Question 1

What is cgWindWaves used for?

Accepted Answer

cgWindWaves forecasts wind-generated waves in restricted-fetch water regions. From a defined water region, the mean wind direction, and the wind velocity, it computes the significant wave height (Hs), the significant wave period (Ts), and the wave spectrum S(f) for coastal, harbour, and offshore engineering.

Question 2

Who develops cgWindWaves?

Accepted Answer

cgWindWaves is developed by RUNET (RUNET Software / RUNET Norway AS), a developer of structural and marine engineering software. It is part of the RUNET program family that also includes BETONexpress, STEELexpress, WOODexpress, and FRAME2Dexpress.

Question 3

Which wave-prediction methods does cgWindWaves use?

Accepted Answer

It uses semi-empirical SMB (Sverdrup-Munk-Bretschneider) relations. The engineer can choose Bretschneider's method, Bretschneider with the water-depth (depth-limited) effect, or Wilson's method, with directional effects handled by the effective-fetch, Saville, or Seymour methods.

Question 4

Does cgWindWaves design to a structural code such as Eurocode or IS codes?

Accepted Answer

No. cgWindWaves is a wave forecasting/analysis tool, not a code-based structural design tool. It computes wave characteristics (height, period, spectrum) from wind and fetch data; it does not perform member or structure verification to a design code. RUNET's separate products (e.g. BETONexpress, STEELexpress) are the Eurocode design tools.

Question 5

Can cgWindWaves generate a wave spectrum for further analysis?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It produces parametric wave spectra — Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP — together with a sample wave time series, which can be used as wave-loading input for structural, mooring, and coastal-structure analysis software.

Question 6

How is the water region defined?

Accepted Answer

Three ways: graphically by clicking the outline nodes on the included map package, by entering the X and Y nodal coordinates in a table, or by reading the nodal coordinates of the outline from a text file.

Question 7

Does it account for water depth and shallow-water effects?

Accepted Answer

Yes — one of the available formulations is Bretschneider's method with the water-depth (depth-limited) effect, which limits wave growth in shallower restricted-fetch waters.

Question 8

Does cgWindWaves support metric and US units?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It works in metric units (m, km, m/s, km/h) or US units (ft, miles, ft/s, mph), and the unit system can be selected by the user.

Question 9

What kind of output and reports does it produce?

Accepted Answer

All inputs and forecasted results appear on a single main screen, and the program provides on-screen preview and printed calculation reports, including theoretical-summary printouts; sample reports are available in PDF.

Question 10

Is cgWindWaves a Windows desktop application?

Accepted Answer

Yes, cgWindWaves is a RUNET Windows desktop program. It is a focused single-purpose tool rather than a large modelling suite, with context-sensitive help and an online manual.

Question 11

What types of projects is cgWindWaves suited to?

Accepted Answer

It is suited to restricted-fetch water bodies — harbours, marinas, sheltered bays, lakes, and reservoirs — where wind locally generates the design waves and refraction is negligible. For open-coast problems with significant refraction or diffraction, a full spectral wave model is more appropriate.

Question 12

Is cgWindWaves available in India through RAM CADDSYS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. RAM CADDSYS supplies RUNET software, including cgWindWaves, to engineering professionals in India, with licensing and support. Contact RAM CADDSYS for current pricing, licensing terms, and a demonstration.

Wind-GeneratedWaveAnalysisSoftware

What is cgWindWaves?

Where cgWindWaves works

Harbour, Marina & Port Wave Estimation

Lakes, Reservoirs & Inland Water Bodies

Wind-Wave Hindcasting from Wind Records

Preliminary Offshore / Sheltered-Water Assessment

cgWindWaves at work

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