On the hydroelastic responses of a very large floating structure in waves

New numerical methods are presented for hydroelastic analyses of a very large floating structure (VLFS) of several kilometers length and width. Several methods are presented that accelerate computation without an appreciable loss of accuracy. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed methods are validated through comparisons with other numerical results as well as with existing experimental results. After confirming the effectiveness of the methods presented, various characteristics of the hydroelastic behavior of VLFSs are examined, using the proposed methods as numerical tools. Received for publication on Dec. 3, 1999; accepted on Dec. 15, 1999     

超大型浮体柔性连接器动响应研究

为了降低VLFS(超大型浮体)模块连接的巨大载荷,通常选择柔性连接器.本文以某横向浮筒式的浅吃水超大型浮体为研究对象,采用RMFC模型(刚性模块柔性连接器)分析连接器载荷和模块运动响应,并与三模块模型试验进行比较验证.通过较高和较低横向刚度的系列纵向和垂向刚度组合的连接器载荷计算,给出连接器载荷随刚度变化的关系,分析连接器载荷峰值出现的原因.针对连接器载荷峰值对应的刚度组合,计算模块运动响应,分析模块相对运动模式.研究结果表明,对于较高和较低的横向刚度,均存在一定的纵向和垂向刚度组合,导致连接器载荷出现较大的峰值;连接器载荷峰值对应浪向角85°左右的海况,模块相对运动主要表现为艏摇.     

超大型浮体柔性连接器疲劳强度模型试验

为了保证超大型浮体的作业安全,需要精确评估连接器结构疲劳强度。文章针对一种由尼龙柔性夹层和环肋加强圆管轴构成的铰接式连接器,开展了疲劳强度模型试验,测量了热点应力、疲劳寿命和裂纹扩展。考虑接触、柔性层以及开孔的影响,采用三维有限元方法计算了连接器结构应力,分别基于S-N曲线和裂纹扩展,给出了柔性连接器疲劳寿命评估方法。比较分析表明,计算得到的连接器结构应力和疲劳寿命与模型试验结果吻合,文中方法可用于柔性连接器结构疲劳强度设计     

A B-spline Galerkin scheme for calculating the hydroelastic response of a very large floating structure in waves

This paper presents an effective scheme for computing the wave-induced hydroelastic response of a very large floating structure, and a validation of its usefulness. The calculation scheme developed is based on the pressure-distribution method of expressing the disturbance caused by a structure, and on the mode-expansion method for hydroelastic deflection with the superposition of orthogonal mode functions. The scheme uses bi-cubic B-spline functions to represent unknown pressures, and the Galerkin method to satisfy the body boundary conditions. Various numerical checks confirm that the computed results are extremely accurate, require relatively little computational time, and contain few unknowns, even in the region of very short wavelengths. Measurements of the vertical deflections in both head and oblique waves of relatively long wavelength are in good agreement with the computed results. Numerical examples using shorter wavelengths reveal that the hydroelastic deflection does not necessarily become negligible as the wavelength of incident waves decreases. The effects of finite water depth and incident wave angle are also discussed.     

Numerical calculation method for the hydroelastic response of a pontoon-type very large floating structure close to a breakwater

This paper presents an effective scheme for calculating the wave-induced hydroelastic response of a pontoon-type very large floating structure (VLFS) when it is near a breakwater. The basic numerical calculation method is the one previously developed by the same author for a VLFS in the open sea (no breakwater), which is expanded to include the effect of the hydrodynamic mutual interaction between the breakwater and the floating structure. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method are validated through comparisons with other numerical results and with existing experimental results. After that confirmation, various numerical calculations were conducted, paying special attention to the resonance phenomena which will occur depending on the relation between the wavelength and the clearance between the breakwater and the floating structure. The irregular frequency phenomenon which appears in the calculation of the fluid dynamic problem is discussed in the appendices, including a method for its elimination. Received: October 31, 2000 / Accepted: December 19, 2000     

Analysis of the slowly varying drift force on a very large floating structure in multidirectional random seas

In designing the mooring system of a very large floating structure (VLFS), it is essential to estimate the slowly varying drift force in random seas. For a small vessel, Hsu's method or Newman's approximation may be used to simulate this slowly varying drift force. However, based on experiments and/or field observations, it was found that the slowly varying drift force acting on a VLFS could be reduced to a great extent from the simulated values based on those methods. Thus, the conventional methods are not applicable for a VLFS. This discovery led to the development of several methods for estimating the slowly varying drift force on a VLFS, e.g., Namba et al. (J Soc Nav Archit Jpn 186:235–242, 1999), and Shimada and Maruyama (J Soc Nav Archit Jpn 190:347–351, 2001). However, Namba's method is only applicable to a pontoon-type VLFS with a shallow draft, and Shimada's method is too simplified to account for the general shape of a VLFS and elastic deformation. These methods have been expanded in this article, and by our proposed method, any shape of VLFS and the effect of elastic deformation of the VLFS can be included. Formulations and several numerical examples are given.     

Slamming load on a very large floating structure with shallow draft

The objective of this paper is to estimate the slamming load acting on a pontoon-type very large floating structure with a shallow draft. Experiments were carried out using elastic models with different rigidities in regular waves. The results revealed that the slamming load was strongly influenced by the rigidity of the model. The conditions under which slamming occurs depended on the extent of the bottom emergence and the velocity of the relative wave height at the bow of the model. These results were related to a simple procedure for estimating slamming load.     

A study on the estimation of the seaquake response of a floating structure considering the characteristics of seismic wave propagation in the ground and the water

 Seaquakes, which are characterized by the propagation of vertical earthquake motion at the sea bottom as a compression (longitudinal) wave, are reported to cause damage to ships, and their effect on floating structures is a matter of great concern. To comprehend the basic properties of seaquakes, we first discuss a method to calculate the displacement of the seabed when it is subjected to hydrodynamic pressure. To investigate the interrelationship between the vibration of a floating structure and the deformation of the seabed, a new boundary integral equation is derived which assumes that the seabed is a semiinfinite homogeneous elastic solid in order to analyze the seaquake-induced hydrodynamic pressure acting on the floating structure. By considering the propagation of the seismic wave in the ground and in the water, the incident wave potential in seaquake problems is also deduced and its characteristics are discussed. Finally, the response of a very large floating structure in a seaquake is investigated using a fluid force analysis method, and considering the interrelationship between the vibration of the floating structure and the deformation of the seabed. Received: August 19, 2002 / Accepted: November 11, 2002 Address correspondence to: H. Takamura (hiroaki_takamura@nishimatsu.co.jp) Updated from the Japanese original, which won the 2002 SNAJ prize (J Soc Nav Archit Jpn 2001;189:87–92,93–100 and 190:381–386)     

系泊Spar平台波浪中耦合运动的数值模拟及模型试验

为了研究恶劣环境载荷引起海洋结构物的非线性运动响应,文章基于三维时域格林函数理论,提出了采用时域物面非线性理论方法直接模拟系泊浮体时域耦合分析所需的水动力,建立了系泊浮体波浪中时域耦合运动的数学模型.该方法充分考虑了每时每刻浮体在瞬态波面下湿表面的变化,并计及平均水线面下瞬时空间位置的改变,系统研究了系泊Spar平台波浪中的耦合运动响应及系泊线张力.最后,将数值模拟结果与模型试验结果进行了比较,计算结果令人满意.