Experimental Study on the Motion Response and Mooring Characteristics of a New Type Deep-draft Multi-column FDPSO

Xuncheng Tu, Xianghong Huang, Chunyang Zhao

Considering the effect of wave period, wave height and wave angle, an experimental study for the motion response and mooring characteristics of a new type deep-draft multi-column FDPSO in 1500m operation water depth, was conducted in State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering（SKLOE）of Shanghai Jiaotong University. Taking account of water depth limitation of the deep-draft offshore basin and arrangement characteristics of mooring system, a 300m equivalent water depth truncated mooring system was designed. The results show that the FDPSO’s 6-DOFs motion responses except yaw present sinusoidal variation under exci-tation of regular waves, as well as the response of mooring lines’ tension. The wave angle has a relatively small effect on surge, pitch and heave, while sway and roll are sensitive to the change of wave angle, and yaw of the platform is very weak. At the same time, the tension of mooring lines increases with the improvement of sea condition, while the distribution of mooring lines under maximum tension is closely connected with wave angle. The mooring system strength satisfies the design requirements after verification.

https://dx.doi.org/10.31873/IJEAS.5.9.04