<s>
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
is	O
a	O
finite	B-Application
element	I-Application
analysis	I-Application
software	O
package	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
offshore	O
oil	O
and	O
gas	O
and	O
marine	O
renewable	O
energy	O
industries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
derives	O
from	O
its	O
origins	O
as	O
a	O
computational	O
software	O
initially	O
geared	O
towards	O
the	O
analysis	O
of	O
flexible	O
risers	O
,	O
befitting	O
the	O
emerging	O
riser	O
technology	O
of	O
the	O
North	O
Sea	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
originally	O
a	O
time	O
domain	O
analysis	O
tool	O
,	O
most	O
versions	O
of	O
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
also	O
incorporate	O
frequency	O
domain	O
analysis	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
capable	O
of	O
performing	O
modal	B-Algorithm
analysis	I-Algorithm
and	O
estimating	O
damage	O
caused	O
by	O
fatigue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
August	O
2022	O
,	O
the	O
version	O
on	O
general	O
release	O
is	O
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
2022.1.1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
global	O
analysis	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
performed	O
using	O
a	O
finite	B-Application
element	I-Application
solution	O
technique	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torque	O
is	O
handled	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
manner	O
,	O
which	O
leads	O
to	O
a	O
fourteen	O
degree	O
of	O
freedom	O
hybrid	O
finite	B-Application
element	I-Application
with	O
two	O
end	O
nodes	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
axial	O
force	O
and	O
torque	O
are	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
usual	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
three-dimensional	O
beam-column	O
element	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
truss	O
element	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
added	O
in	O
more	O
recent	O
versions	O
of	O
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
element	O
of	O
the	O
finite	B-Application
element	I-Application
discretisation	O
has	O
a	O
local	O
axis	O
system	O
associated	O
with	O
it	O
,	O
which	O
moves	O
with	O
the	O
element	O
as	O
it	O
moves	O
in	O
space	O
and	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dedicated	O
hydrodynamic	O
modelling	O
packages	O
such	O
as	O
WAMIT	B-Application
solve	O
the	O
velocity	O
potential	O
using	O
a	O
boundary	O
integral	O
equation	O
method	O
,	O
and	O
provide	O
hydrodynamic	O
coefficients	O
which	O
may	O
be	O
subsequently	O
used	O
as	O
inputs	O
by	O
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
uses	O
a	O
convolution	B-Language
technique	O
to	O
integrate	O
frequency-dependent	O
added	O
mass	O
and	O
radiation	O
damping	O
terms	O
into	O
the	O
time	O
domain	O
simulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
versions	O
of	O
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
include	O
a	O
software	O
coupling	O
with	O
OpenFAST	O
,	O
enabling	O
the	O
simulation	O
of	O
offshore	O
wind	O
turbines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OpenFAST	O
is	O
an	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
modelling	O
tool	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
National	O
Renewable	O
Energy	O
Laboratory	O
(	O
NREL	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flexcom	B-Algorithm
has	O
been	O
benchmarked	O
against	O
other	O
simulation	O
codes	O
for	O
modelling	O
a	O
5MW	O
reference	O
wind	O
turbine	O
hosted	O
on	O
a	O
floating	O
semi-submersible	O
platform	O
and	O
a	O
fixed	O
steel	O
jacket	O
structure	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
publicly	O
available	O
data	O
from	O
the	O
International	O
Energy	O
Agency	O
(	O
IEA	O
)	O
and	O
NREL	O
.	O
</s>
