Application of system identification techniques in efficient modelling of offshore structural response. Part I: Model development

Offshore structures are exposed to random wave loading in the ocean environment and hence the probability distribution of the extreme values of their response to wave loading is of great value in the design of these structures. Wave loading on slender members of bottom-supported jacket or jack-up structures is frequently calculated by Morison’s equation. Due to nonlinearity of the drag component of Morison wave loading and also due to intermittency of wave loading on members in the splash zone, the response is often non-Gaussian; therefore, simple techniques for derivation of their extreme response probability distribution are not available. Finite-memory nonlinear systems (FMNS) are extensively used in establishing a simple relationship between the output and input of complicated nonlinear systems. In this paper, it will be shown how the response of an offshore structure exposed to Morison wave loading can be approximated by the response of an equivalent finite-memory nonlinear system. The approximate models can then be used to determine the probability distribution of response extreme values with great efficiency. Part I of this paper is devoted to the development of an efficient FMNS model for offshore structural response while part II is devoted to the validation of the developed models.