NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF SEABED INTERACTION IN TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF MOORING CABLES

In this paper, an efficient two-dimensional finite element model for numerical analysis of mooring cables and seabed interaction has been built. Geometric shape and dynamics of mooring cables are computed in time domain, accounting for the motions of the moored sturcture. In the model, a hybrid beam element is employed to simulate the mooring cable while the seabed is simulated by application of different soil constitutive models. After the elastic and elastic-plastic soil constitutive models have been used for computation, tensions and offsets of mooring cables at fairlead point are also compared accounting for friction effect between cables and seabed. Both transversal and longitudinal behaviors are studied at different water depths.

Numerical Modeling of a Spar Platform Tethered by a Mooring Cable

Virtual simulation is an economical and efficient method in mechanical system design. Numerical modeling of a spar platform, tethered by a mooring cable with a spherical joint is developed for the dynamic simulation of the floating structure in ocean. The geometry modeling of the spar is created using finite element methods. The submerged part of the spar bears the buoyancy, hydrodynamic drag force, and effect of the added mass and Froude-Krylov force. Strip theory is used to sum up the forces acting on the elements. The geometry modeling of the cable is established based on the lumped-mass-and-spring modeling through which the cable is divided into 10 elements. A new element-fixed local frame is used, which is created by the element orientation vector and relative velocity of the fluid, to express the loads acting on the cable. The bottom of the cable is fixed on the seabed by spring forces, while the top of the cable is connected to the bottom of the spar platform by a modified spherical joint. This system suffers the propagating wave and current in the X-direction and the linear wave theory is applied for setting of the propagating wave. Based on the numerical modeling, the displacement-load relationships are analyzed, and the simulation results of the numerical modeling are compared with those by the commercial simulation code, Proteus DS. The comparison indicates that the numerical modeling of the spar platform tethered by a mooring cable is well developed, which provides an instruction for the optimization of a floating structure tethered by a mooring cable system.

An Improved Approach for Interaction of Wave with Floating Spheres and Its Applications

To develop and utilize marine resources in the deep sea, the higher requirements for floating structures, which are operated in marine environment for a long term, have been put forward. Reasonable structure type and accurate force analysis are favorable guarantees to improve the survival performance and working performance of the floating structures. Floating spheres fastened by mooring cable were widely used in floating structures. In this paper, the wave forces of the floating sphere are efficiently and accurately calculated by solving the geometric relationship between the non-submerged floating sphere and wave surface. Combined with the hydrodynamic calculation of mooring cables based on the lumped mass method, the coupled motion model of multi-floating spheres fastened by multi-mooring cable was established under wave action. Furthermore, according to the floating structures fastened by mooring cable in the actual ocean engineering, the topological method of multi-mooring cables fastening the multifloating spheres was expounded from simple to complex. Finally, the modeling method and preliminarily hydrodynamic characteristics of the fastened floating structures, including the mooring system of renewable energy devices, ocean buoy, and coral nursery, were presented and analyzed in detail. The obtained results showed that the method for calculating the wave force on the floating sphere developed in this paper can accurately describe the motion process of the floating mooring sphere and the force on the mooring cable. Also, the topological method of multiple buoys and multiple mooring cables could efficiently establish various numerical hydrodynamic models of fastened buoys in ocean engineering.

Characteristic Aerodynamic Loads and Load Effects on the Dynamics of a Floating Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

The development of offshore wind farms in deep water favors floating wind turbine designs, but floating horizontal axis wind turbines are facing the challenge of high cost of energy (CoE). The development of innovative designs to reduce the CoE is thus desirable, such as floating vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). This study demonstrates the characteristics of aerodynamic loads and load effects of a two-bladed floating VAWT supported by a semi-submersible platform. Fully coupled simulations are performed using the time-domain aero-hydro-servo-elastic code SIMO-RIFLEX-AC. It is found that thrust, lateral force, and aerodynamic torque vary considerably and periodically with the rotor azimuth angle. However, the variation in the generator torque can be alleviated to some extent by the control strategy applied. Moreover, the variations of platform motions and tensions in the mooring lines are strongly influenced by turbulent winds, whereas those of tower-base bending moments are not. The tower-base bending moments exhibit notable two-per-revolution (2P) response characteristics. © 2017 Tianjin University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany

Effects of Second-Order Difference-Frequency Wave Forces on Floating Wind Turbine Under Survival Condition

In this paper, the effects of second-order difference-frequency wave forces on the global motion of an offshore wind turbine system with a large displacement under the survival condition are studied. In this case, the hydrodynamic force is the main force because the blades are feathered to reduce the lifting force. The first-order hydrodynamic forces are calculated by WADAM, while the second-order wave forces are calculated by a customized MATLAB module. Then the hydrodynamic coefficients are transferred to the wind turbine analytical code FAST. Through the comparisons of dynamic responses between the first- and second-order numerical models, it is found that the second-order wave forces significantly influence the motion of floating wind turbine under the survival condition. Moreover, neglecting the second-order force significantly underestimates the tension forces in the mooring lines. © 2017, Tianjin University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Numerical Modeling of a Spherical Buoy Moored by a Cable in Three Dimensions

Floating facilities have been studied based on the static analysis of mooring cables over the past decades. To analyze the floating system of a spherical buoy moored by a cable with a higher accuracy than before, the dynamics of the cables are considered in the construction of the numerical modeling. The cable modeling is established based on a new element frame through which the hydrodynamic loads are expressed efficiently. The accuracy of the cable modeling is verified with an experiment that is conducted by a catenary chain moving in a water tank. In addition, the modeling of a spherical buoy is established with respect to a spherical coordinate in three dimensions, which can suffers the gravity, the variable buoyancy and Froude-Krylov loads. Finally, the numerical modeling for the system of a spherical buoy moored by a cable is established, and a virtual simulation is proceeded with the X- and Y-directional linear waves and the X-directional current. The comparison with the commercial simulation code Proteus DS indicates that the system is accurately analyzed by the numerical modeling. The tensions within the cable, the motions of the system, and the relationship between the motions and waves are illustrated according to the defined sea state. The dynamics of the cables should be considered in analyzing the floating system of a spherical buoy moored by a cable.