Characteristics of tension leg platform with tender semi-submersible

Abstract

The behavior and characteristics of a tension leg platform (TLP) with tender semi-submersible were investigated by both experiment and numerical analysis. First, the motion characteristics of a TLP without a tender semi-submersible were verified by both experiment and numerical analysis. The results of pull-out and free decay tests are found to be in good agreement with the results of the numerical analysis, and the motion response of the TLP are also well matched with the numerical values. Then, a tender semi-submersible was positioned in close proximity to the TLP. To maintain the position of the semi-submersible and the separation distance, soft mooring and hawser lines were installed. To investigate the characteristics of the multi-body interaction, the hydrodynamic coefficients in the frequency domain were compared with various distances. These frequency domain results were used to simulate the time domain. In the time domain simulation, the free-decay tests of the multi-body system were simulated and the results were compared with those of the experiments. This free-decay test showed that the hawsers are important to the simulation and study of the characteristics of the multi-body interaction. Regular wave results were also analyzed as part of this study. Copyright ？¿½ 2015 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE).