Aqwa Input

AQWA Input Skill

Input file formats, analysis configurations, DAT file conventions, and mesh quality for ANSYS AQWA. See aqwa for Python API.

File Format Support

LIS Files (Listing Output)

Primary output containing RAOs (amplitude/phase), added mass matrices, damping matrices, wave excitation forces, drift forces.

DAT Files (Data Input)

Input containing hull geometry, mass properties, analysis settings, wave conditions.

MES Files (Mesh)

Mesh definition: panel geometry, node coordinates, panel connectivity.

Analysis Type Configurations

RAO Extraction

aqwa_analysis:
  rao_extraction:
    flag: true
    input_file: "aqwa_results/vessel.LIS"
    vessel_name: "FPSO"
    wave_directions: [0, 45, 90, 135, 180]
    output:
      rao_file: "results/vessel_raos.csv"
      plot_file: "results/rao_plots.html"
      format: "amplitude_phase"  # or real_imaginary

Hydrodynamic Coefficients

aqwa_analysis:
  coefficients:
    flag: true
    input_file: "aqwa_results/vessel.LIS"
    frequencies: "all"  # or specific list [0.1, 0.2, 0.3]
    output:
      added_mass_file: "results/added_mass.csv"
      damping_file: "results/damping.csv"
      matrices_file: "results/hydro_matrices.json"

File Processing

aqwa_analysis:
  file_processing:
    flag: true
    files:
      - path: "aqwa_results/vessel.LIS"
        type: "lis"
      - path: "aqwa_results/vessel.DAT"
        type: "dat"
    extract: ["raos", "added_mass", "damping", "wave_forces", "drift_forces"]
    output_directory: "results/aqwa_processed/"

Viscous Damping

aqwa_analysis:
  viscous_damping:
    flag: true
    method: "empirical"  # or decay_test
    vessel: { length: 300.0, beam: 50.0, draft: 20.0 }
    motions: ["roll", "pitch", "heave"]
    empirical_factors: { roll_percentage: 5.0, pitch_percentage: 3.0, heave_percentage: 2.0 }
    output:
      damping_file: "results/viscous_damping.json"

Standalone DAT File Format (Non-Workbench)

Critical conventions for standalone .DAT input files:

Element type:     QPPL DIFF    (NOT just QPPL — without DIFF, elements are "NON-DIFFRACTING")
ILID card:        1ILID AUTO 21  (after ZLWL — required for irregular frequency removal)
SEAG card:        SEAG (nx, ny)  (2 params only in non-Workbench mode, NOT 6-param bounding box)
OPTIONS GOON:     Continue past non-fatal errors (separate line, before feature OPTIONS)
Line length:      Max 80 columns per line (AQWA enforces strict column limits)

Mesh Quality Rules (FATAL)

• Panels must be roughly square (aspect ratio near 1:1)
• "Facet Radius" distance check at 90-degree corners of box geometries
• For a 100m x 20m x 8m barge: minimum nx=40, ny=8, nz=4 (704 panels)
• OPTIONS GOON does NOT bypass FATAL mesh quality errors

from digitalmodel.aqwa.mesh_check import AqwaMeshCheck

mesh = AqwaMeshCheck()
mesh.load("geometry/hull.mes")
quality = mesh.check_quality()

if quality["min_aspect_ratio"] < 0.1:
    print("Warning: Poor aspect ratio panels detected")
if quality["intersecting_panels"] > 0:
    print(f"Error: {quality['intersecting_panels']} intersecting panels")

Complete Workflow Config

basename: aqwa_analysis

aqwa_analysis:
  file_processing:
    flag: true
    input_file: "aqwa_results/fpso.LIS"
    output_directory: "results/"
  rao_extraction:
    flag: true
    wave_directions: [0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180]
    output:
      rao_file: "results/fpso_raos.csv"
      orcaflex_file: "results/fpso_raos.yml"
      plots: "results/rao_plots.html"
  coefficients:
    flag: true
    output: { added_mass: "results/added_mass.csv", damping: "results/damping.csv" }
  viscous_damping:
    flag: true
    method: "percentage_critical"
    values: { roll: 5.0, pitch: 3.0, heave: 2.0 }
  validation:
    flag: true
    checks: [symmetry, low_frequency, kramers_kronig]
    output: { report: "results/validation_report.json" }

Best Practices

1. Frequency range — ensure frequencies cover wave spectrum of interest
2. Direction resolution — use 30-degree or finer for asymmetric vessels
3. Panel density — verify mesh convergence for accurate results
4. Low frequency — check added mass at low frequencies for stability
5. Viscous damping — always add viscous damping for roll motion

Related Skills

• aqwa — Hub skill with Python API
• aqwa/output — Output formats and validation
• aqwa/reference — Solver stages and OPTIONS keywords