Stochastic analysis for offshore structures with added mechanical dampers

Presented in this paper is a method to mitigate the vibration of an offshore structural system in the marine environment when subjected to in-line random wave forces. A stochastic approach by using an alternative complex analytical model for the viscoelastic material in the mechanical damper was used. The viscoelastic materials applied here were tested and verified that they have high energy absorption capacity. In the stochastic analysis, a random type of wave forces derived from the Morison equation for small bodies was applied. Results of the vibration responses for the system with added damping devices were presented and compared to the responses of structures with traditional design. It was observed that in terms of the power spectral density, the effect of the vibration mitigation and the dynamic performance of the offshore structural system were greatly improved when the new damping devices were applied to the offshore structural system.