Elastic response characteristics of a very large floating structure in waves moored inside a reef

 This article describes the results of hydraulic model tests of the elastic response of a very large floating structure (VLFS) moored inside a reef in an isolated island. The distributions of strains and vertical displacements due to the elastic response of the VLFS were measured. The response characteristics were strongly affected by deformed nonlinear waves inside the reef. A two-step analytical method to compute the elastic response of a VLFS is proposed, and its validity is verified using the results of the hydraulic model tests. Received: May 2, 2002 / Accepted: March 17, 2003 RID="*" ID="*" Address correspondence to: S. Shiraishi (shiraishi@pari.go.jp) Acknowledgment. This study was supported by the Program for Promotions of Fundamental Transport Technology Research from the Corporation for Advanced Transport and Technology (CATT).     

The dynamics of deep water subsea lifting operations in super-harmonic resonance via the harmonic balance method

The dynamics of deep water subsea lifting operations experiencing super-harmonic resonance is analysed in this study. The harmonic balance method is used to solve the non-dimensional equation of motion of the system and the results are compared with time domain integration and with an equivalent energy dissipation model for typical subsea lifting scenarios. It is demonstrated that 1:3 and 1:5 super-harmonic resonances represent significant features of the response of the system and can lead to large dynamic forces in the cable, which may violate the structural limits of the system in real operations. The harmonic balance method presents results almost as accurate as the time domain integration but up to 25 to 35 times faster, while the equivalent energy dissipation model is not able to represent the super-harmonic resonances. Consequently, taking into account the dynamics introduced by super-harmonic resonances is necessary in the analysis of subsea lifting operations, as it can be the limiting design criterion in certain scenarios, and the harmonic balance method can be used as a fast and accurate method to solve this problem.     

铰接多浮体耦合解析计算

利用Lagrange方程求解波浪作用下的铰接多浮体结构运动响应.基于二维微幅波理论,将流场分成若干子区域,在每个子区域内将速度势用特征函数展开,在各区域边界上进行速度势及水平速度的匹配并结合运动方程耦合求解速度势中的系数及结构响应值.计算与实验结果的比较表明,所采用的计算方法是合理的,可以为研究波浪与铰接多浮体相互作用作为参考.     

Time-domain numerical and experimental analysis of hydroelastic response of a very large floating structure edged with a pair of submerged horizontal plates

This paper is concerned with the hydroelastic problem of a pontoon-type, very large floating structure (VLFS) edged with the perforated plates, non-perforated plates or their combination anti-motion device both numerically and experimentally. A direct time domain modal expansion method, taking amount of the time domain Kelvin sources in hydrodynamic forces, in which the fluid flows across the perforated anti-motion plate by applying the Darcy's law, is applied to the fluid–structure interaction problem. A quarter of numerical model is built based on the symmetry of flow field and structure in hydrodynamic forces, and special care is paid to the rapid and accurate evaluation of time domain free-surface Green functions and its spatial derivatives in finite water depth by using interpolation–tabulation method. Using the developed numerical tools and the model tests conducted in a wave basin, the response-reduction efficiency of the perforated plates is systematically assessed for various wave and anti-motion plate parameters, such as plate width, porosity and submergence depth. As a result of the parametric study, the porosity 0.11 is selected as the optimal porosity, and the relationship between the porosity and the porous parameter is developed by using the least-squares fitting scheme. After simulation and verification, the dual anti-motion plates which are the perforated-impermeable-plate combination attached to the fore-end and back-end of the VLFS, are designed for more wave energy dissipation and added damping. Considering variation of the water depths in offshore, discussion on the effectiveness of these anti-motion devices at different water depths is highlighted.     

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.     

漂浮耐压体的有限元分析

潜艇的集体逃生舱是一种新型脱险装置,可有效地提高失事潜艇艇员的自救能力。本文在设计、计算中,采用求解结构的非线性屈曲问题,应用有限元分析软件ANSYS对漂浮耐压体结构进行有限元直接计算。     

Green water loading on a floating structure with degree of freedom effects

The aim of the present work is to investigate whether the degree of freedom (DOF) of a floating body has a notable effect on the maximum impact pressure due to green water on deck. The analysis is carried out for a box-shaped floating structure with a deckhouse, using experimental and numerical means to model the green water load. Green water on deck and impact on the deckhouse is generated by the impingement of a focusing wave group on a floating structure. Computations are performed using a two-dimensional constrained interpolation profile-based model solving the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equations with free surface boundary condition to deal with nonlinear water–structure interactions. The free surface is captured by a volume of fluid (VOF)-type tangent of hyperbola for interface capturing/slope weighting (THINC/SW), which is more accurate than the original THINC scheme. The verifications of the simulation through a series of model-to-model comparisons are performed in a two-dimensional glass-wall wave tank. Experimental water surface elevations, body motions and impact pressure are compared satisfactorily with the computed results for different DOFs cases. As a result, the peak impact pressure due to green water decreases rapidly with the increasing DOF.     

Effects of roughness on hydrodynamic characteristics of a submerged floating tunnel subject to steady currents

The effects of surface roughness as induced by marine fouling on the hydrodynamic forces on a submerged floating tunnel (SFT) are experimentally and numerically investigated in detail at Reynolds numbers Re = 8.125 × 10³–5.25 × 10⁴. A sensitivity analysis to different roughness parameters including roughness height, skewness, coverage ratio, and spatial arrangement is performed. In addition, an optimized parametric cross-section for an SFT is proposed, and the hydrodynamic performance of the parametric shape and circular SFT cross-section shape with roughness elements is compared. The pressure distribution along the SFT, flow separation and wake characteristics are analyzed to provide a systematic insight into the fundamental mechanism relating the roughness parameters and flow around an SFT. In order to better understand the nonlinear relationships among structural geometry, roughness parameters, flow states, and structural response, an artificial intelligence method using Random Forest (RF) for feature importance ranking is applied. The results show that with the parametric shape, the hydrodynamic forces on the fouled SFT can be effectively mitigated. The roughness height and coverage ratio affect the equivalent blockage and hence, change flow separation and recirculation length in the wake. Lower skewness of the roughness elements can increase the critical Re by changing the relative roughness parameter. Horizontal arrangement of the roughness elements on an SFT generally results in the largest hydrodynamic forces, compared to staggered and vertical distributions. Throughout the feature importance ranking, the flow regime is found to be the most important feature of the hydrodynamics of the SFT. In addition, the SFT cross-section shape and roughness coverage ratio play a dominant role.     

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     

On the regimes of underwater explosion for a submerged slender structure by pulsating bubble

Three regimes: near-, middle- and far-fields of underwater explosion are proposed in this study aiming at providing an overview on the responses of submerged slender structure by pulsating bubble. In the near-field, the material starts to yield, thus leading to structure breakdown immediately; remarkable structural global elastic deformation occurs in the middle-field as well as substantial movement; and a structure moves as a rigid body with negligible deformation for the far-field. Equivalent dimensionless parameters are obtained by two different dimensional analysis methods, among which a dominant similarity parameter is found out. Thus, a scaling law providing us with a relation between structural global response and the dominant similarity parameter is yielded, which can be used for demarcating the three regimes quantitatively. To demonstrate, three models corresponding to typical submarine parameters are performed in the case studies. Quantitative criterion of the three regimes is presented along with the regime diagrams. The structural global response features such as the deformation and maximal acceleration/speed of different regimes are provided as well.     

考虑浮体弹性变形的锚泊系统分析方法

传统的锚泊系统分析方法一般是假设结构物为刚性不可变形的,这种假设对于常规海洋结构物的锚泊系统分析,其精度是可以接受的,然而对于弹性体(比如超大型浮体)来说,这种浮体刚性的假设显然是不合理的.本文基于摄动理论,分别给出了锚泊浮体(同时包括弹性体和刚性体)和锚泊系统的一阶运动方程.分别用三维水弹性理论和Goodman-Iance法求解浮体的动力响应和锚泊线的运动,并给出了两者之间的协调关系.通过数值算例分析表明,对于超大型浮体,其弹性特性对锚泊系统特性的影响是不可忽略的.     

Experimental study on the wave-induced dynamic response and hydrodynamic characteristics of a submerged floating tunnel with elastically truncated boundary condition

Hydrodynamic load and motion response are the first considerations in the structural design of a submerged floating tunnel (SFT). Currently, most of the relevant studies have been based on a two-dimensional model test with a fixed or fully free boundary condition, which inhibits a deep investigation of the hydrodynamic characteristics with an elastic constraint. As a result, a series of difficulties exist in the structural design and analysis of an SFT. In this study, an SFT model with a one-degree-of-freedom vertical elastically truncated boundary condition was established to investigate the motion response and hydrodynamic characteristics of the tube under the wave action. The effect of several typical hydrodynamic parameters, such as the buoyancy-weight ratio, γ, the relative frequency, f/f_N, the Keulegan–Carpenter (KC) number, the reduced velocity, U_r, the Reynolds number, Re, and the generalized Ursell_s number, on the motion characteristics of the tube, were selectively analyzed, and the reverse feedback mechanism from the tube's motion response to the hydrodynamic loads was confirmed. Finally, the critical hydrodynamic parameters corresponding to the maximum motion response at different values of γ were obtained, and a formula for calculating the hydrodynamic load parameters of the SFT in the motion state was established. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: (i) Under the wave action, the motion of the SFT shows an apparent nonlinearity, which is mainly caused by the intensive interaction between the tube and its surrounding water particles, as well as the nonlinearity of the wave. (ii) The relative displacement of the tube first increases and then decreases with increasing values of f/f_N, U_r, KC number, Re, and the generalized Ursell_s number. (iii) γ is inversely proportional to the maximum relative displacement of the tube and the wave force on the tube in its motion direction. (iv) Under the motion boundary condition (as opposed to the fixed boundary condition), the peak frequency of the wave force on the SFT in its motion direction decreases and approaches the natural vibration frequency of the tube, whereas the wave force perpendicular to the motion direction increases. When the incident wave frequency is close to the natural vibration frequency of the tube, the tube resonates easily, leading to an increased wave force in the motion direction. (v) If the velocity in the Morison equation is substituted by the water particle velocity measured when the tube is at its equilibrium position, the inertia coefficient in the motion direction of the tube is linearly related to its displacement, whereas that in the direction perpendicular to the motion direction is logarithmically related to its displacement.     

基于非线性设计波的船体结构强度直接计算研究

针对规范公式不适用于小方形系数Cb0.6的船舶以及线性设计波法不能反映波浪载荷非线性特征的情况,使用非线性设计波法研究了一艘小方形系数船的波浪载荷长期预报极值和波浪载荷与波高非线性变化规律,给出了非线性设计波参数的选取办法。根据参数,用非线性设计波法计算了船舶的波浪附加弯矩,并与线性设计波和规范公式两种方法得到的波浪附加弯矩进行了比较分析。分析结果表明,非线性设计波法能够反映出波浪幅值较大时波浪载荷随波高非线性变化的规律,以及中拱、中垂状态下舯剖面波浪附加弯矩的非对称特征,较线性方法更为合理。     

Simplified analysis for estimation of the behavior of a submerged floating tunnel in waves and experimental verification

To achieve rational design in waves for a submerged floating tunnel which has emerged as a new offshore transportation infrastructure, it's necessary to understand its hydrodynamic behavior. For simple but accurate estimation of hydrodynamic forces, a theoretical method is proposed and the tests with physical models in a wave flume were carried out for verification. Morison's equation was used to estimate wave loads composed of inertia force and drag force. Forces calculated by applying the linear wave theory to Morison's equation coincided well with those measured by the tests. The test results showed that mooring systems played a significant role in the movement of the submerged floating tunnel in waves. A pendulum model could be used to describe the motion of the submerged floating tunnel with a single vertical mooring. Based on the verified relations, a simple slack condition which causes the submerged floating tunnel to be unstable was also proposed. The simplified approach proposed by this study proved to be useful in designing the submerged floating tunnel in the initial stage.     

A consideration of the structural design of a large-scale floating structure

The land area of Japan, especially flat land, is very small compared with its economic size. Large-scale floating structures are one solution to satisfy the demand for space by utilizing the ocean. This paper presents a general view of the dynamic response characteristics of large-scale floating structures, pontoons and semi-submersibles. For example, it is shown that the natural frequencies of eigenmodes are higher than the natural frequency of heaving motion. The response of the outer framework of a structure is shown to be generally larger than the response of the central part. Within the limits of our present understanding of the general dynamic response characteristics of such structures, the design and analysis of semi-submersible, large-scale floating structures is discussed. For a pontoon-type large-scale floating structure, a type whose perimeter structure has been modified to become lighter and more rigid is proposed. With this modification, the dynamic response of the whole structure is imporved.     

Investigation of the condition and the behavior of a modular floating structure by harnessing monitoring data

In this paper, the condition and the behavior of an installed and operating Modular Floating Structure (MFS) is investigated and assessed by harnessing field monitoring data and using collectively multiple Correlation Coefficients (CCs) between measured quantities. The examined MFS consists of five pairs of interconnected floating concrete modules and it functions as a floating breakwater. The field monitoring data are acquired through a sensor network deployed on one pair of modules (connected through two groups of connectors) of the MFS. A methodological data processing framework for data organization, manipulation and post-processing is developed and presented. This framework enables the quantification of the structure's condition at different time periods through the calculation of CCs: (a) between the incident wave height and the tensions of the mooring lines and (b) between the tensions of the mooring lines, considering various wave directions. Recorded data at three characteristic time periods during the structure's lifetime are used, namely: (i) before any failure (structure's initial condition), (ii) after the failure of the first connectors' group and (iii) after the failure of the second connectors' group. The data processing framework developed in the present paper is applied to the above recorded data in order to calculate CCs and, therefore, quantify the structure's condition, at the three aforementioned time periods. The quantification of the structure's initial condition resulted to conclusions that were consistent from a physical point of view with the most recently documented, available in-situ mapping of the mooring lines' configuration in the horizontal plane. By considering the structure's initial condition as a reference base for comparison, the effect of the connectors' failure on the CCs, used to quantify this condition, was also investigated and efficiently assessed. Specifically, the significant changes observed in the variation patterns of all examined CCs, when compared with their respective patterns corresponding to the structure's initial condition, demonstrated and confirmed the existence of significant reformation of the examined structural system resulting from the connectors' failure. In this way, the effectiveness of the joint utilization of CCs to assess the structure's condition was proved.     

Nonlinear hydrodynamic responses of submerged moving payload in vicinity of a crane barge in waves

The wave interaction with a submerged cylindrical payload subjected to constrained motions in presence of a nearby floating crane barge is investigated in the three-dimensional numerical wave tank using a fully nonlinear potential flow model in the time domain. Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the hydrodynamic features of this submerged payload under pendulum motion in water waves as well as while it moves towards the sea bed at a constant vertical velocity. It is known that the presence of multiple side by side floating bodies in waves can create significant drift motion. In the present study the similar drift motion is observed for the side by side floating barge and submerged payload and it appears that the submerged payload under constrained motions may face a very large mean drift motion of nearly seven times that of the incident wave amplitude in the beam sea upstream condition. Emphasis is also given towards investigating and understanding the influences of natural frequency of the payload and shielding effect due to the presence of the floating barge. It is found that natural frequency coupled with shielding effect generates remarkable low frequency components in payload responses both in the head sea and the beam sea situations. The effect of different cable lengths, wave maker frequencies and downward moving velocities on payload responses under several geometric setups are studied and compared, and interesting features such as increased low frequency movement of the payload near the natural frequency region and existence of considerable low frequency motions even at a greater depth (while the payload is quite below the free surface) are observed.     

十七万吨级浮船坞结构有限元强度计算

十七万吨级浮船坞为超大型浮船坞,浮箱由三段组成,其中首尾浮箱与中段浮箱间的过渡区结构相对较弱.文中选择了典型的载荷工况对浮船坞船体结构进行了三维结构有限元强度计算,计算出坞体及过渡区结构的变形和应力分布.计算表明,浮船坞结构强度满足要求,强度足够.     

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