Flexcom
finite element analysis software
Flexcom is a finite element analysis software package used in the offshore oil and gas, offshore wind and marine renewable energy industries. A free educational version is also available for universities.
Flexcom should be distinguished from Flexcom Company Limited, a Korean flexible printed circuit board manufacturer.
History
Flexcom was originally developed by a small start-up company, Marine Computation Services, founded at University College Galway in 1983. Nowadays it is managed by Wood Group. The name derives from its origins as a computational software initially geared towards the analysis of flexible risers, befitting the emerging riser technology of the North Sea in the early 1980s. Although originally a time domain analysis tool only, it also incorporates frequency domain and modal analysis capabilities. The first version was released circa 1985, and a continuous update program has been maintained since then.
Applications
Typical applications include:
Subsea production systems
Steel catenary risers
Drilling risers
Mooring lines
Submarine pipelines
Offshore pipe-laying
Floating offshore wind turbines
Wave energy converters
Solution methodology
Beam element
Flexcom uses a specialised finite element formulation, incorporating a hybrid Euler–Bernoulli beam-column element with fully coupled axial, bending and torque forces, well suited to the modelling of slender offshore structures such as risers, mooring lines, pipes, cables etc. Up to 10 integration points are used within each finite element to ensure a precise distribution of applied forces.
“Flexcom” enters the record as finite element analysis software. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Flexcom, finite and element can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5458942. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983 and 1985.
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This entry incorporates text from “Flexcom” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.