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Hydrodynamic comparison of a semi-submersible, TLP, and Spar: Numerical study in the South China Sea environment

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Abstract

The South China Sea contains tremendous oil and gas resources in deepwater areas. However, one of the keys for deepwater exploration, the investigation of deepwater floating platforms, is very inadequate. In this paper, the authors studied and compared the hydrodynamics and global motion behaviors of typical deepwater platforms in the South China Sea environment. The hydrodynamic models of three main types of floating platforms, e.g. the Semi-submersible, tension leg platform (TLP), and Truss Spar, which could potentially be utilized in the South China Sea, were established by using the 3-D potential theory. Additionally, some important considerations which significantly influence the hydrodynamics were given. The RAOs in frequency domains as well as global motions in time domains under time-varying wind, random waves, and current in 100-y, 10-y, and 1-y return period environment conditions were predicted, compared, and analyzed. The results indicate that the heave and especially the pitch motion of the TLP are favorable. The heave response of the Truss Spar is perfect and comparable with that of the TLP when the peak period of random waves is low. However, the pitch motion of Truss Spar is extraordinarily larger than that of Semi-submersible and TLP.

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Correspondence to Binbin Li.

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Foundation item: Supported by the National Sci-Tech Major Special Item (No.2008ZX05056-03).

Binbin Li was born in 1983. He is currently working in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as a research fellow. Before joining NTU, he obtained his PhD degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2011. His main research interests include hydrodynamics of deepwater floaters and nonlinear coupled dynamics of floating systems.

Kun Liu was born in 1986. He is currently a PhD candidate of Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). He received his MS degree in Structure Engineering in 2010 from HIT. His main research interests involve hydrodynamics of deepwater floating platforms and motion control of floating structures.

Gongwei Yan was born in 1983. He is currently a PhD candidate of Harbin Institute of Technology. He received his bachelor degree in civil engineering in 2004 from Harbin Institute of Technology. His main research interests involve dynamic response of tension leg platforms, coupled dynamic responses of tendon, and tension leg platforms.

Jinping Ou was born in 1959. He is the current president of Dalian University of Technology and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. His research interests include structural health monitoring, structural dynamics, structural vibration control, and offshore engineering and technology.

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Li, B., Liu, K., Yan, G. et al. Hydrodynamic comparison of a semi-submersible, TLP, and Spar: Numerical study in the South China Sea environment. J. Marine. Sci. Appl. 10, 306–314 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11804-011-1073-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11804-011-1073-2

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