“Develop the specifications for a platform which engineers can use to 3D visualise critical aspects of their work”.
“In order to demonstrate the power of such a system, a prototype system named Baba is modelled and implemented for a subset of the complete engineering application environment at HMC”.
The second goal was obtained first, and formed the basis for defining the specifications mentioned in the first goal. For obtaining the second goal it was decided to have the
prototype provide 3D visualisation support for the engineering application DP LIFSIM. This application is used for analysing the dynamic behavior of the three main bodies during an offshore installation: the SSCV crane ship, the crane load and the (floating) target object, e.g. a floating spar support structure. This analysis is carried out in the time domain, thus
producing time signals such as position and rotation of the three bodies.
Development of the prototype was carried out over four phases: modelling, component selection, implementation and testing:
Modelling – The prototype system was modelled using the object oriented KRB-method, which provides consistent modelling guidelines for any software development project. Each template diagram in this method has a different function and highlights different aspects of the system under development.
Component Selection – Based on the requirements defined in the model, a number of modern components were selected forming an important part of the prototype. One of the most important components is the 3D visualisation library. The technology of choice named Open Inventor provides versatile, fast and robust 3D visualisation support.
Implementation – Prototype system implementation consisted of programming a number of components. The work done in this phase was greatly enhanced by the models that were created earlier on. The implementation was carried out faster than planned, allowing for extra features to be implemented.
Testing – Usability tests and case tests on real HMC projects proved:
The 3D viewer, part of the Open Inventor technology, supplies the user with a simple, yet flexible tool to navigate through a 3D scene. In addition, the quality of the 3D visual images is higher then anticipated by most of the users which were introduced to this system. Shows a screen shot of the prototype, captured during the support of a specific HMC engineering project.
Proof of usefulness the prototype was obtained multiple times as the 3D overview confronted the engineer with errors in the model. This allowed the engineer to spend less time optimizing the model. In addition, the 3D overview provoked discussions between engineers as it clearly displayed certain eye catching features in the engineering model.
In approximately 25% of the cases obtaining useful 3D models required a considerable amount of time.
The quality of the movies produced by the prototype system is too poor for professional use.
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Figure 0.1: Screen Shot from the Prototype System, showing SSCV Thialf (black) installing a Module (brown) on a Floating Support Structure (red/blue)
Results from the prototype system formed a basis for specifying a platform for 3D
visualisation support for all applicable engineering applications. The diagram in Figure 0.2 shows the building blocks of such a platform and the relations between them.
Movie Database Quality Movie Functionality HMC 3D Visualisation Application 3D Model Database General Functionality Additional Funtionality 3D Visualisation Functionality Engineering Application X
3D Visualisation as a Supportive Platform for Engineers
ix For giving 3D visualisation support to Engineering Application X (any applicable
engineering application), a HMC 3D visualisation application is required, which depends upon a number of components and data:
The “3D Model Database” holds useful models for showing in the 3D viewer. These models either represent offshore bodies, or symbols for clarifying certain aspects in the engineering analysis (such as an arrow for wind direction).
The “General Functionality” provides a developer with all required general tools for programming the HMC 3D Visualisation Application.
“Additional Functionality” is required when a user wishes to perform special operations such as proximity detection. Such (often) complicated operations require specially written software components.
“3D Visualisation Functionality” is provided by Open Inventor and provides a developer with a flexible toolbox full of high level 3D visualisation possibilities. “Quality Movie Functionality” is required in case the quality of the standard movies
produced by Open Inventor is indeed found too low. A dedicated application should support the 3D visualisation platform in this case.
A “Movie Database” is required for storing and searching for movies. This way, many people within the company can benefit from this appealing 3D material. Combining these six groups of functionality is the HMC 3D Visualisation Application. At the hart of the platform, this application translates the numeric engineering analyses to visual 3D objects simulating an offshore situation. This model should be designed with the
following properties in mind:
Flexible – The same application and its base model should be usable for different types of engineering applications.
Scalable – One platform should support all applicable applications, and even more depending on future wishes.
Consistent – 3D visualisation support for the different applications should give the engineer a recognizable experience.
The following recommendations regard any 3D visualisation support platform follow-up work:
1. Consistent modelling of the relationship between engineering analyses carried out by HMC engineers and real-life objects used in HMC offshore installation work is considered to be crucial for the success of a 3D visualisation platform.
2. It is recommended to research the possibilities for making high quality movies. 3. The 3D visualisation toolkit Open Inventor is considered to be a very good candidate
for providing the core 3D visualisation functionality.
4. It is recommended to research the possibilities for streamlining the process of obtaining 3D models.
