Coupled CFD Simulation of the Response of a Calm Buoy in Waves

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Woodburn ◽  
Paul Gallagher ◽  
Mamoun Naciri ◽  
Jean-Paul Borleteau
Keyword(s):  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Viscous Damping ◽  
Mooring System ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Floating Structure ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Natural Period ◽  
Model Scale ◽  
Waves And Currents ◽  
Work Done

This paper describes work done within the EU FP5 Project EXPRO-CFD to develop a system to couple commercial CFD software to existing hydromechanics tools to allow prediction of the response of floating structures in waves and currents, including viscous effects. Its focus is the use of this system to improve the prediction of CALM buoy response in waves. The Atkins EXPRO-CFD system is made up from the CFD code CFX, coupled to the AQWA-LINE and AQWA-NAUT hydromechanics codes. In this system, CFD provides the complete set of hydrodynamic forces and moments at each time step in the motions simulation, with the dynamics of the floating structure, its moorings and riser/export lines modeled in the AQWA-NAUT software. AQWA-NAUT returns the structure’s displacements and velocities to the CFD model and a moving grid algorithm uses these to couple motions and fluid flow in an accurate and stable manner. The motions of a CALM buoy were studied to test the capabilities of the system. The CALM buoy geometry (based on current designs by SBM) is 23m in diameter with a 2m wide skirt attached 1m above the keel; the effects of flow separation off this skirt and the associated viscous damping on the motions of the buoy were expected to be significant, especially around its natural period. A series of 1:40 model scale tests were carried out by Sirenha using a simplified mooring system with no risers. The results from the model tests, from AQWA-NAUT alone (carried out by SBM), and from the coupled EXPRO model were compared directly at model scale. The same AQWA-NAUT model was used in both the AQWA-NAUT-only simulations and the coupled simulations, allowing direct comparison between the results. The EXPRO-system simulations were carried out ‘blind’, i.e. without access to the experimental data. The three sets of RAOs showed reasonable agreement in long or short waves (within the limits of the specification of the mooring system). However, around the natural period, the AQWA-NAUT-only model significantly over-predicted the response in heave, and in particular in pitch. Although the EXPRO-CFD system slightly over predicted the heave and pitch responses, the results were close to the experimental measurements throughout. Further tests indicate that the weakness in the potential flow approach appears to be in the formulation of added viscous damping rather than the choice of model values for drag coefficients.

Using CFD to Assess Low Frequency Damping

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Pistidda ◽  
Harald Ottens ◽  
Richard Zoontjes
Keyword(s):  
Standard Procedure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Added Mass ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Viscous Damping ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Floating Bodies ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Damping Coefficients ◽  
Quadratic Component

During offshore installation operations, floating bodies are often moored using soft mooring which are designed to withstand the environmental forces. Large amplitude motions often occur due to excitation by slowly varying wind and wave drift forces. To analyze these motions the dynamic system has to be accurately described, which includes an estimation of the added mass and damping coefficients. In general, the added mass can be accurately calculated with traditional potential theory. However for the damping this method is not adequate because viscous effects play an important role. Generally these data are obtained using model tests. This paper validates the CFD methodology as an alternative to model tests to evaluate the viscous damping. The aim is to define a standard procedure to derive viscous damping coefficients for surge, sway and yaw motion of floating bodies. To estimate viscous damping in CFD, a 3D model of the launch and float-over barge H-851 was used. For this barge, model test data is available which could be compared with the results of the CFD analysis. For the simulations, the commercial package STAR-CCM+ with the implicit unsteady solver for Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations was used. The turbulence model implemented was the k-Omega-SST. Numerical errors have been assessed performing sensitivity analysis on time step and grid size. Damping has been investigated by performing decay simulations as in the model tests, taking the effect of coupling among all motions into account. The P-Q fitting method has been used to determine the linear and quadratic component of the damping. Numerical results are validated with those obtained from the towing tank. Results show that CFD is an adequate tool to estimate the low frequency damping in terms of equivalent damping. More investigations are required to determine the linear and quadratic component.

URANS Predictions of Low-Frequency Damping of a LNGC

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédérick Jaouën ◽  
Arjen Koop ◽  
Lucas Vatinel
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Viscous Damping ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Offshore Structure ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Damping Coefficients ◽  
Hydrodynamic Damping

Abstract The horizontal motions of a moored offshore structure in waves are dominated by the resonance phenomena that occur at the natural frequencies of the system. Therefore, the maximum excursions of the structure depend on both the wave loads and the damping in the system. At present, potential flow calculations are employed for predicting the wave loads on offshore structures. However, such methods cannot predict hydrodynamic damping which is dominated by viscous effects. Therefore, the current practice in the industry is to obtain the low-frequency damping based on model testing. Nowadays, CFD simulations also have the potential to predict the low-frequency viscous damping of offshore structures in calm water. To obtain confidence in the accuracy of CFD simulations, a proper validation of the results of such CFD calculations is essential. In this paper, the flow around a forced surging or swaying LNGC is calculated using the CFD code ReFRESCO. The objective is to assess the accuracy and applicability of CFD for predicting the low-frequency viscous damping. After a description of the code and the used numerical methods, the results are presented and compared with results from model tests. Both inertia and damping coefficients are analyzed from the calculated hydrodynamics loads. Extensive numerical studies have been carried out to determine the influence of grid resolution, time step and iterative convergence on the flow solution and on the calculated damping. The numerical uncertainty of the results are assessed for one combination of amplitude and period for the surge motion. The CFD results are compared to experimental results indicating that the calculated damping coefficients agree within 5% for both surge and sway motion.

North Sea Mooring Systems: How Reliable Are They?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Brindley ◽  
Andrew P. Comley
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Mooring Line ◽  
Mooring System ◽  
Failure Rates ◽  
Floating Structure ◽  
Strength Capacity ◽  
Failure Statistics ◽  
Overall Reliability

In recent years a number of high profile mooring failures have emphasised the high risk nature of this element of a floating structure. Semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) operating in the harsh North Sea environment have experienced approximately 3 mooring failures every 2 years, based on an average population of 34 units. In recognition of the high mooring failure rates, the HSE has introduced recommendations for more stringent mooring strength requirements for units operating on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) [17]. Although strength requirements are useful to assess the suitability of a mooring design, they do not provide an insight into the question: what is the reliability of the mooring system? This paper aims to answer this question by evaluating failure statistics over the most recent decade of available data. Mooring failure rates are compared between the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), the UKCS, and with industry code targets to understand how overall reliability is related to the strength capacity of a mooring system. The failure statistics suggest that a typical MODU operating in the UKCS would experience a mooring line failure in heavy weather approximately every 20 operating years. This failure rate appears to be several orders of magnitude greater than industry targets used to calibrate mooring codes. Despite the increased strength requirements for the NCS, failure rates do not appear to be lower than the UKCS. This suggests that reliability does not correlate well with mooring system strength. As a result, designing to meet the more rigorous HSE requirements, which would require extensive upgrades to existing units, may not significantly increase mooring system reliability. This conclusion needs to be supported with further investigation of failure statistics in both the UKCS and NCS. In general, work remains to find practical ways to further understand past failures and so improve overall reliability.

Advanced Weathervaning in Ice

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Hidding ◽  
Guillaume Bonnaffoux ◽  
Mamoun Naciri
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Change ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Mooring System ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Ice Loads ◽  
Level Ice ◽  
Drift Direction

The reported presence of one third of remaining fossil reserves in the Arctic has sparked a lot of interest from energy companies. This has raised the necessity of developing specific engineering tools to design safely and accurately arctic-compliant offshore structures. The mooring system design of a turret-moored vessel in ice-infested waters is a clear example of such a key engineering tool. In the arctic region, a turret-moored vessel shall be designed to face many ice features: level ice, ice ridges or even icebergs. Regarding specifically level ice, a turret-moored vessel will tend to align her heading (to weather vane) with the ice sheet drift direction in order to decrease the mooring loads applied by this ice sheet. For a vessel already embedded in an ice sheet, a rapid change in the ice drift direction will suddenly increase the ice loads before the weathervaning occurs. This sudden increase in mooring loads may be a governing event for the turret-mooring system and should therefore be understood and simulated properly to ensure a safe design. The paper presents ADWICE (Advanced Weathervaning in ICE), an engineering tool dedicated to the calculation of the weathervaning of ship-shaped vessels in level ice. In ADWICE, the ice load formulation relies on the Croasdale model. Ice loads are calculated and applied to the vessel quasi-statically at each time step. The software also updates the hull waterline contour at each time step in order to calculate precisely the locations of contact between the hull and the ice sheet. Model tests of a turret-moored vessel have been performed in an ice basin. Validation of the simulated response is performed by comparison with model tests results in terms of weathervaning time, maximum mooring loads, and vessel motions.

Guidelines for CFD Simulations of Spar VIM

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Lefevre ◽  
Yiannis Constantinides ◽  
Jang Whan Kim ◽  
Mike Henneke ◽  
Robert Gordon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Test Data ◽  
Model Test ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Mooring System ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Scaled Model ◽  
Sway Motion

Vortex-Induced Motion (VIM), which occurs as a consequence of exposure to strong current such as Loop Current eddies in the Gulf of Mexico, is one of the critical factors in the design of the mooring and riser systems for deepwater offshore structures such as Spars and multi-column Deep Draft Floaters (DDFs). The VIM response can have a significant impact on the fatigue life of mooring and riser components. In particular, Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) suspended from the floater can be sensitive to VIM-induced fatigue at their mudline touchdown points. Industry currently relies on scaled model testing to determine VIM for design. However, scaled model tests are limited in their ability to represent VIM for the full scale structure since they are generally not able to represent the full scale Reynolds number and also cannot fully represent waves effects, nonlinear mooring system behavior or sheared and unsteady currents. The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to simulate VIM can more realistically represent the full scale Reynolds number, waves effects, mooring system, and ocean currents than scaled physical model tests. This paper describes a set of VIM CFD simulations for a Spar hard tank with appurtenances and their comparison against a high quality scaled model test. The test data showed considerable sensitivity to heading angle relative to the incident flow as well as to reduced velocity. The simulated VIM-induced sway motion was compared against the model test data for different reduced velocities (Vm) and Spar headings. Agreement between CFD and model test VIM-induced sway motion was within 9% over the full range of Vm and headings. Use of the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES, Shur et al 2008) turbulence model gives the best agreement with the model test measurements. Guidelines are provided for meshing and time step/solver setting selection.

Tank Test and Numerical Simulation of Spar Type Floating OTEC

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunka C. Hirao ◽  
Jun Umeda ◽  
Kentaroh Kokubun ◽  
Toshifumi Fujiwara
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Scaling Law ◽  
Internal Flow ◽  
Bending Moment ◽  
Floating Structure ◽  
Waves And Currents ◽  
Tank Test ◽  
Safety Assessments ◽  
Ocean Thermal Energy

Abstract National Maritime Research Institute, NMRI, had been studying the analytical method on safety assessments of floating power generation facilities for ten years more. As a part of these studies, an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) was also studied in our institute. The OTEC normally has a very long and thick Cold-Water Pipe (CWP) with an unanchored end to pump up a large amount of cold-water continuously. From the viewpoints of the safety assessments of the OTEC operation, it is noteworthy to confirm the effect of the existing long pipe against a floating unit/body and an effect of internal flowing water. It is necessary, moreover, to consider the Vortex Induced Vibration (VIV) effect for floater motions and structural analysis of the pipe itself and a connecting point of the floating structure. In this paper, the results of model tests and numerical simulations of a spar type floating OTEC with a single CWP in waves and currents are presented. The CWP model was made of material fitting the scaling law for a planned full scale OTEC. The specific and unique phenomena of the floating OTEC were confirmed from the model test results. Based on the results of the tank tests and the numerical simulations, we confirmed the necessary items and arrangements for safety evaluations. In detail, the internal flow increased the bending moment at the connection point.

scholarly journals CFD Simulation and Experimental Study on Coupled Motion Response of Ship with Tank in Beam Waves

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Tao He ◽  
Dakui Feng ◽  
Liwei Liu ◽  
Xianzhou Wang ◽  
Hua Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Body Motion ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Coupled Motion ◽  
Motion Response ◽  
Time Step Size ◽  
Tank Sloshing

Tank sloshing is widely present in many engineering fields, especially in the field of marine. Due to the trend of large-scale liquid cargo ships, it is of great significance to study the coupled motion response of ships with tanks in beam waves. In this study, the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) method and experiments are used to study the response of a ship with/without a tank in beam waves. All the computations are performed by an in-house CFD solver, which is used to solve RANS (Reynold Average Navier-Stokes) equations coupled with six degrees-of-freedom solid-body motion equations. The Level Set Method is used to solve the free surface. Verification work on the grid number and time step size has been conducted. The simulation results agree with the experimental results well, which shows that the numerical method is accurate enough. In this paper, several different working conditions are set up, and the effects of the liquid height in the tank, the size of the tank and the wavelength ratio of the incident wave on the ship’s motion are studied. The results show the effect of tank sloshing on the ship’s motion in different working conditions.

scholarly journals Comparison of Two Single Stage Low-Pressure Rotary Lobe Expander Geometries in Terms of Operation

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 4512
Author(s):  
Michalina Kurkus-Gruszecka ◽  
Piotr Krawczyk
Keyword(s):  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Single Stage ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Data Simulation ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Geometry Model

In the article the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and calculated operational parameters of the single stage low-pressure rotary lobe expander compared with the values obtained from a different geometry simulation are presented. Low-pressure rotary lobe expanders are rotary engines that use a compressed gas to produce mechanical energy, which in turn can be converted into another form, i.e., electric energy. Currently, expanders are used in narrow areas, but have a large potential in the energy production from gases of low thermodynamic parameters. The first geometry model was designed on the basis of an industrial device and validated with the empirical data. Simulation of the second geometry was made based on a validated model in order to estimate the operational parameters of the device. The CFD model included the transient simulation of compressible fluid in the geometry changing over time and the rotors motion around two rotation axes. The numerical model was implemented in ANSYS CFX software. After obtaining simulation results in the form of parameters monitors for each time step, a number of calculations were performed using a written code analysing the CFD program output files. The article presents the calculation results and the geometries comparison in terms of work efficiency. The research indicated that the construction of the device on a small scale could cause a significant decrease in the aforementioned parameter, caused by medium leaks in the expander clearances.

Effect of the Soil Inclination on Natural Convection in Half-Elliptical Greenhouses

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 70-78
Author(s):  
Djedid Taloub ◽  
Abdelkarim Bouras ◽  
Zied Driss
Keyword(s):  
Natural Convection ◽  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Boussinesq Approximation ◽  
Elliptic Cavity ◽  
Horizontal Cavity ◽  
Inclined Cavity ◽  
Volume Method ◽  
Heat Transfers ◽  
Work Done

A numerical study of the natural convection of laminar heat transfers in the stationary state in a half-elliptic inclined cavity, which represents a continuation of the work done, we studied the influence of the tilt of the cavity by varying the angle — entered 0 degrees, which corresponds to the horizontal cavity, up to 15 degrees. For each value of δ we varied the Rayleigh number from 2.13 103 to 106. The system of equations governing the problem solved numerically by the fluent calculation code based on the finite volume method. Based on the Boussinesq approximation. Both bottom and upper walls maintained at a constant temperature. The interest of this study is to see the influence of the tilt of the half-elliptic cavity on the structure of the flow and the distribution of temperature. These results can exploited in semi-elliptic agricultural greenhouses that rest on sloping soils. We chose a Prandtl number 0.71 that corresponds to the air. Keywords: Heat transfer; half-elliptical; Natural convection; Laminar flow; Multicellular; CFD simulation

Floating Offshore Wind Turbines: Responses in a Seastate Pareto Optimal Designs and Economic Assessment

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sclavounos ◽  
Christopher Tracy ◽  
Sungho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Pareto Optimal ◽  
Mooring System ◽  
Floating Structure ◽  
Water Depths

Wind is the fastest growing renewable energy source, increasing at an annual rate of 25% with a worldwide installed capacity of 74 GW in 2007. The vast majority of wind power is generated from onshore wind farms. Their growth is however limited by the lack of inexpensive land near major population centers and the visual pollution caused by large wind turbines. Wind energy generated from offshore wind farms is the next frontier. Large sea areas with stronger and steadier winds are available for wind farm development and 5MW wind turbine towers located 20 miles from the coastline are invisible. Current offshore wind turbines are supported by monopoles driven into the seafloor at coastal sites a few miles from shore and in water depths of 10–15m. The primary impediment to their growth is visual pollution and the prohibitive cost of seafloor mounted monopoles in larger water depths. This paper presents a fully coupled dynamic analysis of floating wind turbines that enables a parametric design study of floating wind turbine concepts and mooring systems. Pareto optimal designs are presented that possess a favorable combination of nacelle acceleration, mooring system tension and displacement of the floating structure supporting a five megawatt wind turbine. All concepts are selected so that they float stably while in tow to the offshore wind farm site and prior to their connection to the mooring system. A fully coupled dynamic analysis is carried out of the wind turbine, floater and mooring system in wind and a sea state based on standard computer programs used by the offshore and wind industries. The results of the parametric study are designs that show Pareto fronts for mean square acceleration of the turbine versus key cost drivers for the offshore structure that include the weight of the floating structure and the static plus dynamic mooring line tension. Pareto optimal structures are generally either a narrow deep drafted spar, or a shallow drafted barge ballasted with concrete. The mooring systems include both tension leg and catenary mooring systems. In some of the designs, the RMS acceleration of the wind turbine nacelle can be as low as 0.03 g in a sea state with a significant wave height of ten meters and water depths of up to 200 meters. These structures meet design requirements while possessing a favorable combination of nacelle accleration, total mooring system tension and weight of the floating structure. Their economic assessment is also discussed drawing upon a recent financial analysis of a proposed offshore wind farm.

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