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Flex Joint Best Practice

1.A Flex Joint component is often used to model hinges. Although hinges in reality are singular points of no rotational stiffness, it is important to assign a finite length (>= 0.05m) and stiffness (>= 0.1 kN.m2) to a flex joint in PipeLay so as to ensure solution stability and convergence. If the finite values are kept small then the flex joint will behave like a hinge regardless.

2.If a non-linear Flex Joint component is used to model a stinger section hinge on an articulated stinger then by default the origin of the non-linear curve corresponds to the initial position or orientation of the stinger section. As a result, if the initial orientation changes then so too should the curve on the Flex Joint component. This default behaviour can be changed through a setting on the Stinger component.