Investigation of Nonlinear Difference-Frequency Wave Excitation on a Semisubmersible Offshore-Wind Platform With Bichromatic-Wave CFD Simulations

The natural surge and pitch frequencies of semisubmersible offshore wind platforms are typically designed to be below the wave frequencies to avoid direct excitation. However, surge or pitch resonance can be excited by the nonlinear low-frequency loads generated by irregular incident waves. Second-order potential-flow models with added Morison drag have been found to underpredict this low-frequency excitation and response. As part of the OC6 project1, the authors performed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to enable a better understanding of the low-frequency loads and the limitations of lower-fidelity models. The focus of this paper is to set up a computationally cost-effective CFD simulation of a fixed semisubmersible platform to investigate nonlinear difference-frequency loads and establish the corresponding uncertainty in the results. Because of the high computing cost, CFD simulations of irregular waves can be challenging. Instead, simulations were performed with bichromatic waves having a shorter repeat period. A preliminary comparison with quadratic transfer functions from second-order potential-flow theory shows that CFD models consistently predict higher nonlinear wave loads at the difference frequency, likely because of flow separation and viscous drag not accounted for in potential-flow theory.

Numerical simulation of hydrodynamic oscillation of side-by-side double-floating-system with a narrow gap in waves

In offshore oil and gas exploration and transportation, it is often encountered that the multi-floating structures work side by side. In some sea conditions, there is a strong coupling between the multi-floating structures that seriously affects the safety of offshore operations. Therefore, the prediction of the relative motion and force between the multi-floating structures and the wave elevation around the multi-floating-system has become a hot issue. At present, the problem of double-floating-system is mostly based on linear potential flow theory. However, when the gap width between two floating bodies is small, the viscous and nonlinear effects are not negligible, so the potential flow theory has great limitations. Based on the viscous flow theory, using the finite difference solution program of FLOW3D and using volume of fluid technology to capture the free surface, a three-dimensional numerical wave basin is established, and the numerical results of the wave are compared with the theoretical solution. On this basis, the hydrodynamic model of side-by-side double-floating-system with a narrow gap is established, and the flow field in the narrow gap of the fixed double-floating-system under the regular wave is analyzed in detail. The law of the gap-resonance is studied, which provides valuable reference for the future research on the multi-floating-system.

Study of wave forces acting on the box-girder superstructure of coastal bridges in the submerged condition based on potential flow theory

The box-girder superstructure of coastal bridges is vulnerable to wave-induced damage in the case of small clearances. The analytical method for estimating the wave forces on the box-girder superstructure of coastal bridges is proposed based on the potential flow theory in this paper. The two-dimension problem of the box-girder superstructure under the wave action is defined with some necessary simplifications first. Then, the analytical solutions are solved by the eigenfunction matching method, and the wave force on the submerged box-girder superstructure is calculated using the Bernoulli principle. After validating the accuracy of the proposed method by previous calculations and the experimental test, the influences of the girder type and structural configuration on the wave forces of submerged box-girder are conducted using the proposed analytical method. The results show that the girder type has a significant effect on the wave forces of the submerged superstructure, and the influence of various structural parameters should be considered comprehensively in the structural safety design under wave actions. The results of the present study can provide a useful reference for the estimation of wave forces and the structural design of the box-girder superstructure of coastal bridges.

Study on Mooring Design and Calculation Method of Ocean Farm Based on Time-Domain Potential Flow Theory

In order to calculate the mooring force of a new semi-submerged Ocean Farm quickly and accurately, based on the unsteady time-domain potential flow theory and combined the catenary model, the control equation of mooring cable is established, and the mooring force of the platform under the wave spectrum is calculated. First of all, based on the actual situation of the ocean environment and platform, the mooring design of the platform is carried out, and the failure analysis and sensitivity analysis of the single anchor chain by the time domain coupling method are adopted: including different water depth, cycle, pretension size, anchor chain layout direction and wind speed, etc. The analysis results confirm the reliability of anchoring method. Based on this, the mooring point location of the platform is determined, the force of each anchor chain in the anchoring process is calculated, and the mooring force and the number of mooring cables are obtained for each cable that satisfies the specification, the results of this paper can provide theoretical calculation methods for mooring setting and mooring force calculation of similar offshore platforms.

Hydrodynamic Performance of Submerged Plates During Focused Waves

Submerged horizontal plates are widely employed in research of wave structure interaction as a simplification of coastal and ocean engineering structures. The hydrodynamic performance of submerged horizontal plates under focused waves has been seldom reported. Based on potential flow theory, this paper presents a general solution of the hydrodynamic pressure and wave forces exerted on submerged plates by a focused wave group. An existing experiment and two limiting cases are used to validate the accuracy of the present analytical model. With the validated model, the effect of wave properties and the configuration of the wave structure system on the hydrodynamic performance of submerged plates are investigated. It is found that the hydrodynamic performance of submerged horizontal plates varies with incident focused wave with different peak frequencies. The structural breadth significantly changes the hydrodynamic performance while the structural height has little influence. This paper shows the usefulness of potential flow theory for the preliminary calculation of wave loads on coastal and ocean engineering structures generated by focused waves.

A Two-Dimensional Experimental and Numerical Study of Moonpools With Recess

Moonpool resonance is investigated in a two-dimensional setting in terms of regular, forced heave motions of a model with moonpool with different rectangular-shaped recess configurations. A recess is a reduced draft zone in the moonpool. Dedicated experiments were carried out. The model consisted of two boxes of 40 cm width each, with a distance of 20 cm between them. Recess configurations varying between 5 cm and 10 cm in length and 5 cm in height were tested. Different drafts were also tested. A large number of forcing periods and five forcing amplitudes were tested. A time-domain boundary element method (BEM) code based on the linear potential flow theory was implemented to investigate the resonance periods, mode shapes, as well as the moonpool response as predicted by the (linear) potential flow theory. Dominant physical effects were discussed, in particular damping due to flow separation from the sharp corners of the moonpool inlet and recess. The effect of the recess on the piston-mode behavior is discussed. The nondimensional moonpool response suggests strong viscous damping at the piston-mode resonance. The viscous BEM (VBEM) simulations demonstrate improvement over inviscid BEM, although further improvement of the method is needed. The VBEM simulations are, in general, in good agreement with the experiments. For the largest recess case, some discrepancies are observed in the amplitude-dependent response amplitude operators (RAOs). The piston-mode shapes are clearly different from the near flat free-surface elevation for a moonpool without recess, consistent with the recently published theory.

Hybrid Method for Predicting Ship Manoeuvrability in Regular Waves

The ship’s manoeuvring behaviour in waves is significantly different from that in calm water. In this context, the present work uses a hybrid method combining potential flow theory and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques for the prediction of ship manoeuvrability in regular waves. The mean wave-induced drift forces are calculated by adopting a time domain 3D higher-order Rankine panel method, which includes the effect of the lateral speed and forward speed. The hull-related hydrodynamic derivatives are determined based on a RANS solver using the double body flow model. The two-time scale method is applied to integrate the improved seakeeping model in a 3-DOF modular type Manoeuvring Modelling Group (MMG model) to investigate the ship’s manoeuvrability in regular waves. Numerical simulations are carried out to predict the turning circle in regular waves for the S175 container carrier. The turning circle’s main characteristics as well as the wave-induced motions are evaluated. A good agreement is obtained by comparing the numerical results with experimental data obtained from existing literature. This demonstrates that combining potential flow theory with CFD techniques can be used efficiently for predicting the manoeuvring behaviour in waves. This is even more true when the manoeuvring derivatives cannot be obtained from model tests when there is lack of such experimental data.