One of the industry’s most trusted tools for handling these complex tasks is Bentley MOSES—an advanced software suite developed for hydrostatic and hydrodynamic analysis of marine and offshore structures. In the highly specialized world of offshore engineering, accurate modeling, analysis, and design of floating structures are crucial to ensuring safety, efficiency, and compliance. Within this suite, MOSES Basic serves as the foundational module, offering essential capabilities for linear hydrodynamic analysis and structural assessments.
This article by Multisoft Systems provides a comprehensive overview of Bentley MOSES Basic online training, highlighting its features, applications, benefits, and integration within the broader scope of offshore and marine engineering workflows.
What is Bentley MOSES?
MOSES (Multi-Operational Structural Engineering Software) is a robust software solution developed by Bentley Systems, designed to perform advanced analysis of floating structures subjected to environmental loading. It is widely used in the oil & gas, maritime, naval, and offshore renewable energy industries. MOSES enables engineers to simulate how ships, floating platforms, and offshore structures behave in dynamic marine environments, ensuring their structural integrity and performance over time.
The platform is composed of several modules, each catering to different levels of complexity and engineering focus. Among them, MOSES Basic forms the core that provides essential functionality, making it suitable for users starting out in offshore structural analysis or those dealing with linear problems.
Overview of MOSES Basic
MOSES Basic is the entry-level module in the MOSES product line. It allows users to perform linear hydrostatic and hydrodynamic analyses of floating systems, making it ideal for engineers involved in early-stage design or those working on simpler configurations. MOSES Basic is not limited in utility; it remains powerful enough to model a wide range of marine systems including barges, semi-submersibles, ships, and floating production units (FPUs). Its capabilities span across vessel definition, static equilibrium checks, hydrostatics, linear wave force prediction, and motion analysis. The graphical user interface (GUI) makes it easier for new users to get started while allowing experienced users to script custom workflows using MOSES’ command language.
Core Features of MOSES Basic
MOSES Basic offers a well-balanced combination of features to meet essential offshore analysis needs. Some of the key functionalities include:
1. Hydrostatic Analysis
MOSES Basic provides comprehensive tools for evaluating the buoyancy and stability of floating structures. It calculates center of buoyancy, metacentric height, draft, and other critical stability parameters. Engineers can perform equilibrium checks, heel and trim analysis, and simulate weight changes or shifts to evaluate their effects on stability.
2. Linear Hydrodynamic Analysis
Using the boundary element method, MOSES Basic calculates added mass, damping coefficients, and wave forces on floating bodies under regular and irregular wave conditions. These results are essential for understanding how a structure responds to dynamic environmental loads such as waves, currents, and wind.
3. Motion Response Analysis
The software supports frequency-domain analysis of vessel motions—heave, pitch, roll, surge, sway, and yaw. This allows engineers to predict how a structure will behave under wave excitation and evaluate comfort, operability, and fatigue risks.
4. Load Generation
MOSES Basic can generate linear wave-induced loads, which can be used for structural design. These loads include Froude-Krylov forces, diffraction forces, and pressure distributions, which are critical for strength and fatigue analysis.
5. Modeling Environment
Users can define vessel geometry through parametric modeling or import existing mesh models. The environment supports symmetrical or asymmetrical configurations, appendages, and internal compartments. The GUI helps visualize geometry and analysis results, improving user confidence and accuracy.
6. Reporting and Visualization
MOSES Basic includes built-in tools for data post-processing, visualization of motion RAOs (Response Amplitude Operators), and graphical display of wave patterns, vessel orientation, and stability curves. Engineers can easily generate comprehensive reports to support design documentation and client communication.
Applications of MOSES Basic
MOSES Basic serves a wide range of marine and offshore applications, such as:
- Initial Design of Offshore Platforms: For determining vessel floatation, displacement, and initial motion response characteristics.
- Marine Transportation Analysis: Assessing the stability and hydrodynamic behavior of barges and towed vessels.
- Ship Design Studies: Including hull performance under wave loading and estimation of seakeeping characteristics.
- Mooring Analysis Support: Providing load data and motion responses that can be used for mooring system design.
- Feasibility Studies: Supporting concept development and comparison of design alternatives in early project phases.
Integration with Other Modules
While MOSES Basic offers substantial capabilities, users with more advanced needs can upgrade or integrate with other MOSES modules such as:
- MOSES Advanced: Adds time-domain analysis, nonlinear hydrodynamics, and multi-body interactions.
- MOSES Hull Design: Supports detailed hull form creation and hydrostatic curve generation.
- MOSES Structural: Enables finite element analysis (FEA) and integration with structural modeling software like SACS.
- MOSES Motions and Riser: Allows coupled analysis of vessel motions with risers, moorings, and tethers.
Such modular scalability ensures that users can expand functionality as their project complexity increases, without switching to a new platform.
User Interface and Workflow
MOSES Basic provides both a command-line interface (CLI) for scripting advanced custom workflows and a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for intuitive modeling and visualization. The GUI is particularly helpful for beginners, allowing drag-and-drop geometry creation, automatic mesh generation, and built-in wizards for common tasks. The workflow generally includes the following steps:
- Defining Vessel Geometry: Either using built-in primitives or importing external files.
- Assigning Properties and Conditions: Including weights, centers of gravity, environmental parameters, and constraints.
- Running Simulations: Performing hydrostatic, frequency-domain, or motion response analysis.
- Viewing Results: Using charts, graphs, and 3D visualization to assess system behavior.
- Reporting: Exporting data to Excel or PDF for client or internal use.
Benefits of Using MOSES Basic
MOSES Basic provides a robust foundation for engineers and designers involved in offshore and marine structural analysis. One of its primary benefits is its ability to perform accurate hydrostatic and linear hydrodynamic assessments, allowing users to evaluate vessel stability, motion response, and wave-induced loads with high precision. This makes it a valuable tool during early design phases, feasibility studies, and operational planning. The software is highly user-friendly, offering both a graphical interface for beginners and a powerful command-line environment for advanced users who want greater control and customization. MOSES Basic also supports parametric modeling and efficient geometry definition, enabling rapid iterations and comparisons between different design scenarios. Engineers can visualize responses and generate detailed reports to support informed decision-making and regulatory compliance.
As part of the Bentley Systems ecosystem, MOSES Basic certification integrates seamlessly with other tools like SACS and OpenWindPower, enhancing its usability across multidisciplinary projects. Its modular structure makes it a cost-effective entry point, with the flexibility to scale into more advanced MOSES modules as project complexity increases. For professionals and organizations looking to improve design quality, reduce development time, and ensure structural reliability in marine environments, MOSES Basic is a practical and future-ready solution.
Training and Certification
Bentley Systems and its authorized training partners offer certification courses and workshops on MOSES Basic training. These courses typically cover:
- Introduction to the MOSES environment
- Hydrostatics and buoyancy simulation
- Hydrodynamic analysis fundamentals
- Motion response and load prediction
- Hands-on projects with real-world case studies
Certification not only enhances user proficiency but also increases career opportunities in marine and offshore engineering domains.
Industries and Organizations Benefiting from MOSES Basic
MOSES Basic is extensively used by:
- Offshore Oil & Gas Companies – For platform analysis and floatover installation studies
- Naval Architecture Firms – To evaluate vessel stability and seakeeping
- Shipyards and Designers – For pre-launch assessments and configuration modeling
- Academic Institutions – For research and training in marine engineering
- Renewable Energy Developers – To model floating wind turbine platforms and tidal energy devices
Its adaptability across different projects makes it a versatile tool for companies ranging from small consultancies to global engineering giants.
Challenges and Considerations
While MOSES Basic offers powerful capabilities for offshore structural analysis, users must be aware of certain challenges and considerations. The software is best suited for linear and frequency-domain analyses, which means it may not be sufficient for advanced scenarios involving nonlinear behavior or time-domain simulations—requiring an upgrade to higher-level MOSES modules. Additionally, while the graphical user interface is helpful for beginners, mastering the command-line environment is essential to unlock the full potential of the tool, which can present a learning curve for new users. Creating accurate geometry models and assigning correct environmental conditions also demands a solid understanding of marine engineering principles. Users must ensure their computing systems are equipped to handle complex models, especially when running simulations with detailed meshes.
Moreover, integrating MOSES with other Bentley tools or third-party software may require additional configuration. Despite these challenges, with proper training and planning, MOSES Basic remains a reliable entry point for offshore analysis.
Conclusion
Bentley MOSES Basic is a powerful and accessible tool that lays the groundwork for accurate and efficient offshore structural analysis. Whether used for vessel stability checks, hydrodynamic load prediction, or motion response assessment, MOSES Basic delivers reliable results and supports early decision-making in marine engineering projects.
Its intuitive design, industry credibility, and modular architecture make it an essential asset for engineering teams involved in floating structure design and analysis. For organizations aiming to elevate their offshore capabilities, MOSES Basic is not just an entry-level product—it’s the gateway to high-performance engineering in a dynamic and demanding industry. Enroll in Multisoft Systems now!