The Orca3D Advanced Stability Module extends Orca3D’s hydrostatics and stability capabilities into a more complete workflow for compartmentation modeling, fixed and fluid load definition, intact and damaged stability analysis, free surface effects, stability criteria evaluation, tank tables, and formatted reporting — all directly inside Rhino. It is designed for naval architects and marine designers who need to go beyond basic flotation and righting-arm calculations and evaluate vessels in more realistic operating and regulatory conditions. Building on Orca3D’s hydrostatics engine, the Advanced Stability Module begins with the creation of a compartmentation model. Starting from one or more closed solid surfaces and/or polysurfaces, users can subdivide the vessel into tanks, watertight compartments, and non-watertight compartments using simple planes such as transverse and longitudinal bulkheads and decks. For more complex arrangements, Rhino geometry can also be used as subdivision tools, including intersecting objects, internal closed shapes, or curves that are extruded into cutting geometry. Once the compartments are created, users can assign properties such as tank contents, permeability, and watertight status, making it possible to build a much more realistic internal vessel model. The next step is defining Load Cases, which represent specific vessel conditions for analysis. These load cases can combine fixed loads such as lightship weight, cargo, crew, and effects with fluid loads in tanks. Tank loading can be defined by percent full, sounding, ullage, or volume, and free surface effects can be modeled either by calculating the actual shift of fluid center of gravity with heel and trim or by using the more traditional virtual rise in center of gravity approach. The Load Case editor also gives users control over tank condition, allowing tanks to be marked as intact, damaged, or frozen, while also supporting overrides for default contents, permeability, weight, and center of gravity. Orca3D can then solve for the equilibrium flotation condition directly, or users can define sinkage, trim, and heel and let the software compute the residual weight and center of gravity required to achieve that condition. Using one or more load cases, the Advanced Stability Module supports several layers of analysis. Users can run hydrostatics to determine equilibrium flotation and report the full set of hydrostatic values for a loading condition. They can then extend that into stability analysis, which adds righting-arm data over a user-defined range of heel angles and reports the height of defined points of interest above the waterplane. For more advanced evaluation, the module also supports Stability Criteria Evaluation, which automatically checks the vessel against user-selected criteria and documents important values such as downflooding angle, righting arm at GZ max, angle of GZ max, deck edge immersion, margin line immersion, freeboard, and other criteria-driven outputs. A major strength of the Advanced Stability Module is that it keeps all of this work tied directly to the Rhino/Orca3D model. There is no need to export the hull to a separate stability package just to define compartments or run criteria checks. Because Orca3D computes hydrostatic properties directly from the 3D surface model using three-dimensional volume integration rather than traditional station-based integration, it is especially flexible when working with unusual hull shapes, non-ship forms, and more complex floating objects that can be difficult to evaluate using older approaches. The module also includes support for Points and Curves of Interest, which can be defined in Rhino and used as downflooding points, deck edge curves, or margin lines during stability evaluation. It supports a wide range of heeling arms and moments, including beam wind, beam wind with rolling, lifting weights over the side, passenger crowding, offset weights, towline pull, high-speed turning, and custom user-defined cases. Wind heeling moments can be based on the projected area of the model itself, a Rhino curve, or specified area and centroid inputs. On the output side, the Advanced Stability Module is built for practical reporting and documentation. Each analysis produces a formatted report that can be printed directly or exported to PDF, Word, Excel, and CSV. Users can also generate Tank Tables at a specified trim and heel, with outputs based on percent full, volume, mass, sounding, or ullage, and can create Area/Volume Reports containing compartment and tank properties such as area, deck area, volume, centroid, contents, and permeability. For users with more advanced workflows, the module also supports scripting and automation, including exporting subdivision history to text files that can be edited and rerun, and integration with external tools such as ModelCenter. Overall, the Orca3D Advanced Stability Module gives designers a more realistic, flexible, and connected way to evaluate vessel stability. By combining internal subdivision, load-case management, criteria evaluation, and reporting inside the same Rhino-based design environment, it helps users move from basic hydrostatics to a much deeper level of analysis without breaking the workflow.
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