Comparison of Linear Level I Green-Naghdi Theory with Linear Wave Theory for Prediction of Hydroelastic Responses of VLFS

Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS) have drawn considerable attention recently due to their potential significance in the exploitation of ocean resources and in the utilization of ocean space. Efficient and accurate estimation of their hydroelastic responses to waves is very important for the design. Recently, an efficient numerical algorithm was developed by Ertekin and Kim (1999). However, in their analysis, the linear Level I Green-Naghdi (GN) theory is employed to describe fluid dynamics instead of the conventional linear wave (LW) theory of finite water depth. They claimed that this linear level I GN theory provided better predictions of the hydroelastic responses of VLFS than the linear wave theory. In this paper, a detailed derivation is given in the conventional linear wave theory framework with the same quantity as used in the linear level I GN theory framework. This allows a critical comparison between the linear wave theory and the linear level I GN theory. It is found that the linear level I GN theory can be regarded as an approximation to the linear wave theory of finite water depth. The consequences of the differences between these two theories in the predicted hydroelastic responses are studied quantitatively. And it is found that the linear level I GN theory is not superior to the linear wave theory. Finally, various factors affecting the hydroelastic response of VLFS are studied with the implemented algorithm.

An Improved Simplified Method for Predicting the Hydroelastic Response of Mat-Like VLFS

Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS) have received considerable attention recently. Efficient and accurate estimation of their hydroelastic responses in waves is very important for the design. The most efficient approach would obviously be the analytical one, Within the category of analytical approaches, the simplified method proposed by Ohkusu and his colleague are of special characteristics. However, when one studies their methods, several questions arise. The purpose of this paper is to critically study the simplified methods proposed by Ohkusu and his colleague in order to answer these questions. Some problems in their original methods have been found and possible improvements are suggested. It is concluded that the improved simplified method using the same idea of Ohkusu and his colleague could provide a reasonable estimate of the hydroelastic response of mat-like VLFS in a certain range of incident angles of waves.

Transient Hydroelastic Response of VLFS by FEM with Impedance Boundary Conditions in Time Domain

A time-dependent finite element method (FEM) is developed to analyze the transient hydroelastic responses of very large floating structures (VLFS) subjected to dynamic loads. The hydrodynamic problem is formulated based on the linear theory of fluid and the structural response is analyzed based on the thin plate theory. The FEM truncates the unbounded fluid domain by introducing an artificial boundary surface, thus defining a finite computational domain. At this boundary surface an impedance boundary conditions are applied so that no wave reflections occur. In the proposed scheme, all of the procedures are processed directly in time domain, which is efficient for nonlinear analyses of structure floating on unbounded fluid. Numerical results indicate acceptable accuracy of the proposed method.

Hydroelastic Response Analysis of Mat-Like VLFS over A Plane Slope in Head Seas

Very large floating structures (VLFS) have an extremely large size of several kilometers in length, thus, the environment at one end of the platform may be different from that at the other end. The importance of such an inhomogeneous environment to the hydroelastic response of a VLFS is of obvious concern for practical application. Some studies have been carried out to investigate the effects of shoreline proximity, breakwaters and harbor walls. In this paper, the impact of the variable depth on the hydroelastic responses of a VLFS is investigated. For simplicity, an ascending plane slope is taken to simulate the varying bottom although the method is capable of treating a bottom of arbitrary variation. The long wave theory and the thin plate theory are employed to model the wave field and the mat-like VLFS respectively. The finite difference method is used to numerically solve the boundary value problem. The results for the zero inclination slope are compared with experimental data and an analytical method to validate the present numerical method. Finally the effect of the inclination of the slope on reflection and transmission coefficients and plate deflections are investigated thoroughly.

Hydroelastic Response of VLFS with An Attached Submerged Horizontal Solid/Porous Plate Under Wave Action

The hydroelastic responses of a submerged horizontal solid/porous plate attached at the front of a very large rectangular floating structure(VLFS)under wave action has been investigated in the context of linear water wave theory.Darcy’s law is adopted to represent energy dissipation in pores.It is assumed that the porous plates are made of material with very fine pores so that the normal velocity across the perforated porous is linearly associated with the pressure drop.In the analytic method,the eigenfunction expansion-matching method(EEMM)for multiple domains is applied to solve the hydrodynamic problem and the elastic equation of motion is solved by the modal expansion method.The performance of the proposed submerged horizontal solid/porous plate can be significantly enhanced by selecting optimal design parameters,such as plate length,horizontal position,submerged depth and porosity.It is concluded that good damping effect can be achieved through installation of solid and porous plate.Porous plate has better damping effect at low frequencies,while solid plate has better damping effect at high frequencies.The optimal ratio of plate length to water depth is 0.25-0.375,and the optimal ratio of submerged depth to water depth is 0.09-0.181.

A Study on Hydroelastic Response of Box-Type Very Large Floating Structures

The application of very large floating structure (VLFS) to the utilization of ocean space and exploitation of ocean resources has become one of the issues of great interest in international ocean engineering field. Owing to the advantage of simplicity in structure and low cost of construction and maintenance, box-type VLFS can be used in the calm water area near the coast as the structure configuration of floating airport. In this paper, a 3D linear hydroelastic theory is used to study the dynamic response of box-type VLFS in sinusoidal regular waves. A beam model and a 3D FEM model are respectively employed to describe the dynamic characteristics of the box-type Structure in vacuum. A hydrodynamic model (3D potential theory of flexible body) is applied to investigate the effect of different dry models on the hydroelastic response of box-type structure. Based on the calculation of hydroelastic response in regular waves, the rigid body motion displacement, flexible deflection, and the short term and long term wave induced bending moments are also predicted.

Power enhancement of pontoon-type wave energy convertor via hydroelastic response and variable power take-off system

Wave energy has gained its popularity in recent decades due to the vast amount of untapped wave energy resources.There are numerous types of wave energy convertor(WEC)being proposed and to be economically viable,various means to enhance the power generation from WECs have been studied and investigated.In this paper,a novel pontoon-type WEC,which is formed by multiple plate-like modules connected by hinges,are considered.The power enhancement of this pontoon-type WEC is achieved by allowing certain level of structural deformation and by utilizing a series of optimal variable power take-off(PTO)system.The wave energy is converted into useful electricity by attaching the PTO systems on the hinge connectors such that the mechanical movements of the hinges could produce electricity.In this paper,various structural rigidity of the interconnected modules are considered by changing the material Young’s modulus in order to investigate its impact on the power enhancement.In addition,the genetic algorithm optimization scheme is utilized to seek for the optimal PTO damping in the variable PTO system.It is observed that under certain condition,the flexible pontoon-type WEC with lesser connection joints is more effective in generating energy as compared to its rigid counterpart with higher connection joints.It is also found that the variable PTO system is able to generate greater energy as compared to the PTO system with constant/uniform PTO damping.

Investigation of Hydroelastic Ship Responses of An ULOC in Head Seas

Investigation of hydroelastic ship responses has been brought to the attention of the scientific and engineering world for several decades. There are two kinds of high-frequency vibrations in general ship responses to a large ocean-going ship in its shipping line, so-called springing and whipping, which are important for the determination of design wave load and fatigue damage as well. Because of the huge scale of an ultra large ore cartier （ULOC）, it will suffer seldom slamming events in the ocean. The resonance vibration with high frequency is springing, which is caused by continuous wave excitation. In this paper, the wave-induced vibrations of the ULOC are addressed by experimental and numerical methods according to 2D and 3D hydroelasticity theories and an elastic model under full-load and ballast conditions. The influence of loading conditions on high-frequency vibration is studied both by numerical and experimental results. Wave-induced vibrations are higher under ballast condition including the wave frequency part, the multiple frequencies part, the 2-node and the 3-node vertical bending parts of the hydroelastic responses. The predicted results from the 2D method have less accuracy than the 3D method especially under ballast condition because of the slender-body assumption in the former method. The applicability of the 2D method and the further development of nonlinear effects to 3D method in the prediction of hydroelastic responses of the ULOC are discussed.

Time Domain Simulation of Transient Responses of Very Large Floating Structures Under Unsteady External Loads

A time domain finite element method （FEM） for the analysis of transient elastic response of a very large floating structure （VLFS） subjected to arbitrary time-dependent external loads is presented. This method is developed directly in time domain and the hydrodynamic problem is formulated based on linear, inviscid and slightly compressible fluid theory and the structural response is analyzed on the thin plate assumption. The time domain finite element procedure herein is validated by comparing numerical results with available experimental data. Finally, the transient elastic response of a pontoon-type VLFS under the landing of an airplane is computed by the proposed time domain FEM. The time histories of the applied force and the position and velocity of an airplane during landing are modeled with data from a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet.

Hydroelastic Analysis of Very Large Floating Structures Using Plate Green Functions

Great attention has been paid to the development of very large floating structures. Owing to their extreme large size and great flexibility, the coupling between the structural deformation and fluid motion is significant. This is a typical problem of hydroelasticity. Efficient and accurate estimation of the hydroelastic response of very large floating structures in waves is very important for design. In this paper, the plate Green function and fluid Green function are combined to analyze the hydroelastic response of very large floating structures. The plate Green function here is a new one proposed by the authors and it satisfies all boundary conditions for free-free rectangular plates on elastic foundations. The results are compared with some experimental data. It is shown that the method proposed in this paper is efficient and accurate. Finally, various factors affecting the hydroelastic response of very large floating structures are also studied.

Oblique Wave-Induced Responses of A VLFS Edged with A Pair of Inclined Perforated Plates

This paper is concerned with the hydroelastic responses of a mat-like, rectangular very large floating structure(VLFS) edged with a pair of horizontal/inclined perforated anti-motion plates in the context of the direct coupling method. The updated Lagrangian formulae are applied to establish the equilibrium equations of the VLFS and the total potential formula is employed for fluids in the numerical model including the viscous effect of the perforated plates through the Darcy’s law. The hybrid finite element-boundary element(FE-BE) method is implemented to determine the response reduction of VLFS with attached perforated plates under various oblique incident waves.Also, the numerical solutions are validated against a series of experimental tests. The effectiveness of the attached perforated plates in reducing the deflections of the VLFS can be significantly improved by selecting the proper design parameters such as the porous parameter, submergence depth, plate width and inclination angle for the given sea conditions.

超大浮体与OWC集成系统的水动力性能:半解析研究

Responses of the very large floating Structures(VLFS)can be mitigated by implementing oscillating water columns(OWCs).This paper explores the fundamental mechanism of present wave interactions with both structures and examines the hydrodynamic performance of VLFS equipped with OWCs(VLFS-OWCs).Under the linear potential flow theory framework,the semi-analytical model of wave interaction with VLFS-OWCs is developed using the eigenfunction matching method.The semi-analytical model is verified using the Haskind relationship and wave energy conservation law.Results show that the system with dual-chamber OWCs has a wider frequency bandwidth in wave power extraction and hydroelastic response mitigation of VLFS.It is worth noting that the presence of Bragg resonance can be trigged due to wave interaction with the chamber walls and the VLFS,which is not beneficial for the wave power extraction performance and the protection of VLFS.

On the Interaction of Surface Waves with An Elastic Plate of Finite Length in Head Seas

An eigen-function expansion method based on a new orthogonal inner product is proposed by Sahoo et al. (2000) for the study of the hydroelastic response of mat-type VLFS in head seas. However, their main emphasis is on the effect of edge conditions and they assume that the plate is of a semi-infinite length. In reality, the plate is of finite length. For consideration of the finite length effect, the reflection and transmission from the other end must be considered. The effect of this reflection and transmission on the hydroelastic response of VLFS is of interest for practical application. Furthermore, the physical meaning of the new inner product was not given in their paper. In this paper, it is shown that the new inner product can he derived from the governing equation and the bottom boundary conditions. Then the same eigen-function expansion method is adopted for the study of the hydroelastic response of an elastic plate of finite length in surface waves. Detailed comparisons are made between the present finite length model and the semi-infinite model and between the present model predictions and the experimental results. It is found that that the finite length effect is significant and the accuracy of present model is higher than the semi-infinite model. Furthermore, a new phenomenon, which is not mentioned in Sahoo et al. (2000), is found. Taht is, for larger L/h ratios, the reflection and transmission coefficients will oscillate with the non-dimensional parameter k(0) h. Further study is needed for full understanding of this phenomenon.

Experimental Study of Mooring Type Effect on the Hydrodynamic Characteristics of VLFS

Mooring system is a significant part of very large offshore floating structures(VLFS).In this paper,a single module pontoon type VLFS model considering four mooring types is studied through physical model tests to determine the effects of mooring conditions on the hydroelastic response,mooring force,incident coefficient,reflection coefficient and energy dissipation coefficient.Eight mooring cables are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the model.The floating body model satisfies the similarity of stiffness and gravity,while the cable satisfies the similarity of elasticity and gravity.The results show that the effect of mooring type on mooring force is greater than that on hydroelastic response.Increasing the initial tension of the mooring cable will reduce the amplitude of the leeward of the VLFS model.The mooring angle of the mooring cable will affect the maximum mooring force and the initial tension of the mooring line will affect the wave period in which the maximum mooring force occurs.The transmission coefficient and wave energy dissipation coefficient will change regularly with different mooring types.These results may provide a reference to facilitate the mooring design of VLFS.

Numerical analysis of added mass and damping of elastic hydrofoils

A numerical model is proposed for analyzing the effects of added mass and damping on the dynamic behaviors of hydrofoils.Strongly coupled fluid-structure interactions(FSIs)of hydrofoils are analyzed by using the 3-D panel method for the fluid and the finite element method for the hydrofoils.The added mass and damping matrices due to the external fluid of the hydrofoil are asymmetric and computational inefficient.The computational inefficiencies associated with these asymmetric matrices are overcome by using a modal reduction technique,in which the first several wet mode vectors of the hydrofoil are employed in the analysis of the FSI problem.The discretized system of equations of motion for the hydrofoil are solved using the Wilson-6 method.The present methods are validated by comparing the computed results with those obtained from the finite element analysis.It is found that the stationary flow is sufficient for determining the wet modes of the hydrofoil under the condition of single-phase potential flow and without phase change.In the case of relatively large inflow velocity,the added damping of the fluid can significantly affect the structural responses of the hydrofoil.