Nonlinear Coupled Dynamics Analysis of A Truss Spar Platform

Accurate prediction of the offshore structure motion response and associate mooring line tension is important in both technical applications and scientific research. In our study, a truss spar platform, operated in Gulf of Mexico, is numerically simulated and analyzed by an in-house numerical code ＇COUPLE＇. Both the platform motion responses and associated mooring line tension are calculated and investigated through a time domain nonlinear coupled dynamic analysis. Satisfactory agreement between the simulation and corresponding field measurements is in general reached, indicating that the numerical code can be used to conduct the time-domain analysis of a truss spar interacting with its mooting and riser system. Based on the comparison between linear and nonlinear results, the relative importance of nonlinearity in predicting the platform motion response and mooring line tensions is assessed and presented. Through the coupled and quasi-static analysis, the importance of the dynamic coupling effect between the platform hull and the mooting/riser system in predicting the mooting line tension and platform motions is quantified. These results may provide essential information pertaining to facilitate the numerical simulation and design of the large scale offshore structures.

Experimental study and numerical simulation of the impact of under-sleeper pads on the dynamic and static mechanical behavior of heavy-haul railway ballast track

Laying the under-sleeper pad(USP)is one of the effective measures commonly used to delay ballast degradation and reduce maintenance workload.To explore the impact of application of the USP on the dynamic and static mechanical behavior of the ballast track in the heavy-haul railway system,numerical simulation models of the ballast bed with USP and without USP are presented in this paper by using the discrete element method(DEM)-multi-flexible body dynamic(MFBD)coupling analysis method.The ballast bed support stiffness test and dynamic displacement tests were carried out on the actual operation of a heavy-haul railway line to verify the validity of the models.The results show that using the USP results in a 43.01%reduction in the ballast bed support stiffness and achieves a more uniform distribution of track loads on the sleepers.It effectively reduces the load borne by the sleeper directly under the wheel load,with a 7.89%reduction in the pressure on the sleeper.Furthermore,the laying of the USP changes the lateral resistance sharing ratio of the ballast bed,significantly reducing the stress level of the ballast bed under train loads,with an average stress reduction of 42.19 kPa.It also reduces the plastic displacement of ballast particles and lowers the peak value of rotational angular velocity by about 50%to 70%,which is conducive to slowing down ballast bed settlement deformation and reducing maintenance costs.In summary,laying the USP has a potential value in enhancing the stability and extending the lifespan of the ballast bed in heavy-haul railway systems.

Static and Dynamic Analysis of Lasing Action from Single and Coupled Photonic Crystal Nanocavity Lasers

The single and coupled photonic crystal nanocavity lasers are fabricated in the InGaAsP material system and their static and dynamic features are compared. The coupled-cavity lasers show a larger lasing e^ciency and generate an output power higher than the single-cavity lasers, results that are consistent with the theoretical results obtained by rate equations. In dynamic regime, the single-cavity lasers produce pulses as short as 113 ps, while the coupled-cavity lasers show a significantly longer lasing duration. These results indicate that the photonic crystal laser is a promising candidate for the light source in high-speed photonic integrated circuit.

Dynamics of Large-Truncated Mooring Systems Coupled with A Catenary Moored Semi-Submersible

With the floating structures pushing their activities to the ultra-deep water, model tests have presented a challenge due to the limitation of the existing wave basins. Therefore, the concept of truncated mooring system is implemented to replace the full depth mooring system in the model tests, which aims to have the same dynamic responses as the full depth system. The truncated mooring system plays such a significant role that extra attention should be paid to the mooring systems with large truncation factor. Three different types of large truncation factor mooring system are being employed in the simulations, including the homogenously truncated mooring system, non-homogenously truncated mooring system and simplified truncated mooring system. A catenary moored semi-submersible operating at 1000 m water depth is presented. In addition, truncated mooring systems are proposed at the truncated water depth of 200 m. In order to explore the applicability of these truncated mooring systems, numerical simulations of the platform’s surge free decay interacting with three different styles of truncated mooring systems are studied in calm water. Furthermore, the mooring-induced damping of the truncated mooring systems is simulated in the regular wave. Finally, the platform motion responses and mooring line dynamics are simulated in irregular wave. All these simulations are implemented by employing full time domain coupled dynamic analysis, and the results are compared with those of the full depth simulations in the same cases. The results show that the mooring-induced damping plays a significant role in platform motion responses, and all truncated mooring systems are suitable for model tests with appropriate truncated mooring line diameters. However, a large diameter is needed for simplified truncated mooring lines. The suggestions are given to the selection of truncated mooring system for different situations as well as to the truncated mooring design criteria.

Dynamic Analysis of Turret-Moored FPSO System in Freak Wave

Freak wave is the common wave which has significant wave height and irregular wave shape, and it is easy to damage offshore structure extremely. The FPSOs（Floating Production Storage and Offloading） suffer from the environment loads, including the freak wave. The freak waves were generated based on the improved phase modulation model, and the coupling model of FPSO-SPM（Single Point Mooring） was established by considering internal-turret FPSO and its mooring system. The dynamic response characteristics of both FPSO and SPM affected by the freak wave were analyzed in the time domain. According to the results, the freak waves generated by original phase modulation model mainly affect the 2nd-order wave loads. However, the freak waves which are generated by random frequencies phase modulation model affect both 1st-order and 2nd-order wave loads on FPSO. What is more, compared with the irregular waves, the dynamic responses of mooring system are larger in the freak waves, but its amplitude lags behind the peak of the freak wave.

A vertical coupling dynamic analysis method and engineering application of vehicle–track–substructure based on forced vibration

Purpose–This study aims to propose a vertical coupling dynamic analysis method of vehicle–track–substructure based on forced vibration and use this method to analyze the influence on the dynamic response of track and vehicle caused by local fastener failure.Design/methodology/approach–The track and substructure are decomposed into the rail subsystem and substructure subsystem,in which the rail subsystem is composed of two layers of nodes corresponding to the upper rail and the lower fastener.The rail is treated as a continuous beam with elastic discrete point supports,and spring-damping elements are used to simulate the constraints between rail and fastener.Forced displacement and forced velocity are used to deal with the effect of the substructure on the rail system,while the external load is used to deal with the reverse effect.The fastener failure is simulated with the methods that cancel the forced vibration transmission,namely take no account of the substructure–rail interaction at that position.Findings–The dynamic characteristics of the infrastructure with local diseases can be accurately calculated by using the proposed method.Local fastener failure will slightly affect the vibration of substructure and carbody,but it will significantly intensify the vibration response between wheel and rail.The maximum vertical displacement and the maximum vertical vibration acceleration of rail is 2.94 times and 2.97 times the normal value,respectively,under the train speed of 350 km$h
1.At the same time,the maximum wheel–rail force and wheel load reduction rate increase by 22.0 and 50.2%,respectively,from the normal value.Originality/value–This method can better reveal the local vibration conditions of the rail and easily simulate the influence of various defects on the dynamic response of the coupling system.

Design Methodology Research of the Floating Foundation for the Offshore MW-Rating Wind Turbine

With the rapid growth of the offshore wind industry, the innovative floating offshore wind turbine is chosen as the most feasible device to harvest the vast wind energy in deep water area. However there is no practical design guide for the floating wind turbine especially the floating foundation. In this paper, based on the investigation on the worldwide floating wind turbine and current available expertise on floating platforms accumulated in offshore O/G （oil and gas） industry, an integrated design methodology is presented according to the specialized characteristics of wind turbine, including the type selection of foundation and mooring system, design standard, design procedure, design conditions, key technologies involved. Finally a semi-submersible floating foundation is designed to support certain megawatt-rating wind turbine of Goldwind and also performance analysis and code checks are performed to validate the design. The design method of the floating foundation provided in this paper is proved feasible and can be adopted in practical engineering design.

Time-domain floater stress analysis for a floating wind turbine

There are increasing focuses on developing cost-effective floating wind turbines,for which efficient stress analysis methods are needed for floater structural design.Most of the today’s studies focus on global analysis methods in which the floater is assumed as a rigid body or multiple rigid bodies and the stress distributions in the floater cannot be directly obtained.As part of the COWI Fonden funded EMULF project,a summary about the methodology,the numerical modeling procedure and the verification for stress response analysis of a semi-submersible floater for a 15MW wind turbine is presented.This analy-sis procedure includes the regeneration of the hydrodynamic pressure loads on the external wet surface of the floater due to wave diffraction,radiation and hydrostatic pressure change,and the application of these pressure loads,together with the time-varying gravity due motions,the inertial loads and the forces/moments at the boundaries(i.e.tower bottom and mooring line fairleads)of the floater to obtain the deformation and the stresses of the floater in the time domain.The analysis procedure is imple-mented in a developed MATLAB code and the DNV software package.The importance of the different hydrodynamic pressure components was discussed considering representative sea states.A verification of the obtained stress time series and statistics using this method against the regeneration from a linear frequency-domain approach was made considering irregular wave actions only,and a very good agree-ment was obtained.The developed methodology can provide an efficient solution for structural design analysis of floating wind turbines.