Installation Stages Tab - Middle Section |
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Installation Stages Tab - Middle Section |
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When you have specified the various inputs for an analysis stage, you click on the Add button in the middle section of the tab to add the stage to the analysis. When you click on the Add button, the Automate Stages dialog is displayed, as shown in the figure below.
Automate Stages Dialog
You can specify the number of stages that you want to create in the Number of stages to generate text box. For example, if you type 8 in the Stage Number text box earlier in the tab and you type 3 in the Number of stages to generate text box, PipeLay creates three new stages numbered 8, 9, and 10. You can also specify if you want to apply the Parameter changes and Criteria from the previous stage to the new stages. To apply the Parameter changes from the previous stage, select the Apply Parameter changes from previous stage check box. PipeLay applies all parameter changes from the previous stage to the new stage with the exception of changes to the Constraint, Support, Cable Start, Cable End, Line Start, Line End, Friction Modelling, Cable Stabiliser and Pipe Section Stabiliser parameter types. To apply the Criteria from the previous stage, select the Apply Criteria from previous stage check box. To add the new stage or stages to the stage list, click on OK. The stage list is updated to show a summary of the new installation stage or stages along with any previously defined stages.
Stage List
To remove an existing installation stage from the analysis, click on the installation stage in the list and click on Remove. When you do this, the data you specified on the Parameters and Criteria tabs for this stage is also removed. You are warned that the data will be removed before the stage is deleted, as shown in the figure below. The stage is also removed from the summary on the Properties tab. The Remove All button also operates in a similar way except all stages are removed from the analysis in this instance.
Removing an Installation Stage
To update an existing stage, click on the installation stage in the list. The parameters in the drop-down lists and dialogs are updated to those you specified for this stage. You can modify any of these and then click on Update. The list is updated to reflect the modified data. Note that some users may find the requirement to click on Update somewhat cumbersome, and even unnecessary. With this in mind, PipeLay also offers an alternative automatic update feature where the user interface automatically stores any changes made to an installation stage as soon as you click away from the stage in the list, for example if you click on a different stage in the list or indeed move to another tab. This automatic update is enabled by ticking the fourth box in the ‘Quality Section’ of the Project component.
To navigate to a stage in the Parameters Tab, the Criteria Tab, or the Properties Tab, right click on the desired stage and select the appropriate Go To option from the pop-up menu. This navigates to the selected tab and the stage in question is made visible if it exists.
The Installation Stages Go To Menu
Exporting installation stages creates a CSV file with twenty-three columns. The columns are as follows:
Stage Number,Stage Type,Restart,Restart From,Auto PP,Custom Postprocessing,Tabular,Tabular Option,Current,Wave,Second Wave,Transfer Adjustments,Reset,Number of Increments (Static),Time Step Type (Dynamic),Start Time (Dynamic),End Time (Dynamic),Ramp Time (Dynamic),Ramp Type (Dynamic),Time Step (Dynamic),Minimum Time Step (Dynamic),Maximum Time Step (Dynamic),Step Length (Dynamic)
If an export is performed when no installation stages are defined, a CSV file will be generated with just the header information which can then be used as a template for importing.
When Importing restart stages, the stage being referenced by Restart From must already be defined as a stage in the file as shown below. The values specified for Custom Postprocessing, Wave, Current and Second Wave must exist in the project before import.
The first 13 columns, from Stage Number to Reset are the equivalent of the values selected on the Installation Stages tab. The remaining 10 columns are specific to the type of stage and relate to time information and can be left blank if not required:
•Number of Increments (Static) is used by static restart stages
•Time Step Type (Dynamic) is used to indicated Fixed or Variable time steps for a dynamic analysis
•For both Fixed and Variable Time Step Types, Start Time (Dynamic), End Time (Dynamic), Ramp Time (Dynamic), Ramp Type (Dynamic) and Time Step (Dynamic) are common.
•Minimum Time Step (Dynamic), Maximum Time Step (Dynamic) and Step Length (Dynamic) and specific to dynamic stages with a Variable time step
The image below shows the content of the stages tab exported from Example 1 which shows the use of dynamic restart stages from an initial static stage.
Example 1 Installation exported and shown after modification in Excel
Notes:
1.Importing an installation stages file overwrites the existing installation stages. During import, the following will also happen:
a.If a stage is removed from the imported file, associated parameters and criteria will also be removed.
b.If a stage Restart option is changed, all parameters for that stage will be removed. Criteria will remain unaffected.
2.If there is an error in the installation stages file, the stages list will be cleared along with parameters and criteria.
3.When editing data in Excel, precision of large or small numbers may be altered when exporting or importing data. Ensure you change the format of cells to maintain the desired precision.