Motion Analysis of Two Floating Platforms with Mooring and Hawser Lines in Tandem Moored Operation by Combined Matrix Method and Separated Matrix Method

J. Ocean Eng. Technol. 2005;19(5):1-15.

KOO BON-JUN;KIM MOO-HYUN;

Basic Design Part, Offshore Design Team, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.;Coastal and Ocean Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA.;

Keywords: Hull-mooring-riser Coupling, FPSO, Shuttle Tanker, Tandem Moored, Multiple Floating Bodies, Combined Matrix Method, Separated Matrix Method

Abstract

The motion behaviors including hydrodynamic interaction and mechanical coupling effects on multiple-body floating platforms are simulated by using a time domain hull/mooring/riser coupled dynamics analysis program. The objective of this study is to evaluate off-diagonal hydrodynamic interaction effects and mechanical coupling effects on tandem moored FPSO and shuttle taker motions. In the multiple-body floating platforms interaction, hydrodynamic coupling effects with waves and mechanical coupling effects through the connectors should be considered. Thus, in this study, the multiple-body platform motions are calculated by Combined Matrix Method (CMM) as well as Separated Matrix Method (SMM). The advantage of the combined matrix method is that it can include all the 6Nx6N full hydrodynamic and mechanical interaction effects among N bodies. Whereas, due to the larger matrix size, the calculation time of Combined Matrix Method (CMM) is longer than the Separated Matrix Method (SMM). On the other hand, Separated Matrix Method (SMM) cannot include the off-diagonal 6x6 hydrodynamic interaction coefficients although it can fully include mechanical interactions among N bodies. To evaluate hydrodynamic interaction and mechanical coupling effects, tandem moored FPSO and shuttle tanker is simulated by Combined Matrix Method (CMM) and Separated Matrix Method (SMM). The calculation results give a good agreement between Combined Matrix Method (CMM) and Separated Matrix Method (SMM). The results show that the Separated Matrix Method (SMM) is more efficient for tandem moored FPSO and shuttle tanker. In the numerical calculation, the hydrodynamic coefficients are calculated from a 3D diffraction/radiation panel program WAMIT, and wind and current forces are generated by using the respective coefficients given in the OCIMF data sheet.