The bilinear oscillator: The response of an articulated mooring tower driven by irregular seas

A large oil tanker moored to an articulated mooring tower can be modelled as a bilinear oscillator, that is, a linear oscillator with different stiffnesses for positive and negative deflections due to the slackening of mooring lines. The response of the bilinear oscillator driven by irregular seas was studied using the qualitative concepts of dynamical systems. A normalized form of the semi-empirical Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum was used to describe the irregular forcing and features typical of nonlinear differential equations were found. Subharmonic resonances, multiple solutions dependent on the initial conditions as well as possible chaotic solutions were calculated. For irregular seas it was also found that large deflections of the tower may be generated when the peak frequency of the Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum is less than the bilinear frequency of the oscillator.     

Temporal variability of the vertical thermal structure in the vicinity of South Crimea

On the basis of the experimental investigations conducted from an oceanographic tower, the variability of the structure of temperature profiles has been analysed. The paper provides a classification of the basis types of temperature profiles and determines their frequencies and duration in the annual cycle. Dynamics of the transition from one type of a temperature profile to another has been found to have synoptic scales. The variability of parameters during an occurrence of some typical profile have been assessed; it has been deduced that variations in profile shape are linked with fine structure effects of internal waves. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

The dynamic response of a three-leg articulated tower

Articulated towers are a compliant type of platform particularly suited for deep water applications. In the design of articulated towers, it is very important that the motion characteristics include sufficient stability, less acceleration in the deck and the smallest possible loading on the articulated joint. The mass distribution along the tower also plays an important role in the motion characteristics of the tower. Multi-leg articulated towers with three or more towers (legs or shafts), which have been developed from the conventional single tower have reduced horizontal movements and have more deck area compared to the single-leg articulated towers. The experimental and analytical investigations on such towers are not available in the published literature. In this paper, both analytical treatment and an experimental program for a three-leg articulated tower model have been reported. The effect of mass distributions on the variations of the bending moment and the deck accelerations are also presented. The model has been tested in a 2 m wave flume for various wave frequencies and wave heights of regular waves. The model is also analysed using a computer program developed, and the comparison of theoretical results with the experimental results is presented.     

Equivalent Simplifying of Tower Structure and Its Application in Overall Analysis of Offshore Platform

Based on some mechanical principles, this paper presents a new way for simplifying the tower structure on the platform, i. e., substituting the three-dimensional tower structure by using beam elements. For the overall analysis of offshore platform, this method can not only save man- power and computer time, but also get better results. This paper introduces the equivalent-simplifying method and its application in engineering.     

Hydrodynamic coefficients of a harmonically oscillated tower

A tower hinged at the bottom was oscillated mechanically in a sinusoidal fashion in a plane in still water. An instrumented section in the tower measured the inline and transverse forces locally on the tower due to the hydrodynamic effects. These forces are analyzed for the added mass, drag and lift coefficients which are presented as functions of Keulegan-Carpenter and Reynolds number. The lift force frequencies are also investigated. The measured overall reactions on the tower are used to verify the values of the local coefficients. The results presented here are not only applicable to articulated towers but to other moving elements of an offshore structure, e.g. risers, tension-legs, etc.     

Review of flexible risers and articulated storage systems

The anchorage system for mid-ocean loading or production consists of an articulated tower for mooring the tanker. Flexible risers are also essential components of the anchorage system. The present paper provides a state-of-the-art review on articulated storage systems and flexible risers, giving theoretical background for the development of computer software for the static analysis of flexible risers.In the state-of-the-art review for flexible risers, various analysis techniques for elastic lines and flexible risers under self-weight, current and wave forces are presented. The dynamic response of the flexible riser, including vortex-induced oscillations, is also outlined.The literature concerning the articulated tower and tanker is relatively scarce. Available works related only to dynamic responses of articulated towers. The combined response of tower and tanker is only studied by Chakrabarti and Cotter [(1978), Analysis of a tower-tanker system. In Proceedings of the 10th Offshore Technology Conference, OTC 3202, pp. 1301–1310] in a limited sense. The review of these works is summarised relevant to this paper.In the end, the static analysis of the flexible riser under its self-weight and current is presented using a finite difference approach. The problem essentially involves geometrical non-linearity, which is tackled with the help of an iterative solution based on modified Newton-Raphson technique. The theoretical formulation presented is being used to develop the computer software for the static analysis of the flexible risers.     

支撑结构频率对海上风机动力响应的影响机理研究

海上支撑结构的优化设计是海上风机技术发展的必然趋势,降低支撑结构的载荷是保证风机安全运行的有效途径。海上支撑结构受到风浪复杂环境荷载作用,风、浪载荷决定着塔底承受较大的剪力和倾覆力矩,同时风浪的随机性和周期性会影响塔架的疲劳载荷。基于海上风机支撑结构频率对载荷影响的研究,分析海上支撑结构频率对叶片根部挥舞和摆振响应的影响,探究频率对风机响应的影响机理。研究表明：波浪频率诱导是基础疲劳载荷响应的主要原因;开展单桩基础设计,当整机频率确定时,基础变径段可设置于浪溅区下部区域范围;叶片摆振响应受1P频率影响较大,在风机设计时可增加叶片摆振方向的阻尼;当整机频率邻近3P频率时,塔筒刚度变化对基础载荷响应的影响大于基础刚度变化;海上支撑结构设计时可优先考虑塔筒刚度。     

Joint earthquake,wave and current action on the pile group cable-stayed bridge tower foundation: An experimental study

Sea-crossing cable-stayed bridges located in areas of active seismicity are generally subjected to earthquakes, waves, current and other dynamic loads of potential threat during their service period. The pile group foundation, which is composed of bored piles and elevated pile caps, has been applied widely for pylons to ensure the stability of cable-stayed bridge towers. Owing to its large dimensions, complexity and marked three-dimensional characteristics, it is difficult to model the precise dynamic response of the pile group pylon foundation under the joint action of various dynamic loads by means of existing theory. In this paper, an experimental study is presented for a 1/100 scale dynamic test model of a bridge tower with a grouped pile foundation. The model was designed according to elasticity-gravity similarity laws and tested using the Earthquake, Wave and Current Joint Simulation System. The structural response of the bridge tower in air and water conditions with and without incident sine waves and current was investigated. The test results may be used for engineering practice and further research.     

深水海底管道J型铺设塔设计研究

随着全球深水油气资源的开发,J型铺管法已经成为深水和超深水海底管道铺设的重要方式。针对目标母船提出两种J型铺管塔的概念设计方案,并进行了铺管效率及经济性的对比分析,进一步对J型铺管关键设备进行了结构设计及安全性分析。此项工作对促进我国J型铺设系统的开发有积极地推动作用。     

海上风电单桩式支撑结构冰激振动及参数敏感性分析

针对渤海湾某风电场的海上固定式风机支撑结构,采用适用于大直径单桩结构的PSI曲线模拟桩土相互作用,并采用SACS软件建立支撑结构的动力分析模型。首先对支撑结构进行模态分析;其次考虑海冰结构的随机振动作用模式,根据适用于渤海湾的随机冰力谱构造随机冰载荷时程曲线,基于半耦合的时域方法,采用SACS软件对支撑结构进行冰激振动分析,输出塔筒顶部加速度、单桩基底剪力及倾覆力矩等响应参数的时程曲线和响应功率谱;最后针对冰厚、冰速和海冰强度等海冰参数对支撑结构的冰激振动进行敏感性分析。研究结果表明,在随机振动模式下,冰载荷及结构动力响应对冰厚和海冰强度较为敏感,在进行冰激振动分析时应合理确定冰厚和海冰强度等参数。     

Dynamic response of a tanker moored to an articulated loading platform

An analytical model was developed for the dynamic analysis of an articulated loading platform in an operation condition, while remaining in a head seas position. The environmental excitation considered, resulting from groups of regular waves, included first- and second-order force contributions. The nylon hawser connecting the tanker to the ALP was modeled as a nonlinear spring. The hydrodynamic load on the tower was evaluated using Morison's equation, which was modified to account for the relative motion of the tower and the fluid particles. The hydrodynamic load on the tanker was calculated using linear diffraction theory based on the 2-D Helmholtz equation. The “near field” approach of Pinkster was used to evaluate the drift force.     

Analysis of Wave Height in Front of a Wave Absorbing Structure with Rubble Foundation

Wave absorbing structures have been widely applied in many countries. In the present paper, the wave heights in front of a vertical wave absorbing structure with rubble foundation as well as in the wave chamber of the structure are analysed using an approximative calculation method, and the dissipating effect of the structure is verified. On the basis of the results of regular waves, the relative wave heights of irregular waves in front of the wave absorbing structure as well as in the chamber have also been analysed.     

Representation of double-peaked sea wave spectra

About 1000 measured wave spectra from the North Atlantic and 6000 from the North Sea, were analysed so as to determine the frequency of occurrence of double-peaked spectra in sea states of different intensity. This type of spectrum did not occur so often close to coast and in high sea states. A four-parameter theoretical formulation was proposed to represent double-peaked spectra and was shown to provide an excellent fit to measured spectra. The average values of the spectral parameters describing the two peaks did not show any clear dependence on significant wave height.     

Similarity method for modelling hydroelastic offshore platforms

Similarity methods provide a very powerful technique for modelling offshore platforms. Such methods are preferable for situations where the wave-structure interaction process is complex, and its modelling cannot be expressed by rigorous mathematical formulations.In modelling the interaction between waves and an offshore platform, the dynamic properties of the wave and structure must be considered together to determine the similitude parameters. The paper gives details of such an investigation using a frequency response function approach. Three different models, which are termed general, distorted and nondistorted Froudian models, are developed. From the general model, it was found that the velocity scales of the wave and structure could be treated differently. Internal and external force scales could also be different. It is observed then that a restrictive modelling criterion is used when the velocity scale of a structure is obtained from Froudian scale modelling. Furthermore, detailed scales for practical use are developed. The model parameters for an acrylic plastic tripod tower platform with length scales of 1/50 and 1/70 are given, and the accuracy involved among the three models determined for these scales. The sensitivity of the results to slight variations in thickness and Young's modulus are also discussed.     

Incorporating irregular nonlinear waves in coupled simulation and reliability studies of offshore wind turbines

Design of an offshore wind turbine requires estimation of loads on its rotor, tower and supporting structure. These loads are obtained by time-domain simulations of the coupled aero-servo-hydro-elastic model of the wind turbine. Accuracy of predicted loads depends on assumptions made in the simulation models employed, both for the turbine and for the input wind and wave conditions. Currently, waves are simulated using a linear irregular wave theory that is not appropriate for nonlinear waves, which are even more pronounced in shallow water depths where wind farms are typically sited. The present study investigates the use of irregular nonlinear (second-order) waves for estimating loads on the support structure (monopile) of an offshore wind turbine. We present the theory for the irregular nonlinear model and incorporate it in the commonly used wind turbine simulation software, FAST, which had been developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), but which had the modeling capability only for irregular linear waves. We use an efficient algorithm for computation of nonlinear wave elevation and kinematics, so that a large number of time-domain simulations, which are required for prediction of long-term loads using statistical extrapolation, can easily be performed. To illustrate the influence of the alternative wave models, we compute loads at the base of the monopile of the NREL 5MW baseline wind turbine model using linear and nonlinear irregular wave models. We show that for a given environmental condition (i.e., the mean wind speed and the significant wave height), extreme loads are larger when computed using the nonlinear wave model. We finally compute long-term loads, which are required for a design load case according to the International Electrotechnical Commission guidelines, using the inverse first-order reliability method. We discuss a convergence criteria that may be used to predict accurate 20-year loads and discuss wind versus wave dominance in the load prediction. We show that 20-year long-term loads can be significantly higher when the nonlinear wave model is used.     

畸形波作用下半潜浮式风机系泊失效停机响应分析

半潜浮式风机逐渐在深海风电开发中受到关注,建立风机、平台与系泊结构耦合数值计算模型,通过FAST与AQWA链接进行风机塔基荷载及平台运动响应相互耦合传递,基于随机波与极限波组合模型生成畸形波时程序列,进行半潜浮式风机系泊失效全过程时域模拟计算分析,得出系泊锚链张力、风机、塔筒和平台运动时程响应,探究系泊失效、风机停机和叶片变桨速率对浮式风机平台系泊结构动力响应的影响。结果表明：畸形波作用下浮式平台和系泊结构动力响应显著,系泊失效导致塔基剪力增加,平台纵荡和纵摇运动响应显著增大;风机停机会引起系泊锚链张力显著减小,转子推力、塔基剪力和叶尖挥舞位移响应逐渐衰减,平台纵荡、纵摇和横摇运动响应显著减小;随着叶片变桨速率增加,风机转子推力和塔基剪力波动幅值增大。     

Comet assay in phytoplankton as biomarker of genotoxic effects of environmental pollution

The alkaline comet assay was tested on different microalgae: the dinoflagellates, Karenia mikimotoi and Alexandrium minutum, and the diatom, Chaetoceros gracilis. The microalgae were exposed during their exponential growth to the model direct genotoxicant, hydrogen peroxide (1h, 5 and 100muM H2O2). Following H2O2 exposure, the comet assay was validated only for K. mikimotoi for which genotoxicity was observed from the lowest tested concentration of 5 microM with a concentration-dependent effect. C. gracilis was too small in size (4 microm) to be correctly analysed. For A. minutum, our lysis buffer was not strong enough to digest the cellulosic thecal plates. For K. mikimotoi, the comet assay was thus applied for the study of the genotoxic effects of different pesticides: epoxiconazole (as Opus formulation), chlorpyriphos-ethyl (as Dursban formulation) and endosulfan at 1, 10 and 100 microg of active substance/L for 24h. Exposure to epoxiconazole in formulation resulted in an increase in the extent of DNA strand breaks at the highest tested concentration icro/L. Endosulfan exposure resulted in DNA damage for K. mikimotoi nuclei. Genotoxicity was observed from 1 microg/L of endosulfan and was not concentration dependent.     

Variable spatial structure of schooling pelagic fish off Namibia: implications for acoustic surveys

Schools of horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus capensis, sardine Sardinops sagax and round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi were surveyed by conventional echo-integration along systematic transects. The transects were surveyed twice, in opposite directions. Clupeoid biomass was concentrated in a few dense aggregations, whereas horse mackerel were less dense and distributed over larger areas. The influence of aggregation patterns of the different species on the precision of the acoustic estimates was analysed with respect to spatial variability and diurnal effects. Isotropic variograms computed from values of acoustic back-scattering strength showed little or no structure for all three species. Indicator variograms showed relatively large structures (>15 miles) for all three species at the lowest cut-off level, confirming the influence of high values on the variograms. The autocorrelation range decreased with an increase in cut-off value for horse mackerel, whereas variograms of sardine and round herring showed no structure at larger cut-off values. There were large variances in estimated biomass for sardine (77%) and round herring (90%) between surveys, whereas biomass estimates of horse mackerel were relatively similar between surveys.     

海底沉放结构物的位移监测

船坞内制作的大型结构物浮运沉放到海底的支撑基础上之后,受其自重及基础强度等因素的影响,在其初期会有一个明显沉降过程;为研究其沉降规律性,须对其进行监测.由于结构物在海水面以下,其底部位置靠测量设置的塔目标位置反求.通过对某电厂取水工程的海底取水头监测,介绍了监测方法及其沉降数据规律.     

Simulation of the extreme waves generated by typhoon Bolaven (1215) in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea

Record-breaking high waves occurred during the passage of the typhoon Bolaven (1215) (TYB) in the East China Sea (ECS) and Yellow Sea (YS) although its intensity did not reach the level of a super typhoon. Winds and directional wave measurements were made using a range of in-situ instruments mounted on an ocean tower and buoys. In order to understand how such high waves with long duration occurred, analyses have been made through measurement and numerical simulations. TYB winds were generated using the TC96 typhoon wind model with the best track data calibrated with the measurements. And then the wind fields were blended with the reanalyzed synoptic-scale wind fields for a wave model. Wave fields were simulated using WAM4.5 with adjustment of C_d for gust of winds and bottom friction for the study area. Thus the accuracy of simulations is considerably enhanced, and the computed results are also in better agreement with measured data than before. It is found that the extremely high waves evolved as a result of the superposition of distant large swells and high wind seas generated by strong winds from the front/right quadrant of the typhoon track. As the typhoon moved at a speed a little slower than the dominant wave group velocity in a consistent direction for two days, the wave growth was significantly enhanced by strong wind input in an extended fetch and non-linear interaction.