Be]laclOllr of OffshoreStructures, Elsevlel Science Publishers B V , Amsterdam, 1985 - Plinted in The Netherlands

DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR O F M O O R I N G LINES

H.J.J.

van den Boom Box 28, 6700 AA Wageningen

Maritime Research I n s t i t u t e Nether1 ands, P.O.

In designing offshore mooring systems the dynamic behaviour of mooring chains, wires and multi-component l i n e s i s of increasing importance. Various authors have reported on experimental r e s u l t s and numerical techniques r e l a t e d t o t h i s subject. A n extensive research program has been carried out t o gain f u r t h e r i n s i g h t in the mechanism of the dynamic behaviour of mooring l i n e s , t o quantify the e f f e c t s of import a n t parameters, w i t h special a t t e n t i o n t o the maximum tension, and t o v a l i d a t e a numerical model. For t h i s purpose, r e s u l t s of a devel oped computer a1 gori t h m based on t h e Lumped Mass Method were compared w i t h r e s u l t s of harmonic o s c i l l a t i o n t e s t s f o r various l i n e s and water depths a t d i f f e r e n t ode1 s c a l e s . The ultimate v a l i d a t i o n was a r r i e d out by comparing tension records rom i r r e g u l a r wave model t e s t s with those btained from numerical a n a l y s i s using the measured f a i r 1 ead motion as input. Results from t h i s study c l e a r l y show the importance of dynamic a n a l y s i s f o r various moori ng configurations. Dynamic tension amp1 i f i c a t i o n i S strongly influenced by nonl ineari t i e s due t o catenary e f f e c t s , el asi c i t y and drag. The lumped mass algorithm resented has been proven t o be an e f f e c t i v e ool t o quantify t h e dynamic behaviour of ul t i -component mooring configurations. Dynamic tensions in mooring systems may a f f e c t the low frequency motions of the moored INTRODUCTION The increasing application of l a r g e moored and guyed offshore s t r u c t u r e s has p u t high demands upon t h e design of mooring a r rangements. Important parameters i n t h i s respect are t h e l a r g e displacement of t h e s t r u c t u r e , deep and h o s t i l e waters and t h e required round-the-year . workability. The wide v a r i e t y of mooring systems may be i l l u s t r a t e d by the existence of shallow and deep water sing1 e point moorings with tempo1.

SUMMARY

r a r i l y or permanent1 y moored tankers, clump weight systems used f o r guyed towers and wire moorings of semi -submersi bl e crane vessel S. Current design procedures comprise dynami c motion a n a l y s i s of the moored s t r u c t u r e and computations of mooring l i ne tension based on the extreme position of the vessel and t h e s t a t i c l oad-excursion c h a r a c t e r i st i c s of t h e mooring system. In t h i s soc a l l e d quasi - s t a t i c mooring a n a l y s i s a l l other phenomena a f f e c t i n g the maximum l i n e tension a r e accounted f o r by an overall s a f e t y f a c t o r as required by c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and regulatory a u t h o r i t i e s . A typical value of t h i s safety f a c t o r i s 3 f o r operational conditions and 2 f o r survival conditions. From both t h e o r e t i c a l and experimental research i t i s known t h a t t h e dynamic behav-. iour of a mooring l i n e induced by high f r e quency o s c i l l a t i o n s of t h e upper-end may c o n t r i b u t e s i g n i f i c a n t 1 y t o l i n e tensions and motions. Therefore these dynamic e f f e c t s may be of importance i n the design of t h e mooring arrangement. In some cases mooring l i n e dynamics might a l s o a f f e c t the motions of t h e moored object. 1 ; the p a s t decades various authors have reported on experimental r e s u l t s and numerical techniques regarding above aspects. Amongst others Van S l u i j s and Blok, [l], found from systematical s e r i e s of forced o s c i l l a t i o n model t e s t s t h a t the r a t i o s of maximum dynamic tension and maximum quasi s t a t i c tension strongly depend on the f r e quency of o s c i l l a t i o n . Thi S dynamic r a t i o increased w i t h increasing o s c i l l a t i o n amp1 i tude and pre-tension and with reduction of l i n e mass. Traditional t h e o r e t i c a l approaches t o solve the dynamic behaviour of cable systems were based on semi -analytical techniques. The obstacles f o r a pure a n a l y t i c a l approach caused by geometric n o n - l i n e a r i t i e s were removed in order t o reduce t h e equations of motion t o ordinary d i f f e r e n t i a l equations. Other approaches such as t h e perturbation

t e c h n i q u e s d e r i v e d l i n e a r e q u a t i o n s o f mot i o n by e v a l u a t i n g small v a r i a t i o n s a b o u t an e q u i l ib r i u m c o n f i g u r a t i o n . A p p l i c a t i o n o f c h a i n s and c a b l e s i n v a r i ous u n d e r w a t e r systems r e q u i r e d more g e n e r a l approaches t o t h e problem. I t was f o u n d by assuming t h e l i n e t o be composed o f an i n t e r c o n n e c t e d s e t o f d i s c r e t e elements t h a t t h e system o f p a r t i a l d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n s d e s c r i b i n g t h e v a r i a b l e s a1 ong t h e line c o u l d be r e p l a c e d by e q u a t i o n s o f m o t i o n i n an earth-bound system o f c o - o r d i n a t e s . The most s u c c e s s f u l d i s c r e t e e l ement t e c h n i q u e s , t h e "lumped parameter method", b e t t e r known as t h e Lumped Mass Method (LMM) and t h e F i n i t e Element Method (FEM) w i l l be d i s c u s s e d here b r i e f l y . Lumped Mass Method T h i s t e c h n i q u e i n v o l v e s t h e l u m.p i n q o f a l l e f f e c t s o f mass, e x t e r n a l f o r c e s and i n t e r n a l r e a c t i o n s a t a f i n i t e number o f p o i n t s ( " n o d e s " ) a l o n g t h e l i n e . By a p p l y i n g t h e e q u a t i o n s o f dynamic e q u i l i b r i u m and c o n t i n u i t y ( s t r e s s l s t r a i n ) t o each mass a s e t o f d i s c r e t e e q u a t i o n s o f m o t i o n i s der i v e d . These e q u a t i o n s may be s o l v e d i n t h e t i m e domain d i r e c t l y u s i n g f i n i t e d i f f e r e n c e t e c h n i q u e s . M a t e r i a l damping, b e n d i n g and t o r s i o n a l moments a r e n o r m a l l y n e g l e c t e d . T h i s p r o c e d u r e imp1 i e s t h a t t h e b e h a v i o u r o f a c o n t i n u o u s l i n e i s m o d e l l e d as a s e t o f c o n c e n t r a t e d masses connected by mass1 ess springs. Wal t o n and Polacheck, [21, were t h e f i r s t a u t h o r s who suggested t h i s method t o s o l v e m o o r i n g problems caused by t r a n s i e n t m o t i o n s o f a moored v e s s e l . T h e i r spacewise d i s c r e - . tization neglected material elasticity. Moreover no d a t a on f l u i d r e a c t i v e f o r c e s were a v a i l a b l e and no v a l i d a t i o n o f t h e a l g o r i t h m was g i v e n . The e x p l i c i t c e n t r a l d i f f e r e n c e method was p r o v e n t o p r o v i d e c o n d i t i o n a l l y stable solutions f o r the given schematization. I n r e c e n t y e a r s t h e LMM has been d e v e l oped f u r t h e r i n o r d e r t o s o l v e o f f s h o r e m o o r i n g problems ( W i l h e l m y e t a l . C31, [41). Nakajima, M o t o r a and F u j i n o , [51, extended t h e model o f Walton and Polacheck w i t h mater i a l e l a s t i c i t y and sea f l o o r c o n t a c t . U s i n g hydrodynamic f o r c e c o e f f i c i e n t s d e r i v e d f r o m f o r c e d o s c i l l a t i o n t e s t s on model c h a i n s , t h e y found a good agreement between numeric a l r e s u l t s and model t e s t s f o r harmonic osc i l l a t i o n . U n f o r t u n a t e l y no s l a c k c o n d i t i o n s were i n v e s t i g a t e d .
U

c o - o r d i n a t e s ) . The e q u a t i o n s o f m o t i o n f o r a s i n g l e e l e m e n t a r e o b t a i n e d by a p p l y i n g the i n t e r p o l a t i o n f u n c t i o n t o k i n e m a t i c re1 a. tions ( s t r a i n l d i s p l acement), constitutive r e 1 a t i o n s ( s t r e s s / s t r a i n ) and t h e equations o f dynamic e q u i l ibrium. The s o l u t i o n proced u r e i s s i m i l a r t o t h e LMM. V a r i o u s models based on t h e FEM have been p r e s e n t e d e i t h e r u s i n g l i n e a r o r h i g h e r ord e r shape f u n c t i o n s . R e c e n t l y FEM models f o r m o o r i n g line anal y s i S were developed by 161, and L a r s e n and F y l l i n g and Wold, F y l l i n g , [ 7 ] , and L i n d a h l and Sj'dberg, [8]. Computer codes based on t h e FEM have proven t o be l e s s computer t i m e e f f i c i e n t when comp a r e d rit h t h e LMM a1 g o r i thms. U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e v a l i d i t y of t h e presen t e d n u m e r i c a l models has so f a r n o t bee demonstrated c l e a r l y . Nor were t h e e f f e c t o f t h e t y p e o f l i n e , t h e w a t e r depth and t h upper-end o s c i l l a t i o n q u a n t i f i e d systemat i c a l ly. T h e r e f o r e an e x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h program on m o o r i n g l i n e dynamics has been c a r r i e d o u t by t h e N.S.M.B. Laboratories o f MARIN as p a r t o f t h e N e t h e r l a n d s Marine T e c h n o l o g i c a l Research (MaTS) program. The p r o j e c t was sponsored b y t h e f o l l o w i n g parties: Dutch M i n i s t r y o f Economic A f f a i r s Gusto E n g i n e e r i n g Heerema E n g i n e e r i n g S e r v i c e MARIN She1 l I n t e r n a t i o n a l e P e t r o l e u m Maatschappi j Van R i e t s c h o t e n & Houwens NUMERICAL MODEL Problem d e f i n i t i o n A mooring l i n e connected t o a s t r u c t u r e f l o a t i n g i n i r r e g u l a r waves, w i n d and c u r r e n t i s s u b j e c t e d t o l i n e - e n d loads, weight, buoyancy, sea f l o o r r e a c t i o n f o r c e s , l i n e i n e r t i a and f l u i d l o a d i n g . B e a r i n g i n mind t h e l a r g e mass of t h e s t r u c t u r e i t may be assumed t h a t t h e m o t i o n s o f t h e s t r u c t u r e i n t h e r e g i o n o f wave f r e q u e n c i e s a r e n o t a f f e c t e d by t h e m o o r i n g l i n e t e n s i o n . On t h e o t h e r hand t h e dynamic response o f t h e l i n e w i l l c o v e r t h i s f r e q u e n c y r e g i o n . Hence i t may be assumed t h a t t h e a n a l y s i s o f t h e wave frequency m o t i o n s o f t h e s t r u c t u r e and t h e b e h a v i o u r o f t h e m o o r i n g l i n e can be t r e a t e d s e p a r a t e l y . The f a i r l e a d m o t i o n i s t h u s t h e boundary c o n d i t i o n f o r t h e l i n e m o t i o n s . The f l u i d l o a d i n g o f t h e l i n e i s due t o wave i n d u c e d o r b i t a l v e l o c i t i e s , c u r r e n t and l i n e m o t i o n s and may be d i v i d e d i n compon e n t s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e r e 1 a t i v e f l u i d acc e l e r a t i o n ("added i n e r t i a " ) and t h o s e p r o p o r t i onal t o t h e r e 1 a t i v e v e l o c i t y squared ( " d r a g " ) . Wave c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e r e l a t i v e v e l o c i t y a r e n o r m a l l y s m a l l and n e g l e c t e d here.

Il
i

2. 2.1

l
j
I

j ;

ll

I
j
'
,

F i n i t e Element Method The F i n i t e Element Method u t i l i z e s i n t e r p o l a t i o n f u n c t i o n s t o describe the behaviour o f a g i v e n v a r i a b l e i n t e r n a l t o t h e element i n terms o f t h e d i s p l a c e m e n t s o f t h e nodes d e f i n i n g t h e element ( o r o t h e r g e n e r a l i z e d

i
1i

When d e r i v i n g t h e e q u a t i o n s o f motion f o r a mooring l i n e i t i s p r e f e r a b l e t o d e s c r i b e t h e f l u i d l o a d i n g i n components a l o n g t h e l i n e ( t a n g e n t i a l ) and i n t r a n s v e r s e (normal ) d i r e c t i o n . Taking i n t o account t h e catenary shape and a1 lowing l a r g e d e f l e c t i o n s o f t h e l i n e , t h i s means t h a t t h e f l u i d l o a d i n g has t o be d e f i n e d i n a l o c a l system o f CO-ordi-, nates w h i l e t h e u l t i m a t e m o t i o n s a r e r e q u i r e d i n an e a r t h - f i x e d " g l o b a l " system o f C O - o r d inates. A1 g o r i thm The mathematical model chosen i s a m o d i f i c a t i o n of t h e LMM as p r e s e n t e d by C51. A computer program, Nakajima e t a1 named DYNLINE, a p p l i e s t h i s method i n two dimensions assuming t h a t t h e mooring l i n e remains i n t h e v e r t i c a l p l a n e t h r o u g h b o t h l i n e ends. 2.2

[Mj] Cmj] r
X.

i n e r t i a matrix displacement v e c t o r

= added i n e r t i a m a t r i x = time
=

= external force vector.

The added i n e r t i a m a t r i x can be d e r i v e d f r o m t h e normal and t a n g e n t i a l f l u i d f o r c e s by d i r e c t i o n a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s :

I m j ( r ) l = anj[Anj(r)l + atj[Qj(~)l (2) where a,,. and a t r e p r e s e n t t h e normal and tangent7 added dass:

..

dll

.,

[hnj] and Cntjl are directional matrices g i v e n be1 ow f o r t h e two-dimensional case:

[A

nJ

.]

I::

s i nL7 cos7

-sinT
j

cos7
j

-sinF

cos27

. . (5)

Line springs (mass points)

1
X

o t t o ~ '

springs and dampers

Fig. 1. D i s c r e t i z a t i o n o f mooring l i n e by a lumped mass method The spacewise d i s c r e t i z a t i o n o f t h e moori n g l i n e i s o b t a i n e d by lumping a l l f o r c e s t o a f i n i t e number o f nodes ("lumpedmasses"). The f i n i t e segments c o n n e c t i n g t h e odes a r e c o n s i d e r e d as massless s p r i n g s ac-. ounting f o r the tangential e l a s t i c i t y o f he l i n e . The l i n e i s assumed t o be f u l l y l e x i b l e i n b e n d i n g d i r e c t i o n s . The hydrodynamic f o r c e s a r e d e f i n e d i n t h e l o c a l system o f c o - o r d i n a t e s ( t a n g e n t i a l and normal d i r e c t i o n ) a t each mass. I n o r d e r t o d e r i v e t h e governing equa-. t i o n s o f m o t i o n f o r t h e j - t h lumped-mass, Newton's law i s w r i t t e n i n g l o b a l c o - o r d i -

F i g . 2. Nodal f o r c e d e f i n i t i o n s The nodal f o r c e v e c t o r F c o n t a i n s cont r i b u t i o n s from t h e segment-tension T, t h e d r a g f o r c e FD, buoyancy and w e i g h t F W and s o i l f o r c e s F'S.

1+

[ m j )

. . . . (1)

3=
a

where: t h e segment b a s i s v e c t o r ( ~ j + ~~ j ) / ~ j = o r i g i n a l segment l e n g t h .

where:

The drag force may be derived from the normal and tangential force components:

may be approximated by f i n i t e difference methods such as the Houbolt scheme, [91: 1 { l l x . (T+AT) - 1 8 x . ( ~ ) ~ . ( T + A T ) == + -J J -J
1 X.(~+AT =){zx(r+Ar) - ~ x . ( T ) + J -J A r2 + ~ x . ( T - A T ) - x.(r-ZAr)} -3 -J or: X . ( T + A T= ) 5I L ~ ( T- ) 2 x . ( r - A T ) + J J 1 1 2.. + - x.(T- AT) + Ar x . ( r + A r ) 2 -J 2 -J

where: fD. = drag force in local CO-.ordinates J = r e l a t i v e f l u i d velocity in local U. J CO-ordinates c . = c u r r e n t vector in global co-ordinates J P = f l u i d s p e c i f i c density D = c h a r a c t e r i s t i c segment diameter a = segment length CD,, = normal drag c o e f f i c i e n t tangential drag c o e f f i c i e n t . CDtTLe d i r e c t i o n a l matrices IT-] and [ Q . ] a r e used t o transform the globs;/ v e l o c i t i g s i n t o local v e l o c i t i e s (11) and the local drag force components i n t o global forces ( 8 ) respectively.

i t e r a t i o n using the additional c o n s t r a i n t equation f o r t h e c o n s t i t u t i v e s t r e s s - s t r a i n relation. 2 Tj ( T ) = a . { A X . ( T ) - (1 .+. ) } Qj ( r ) EA. J J J

. . . . . . . (17) The segment tension T.(r+Ar) i s derived from the node positions & a Newton-Raphson

where: 9 = segment length e r r o r vector

S . . , $., .T k - t e n t a t i v e sJgment tension vector a t the T k-th i t e r a t i o n (T1, TN) A $ = length e r r o r d e r i v a t i v e ma$;ix [a$/aT] obtained from equations ( 1 7 ) and ( 1 8 ) . For each time s t e p the system of equation (19) should b solved u n t i l acceptable convergence of T AT) i s obtained. The i n i t i a l t e n t a t i v e tension can be taken equal t o t h e tension in the previous step. Each node j i s connected t o the adjacent nodes j-l and j+l, hence equation (19) represents a t r i d i agonal (Nx3) system. Such equations may be e f f i c i e n t l y solved by t h e so-called Thomas a1 gori thm.
S . . ,

....

....

The f l u i d r e a c t i v e force c o e f f i c i e n t s a n , and CDt were derived from forced os:!ilk!?on t e s t s and f r e e hanging towing t e s t s w i t h model chain and wire sections. The volumetric diameter defined by equat i o n (14) proved t o be an accurate parameter i n t h e dimensionless hydrodynamic c o e f f i cients: dc = 2 m (14)

........

where: V = segment volume a = segment length. From t h e model t e s t s i t was concluded t h a t frequency independent c o e f f i c i e n t s can be used f o r normal mooring chains and wires. Sea f l o o r contact may be simulated by s p r i ng-damped systems. Tangential s o i l f r i c t i o n forces may be of importance when t h e l i n e p a r t on bottom i s extremely long. Transverse s o i l r e a c t i v e forces may be of importance f o r 3-0 problems. Both e f f e c t s a r e neglected here.

Computational procedure The com~utational Drocedure followed bv DYNLINE i s ' i l l u s t r a t e d by Fig. 3. In order t o avoid i n s t a b i l i t y and t r a n s i e n t behaviour the simulation i s s t a r t e d from an a r b i t r a r i l y chosen s t a t e of equilibrium of t h e l i n e . This can be t h e q u a s i - s t a t i c condition of t h e mooring l i n e found from catenary cal cul a t i o n s o r numerical i n t e g r a t i o n methods, ClOl. The simulation i s i n i t i a t e d by applying a s t a r t i n g function t o t h e upper-end boundary condition:
$(T)

2.3

XJr) The time domain r e l a t i o n s between nodal displacements, v e l o c i t i e s and a c c e l e r a t i o n s

cosh ( 4 .O T/TINF)

......

(20)

where: TINF = s t a r t i n g time.

L I N E DATA QUASI-STATIC SOLUTION

UPPER-END BOUNDARY CONDITION UPPER-END P O S I T I O N

The normal s t i f f n e s s i s non-l inearl y dependent on the normal displacement 6 For small d e f l e c t i o n s t h i s s t i f f n e s s equal s n : '
C,
=

EA 6,la 2

. . . . . . . . . . . (22)

INERTIA MATRICES S E A FLOOR I M P A C T

Neglecting t h e damping the resonance f r e quencies of these p a r a s i t i c a l motions may be approximated by:

l
SIMULATION

FzE-2
VELOCITIES DRAG F O R C E S ACCELERATIONS

CORRECTION OF TENSION

I
P .i-N-A eFI . l MlNdRY , \y.;

STATISTICAL

For t h e usual types of mooring l i n e s resonant response of separate masses in t h e lumped parameter model will not provide s i g n i f i c a n t p a r a s i t i c a l motions. This even holds t r u e f o r c l u s t e r s of masses. The occurrence of such may be prevented by in-, creasing t h e number of nodes thus reducing the nodal mass and element length.
N O D E MOTIONS

Fig. 3 . DYNLINE flow diagram

On the basis of t h e known l i n e angles t h e f l u i d i n e r t i a matrix i s found from equation ( 2 ) . Line v e l o c i t i e s a r e obtained from equat i o n (16) r e s u l t i n g i n drag forces by use of equations ( 8 ) through (11). Soil reaction forces are derived from equation (15). Knowing t h e i n e r t i a matrices and the right-hand s i d e of equation (1) t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n s f o r the new time s t e p a r e solved. Displacements follow from equation ( 1 7 ) . A correction of tension i s predicted by equation (19) using the segment length e r r o r from equation ( 1 8 ) . The whole procedure i s repeated u n t i l an acceptable accuracy i n tension i S obtained. In t h a t case t h e simulation i s proceeded with the next time s t e p by applying t h e next boundary condition ( 20).

Discretization effects Geometric d i s c r e t i z a t i o n i s an important aspect of t h e lumped mass modelling. The number of nodes should be s u f f i c i e n t t o describe t h e l i n e p o s i t i o n . Moreover paras i t i c a l motions of the lumped masses may occur. The tangential s t i f f n e s s of a s i n g l e lumped mass i s l i n e a r l y dependent on t h e re1 a t i ve tangential displacement:

2.4

VALIDATION S T U D Y Harmonic o s c i l l a t i o n t e s t s Model t e s t s u t i l i z i n g harmonic upper-end forced o s c i l l a t i o n s of the l i n e a t f i v e f r e quencies f o r eleven combinations. The water depths ranged from 75 m t o 608 m. Chains, s t e e l wires and chain-wire combi-l i n e s were i n v e s t i g a t e d . For these t e s t s , which were c a r r i e d out according t o Froude's law of s i m i l i t u d e , use was made of s t e e l s t u d l e s s chain and wire. The scale r a t i o s ranged from 19 to 76. I t should be noted t h a t t h e chain l i n k s of the 1.0 and 2.0 mm chain were c u t a t one side. The EA-values were derived from tension-elongation t e s t s . The o s c i l l a t i o n t e s t s were c a r r i e d out i n t h e 220 m X 4 m X 4 m and the 240 m X 18 m X 8 m basins of N.S.M.B. During the t e s t s t h e forced o s c i l l a t i o n , generated by means of a mechanical l a r g e stroke o s c i l l a t o r , was measured by means of a potentiometer. The up-, per-end l i n e tension and v e r t i c a l angle were measured by means of a two-component f o r c e transducer while the tension a t t h e anchor point was measured by means of a ring-type f o r c e transducer. The motions of t h e l i n e were recorded by underwater video. The measured tensions were d i r e c t l y compared w i t h t h e DYNLINE resul t s . Moreover comparisons were c a r r i e d out on t h e basis of t h e Dynamic Tension Amp1 i f i c a t i o n (DTA) defined as amp1 i f i c a t i o n of the maximum t o t a l quasis t a t i c tension, i . e . the s t a t i c tension a t t h e maximum excursion. Fig. 4 shows t h e s t a t i c l oad-excursi on c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t h e numerical d i s c r e t i z a t i o n and the dynamic tension amplification f o r 152 mm chain a t 150 m water depth. For a 76 mm chain-wire combi-line i n 608 m water depth t h e s e r e s u l t s a r e presented in Fig. 5.

3. 3.1

~ D Y N L I N E Measured Oscillation

T,

I r r e g u l a r wave t e s t s Because of t h e non-l i n e a r phenomena involved, t h e ultimate val idation of the developed computer program was c a r r i e d out by means of model t e s t s in i r r e g u l a r waves. A model of a f l o a t i n g s t r u c t u r e was moored by means of two p a r a l l e l l i n e s and a ten-. sioning weight as shown by Fig. 6.
3.2

Frequency of oscillation in rad/s

Fig. 4. Results of harmonic o s c i l l a t i o n t e s t s f o r 152 mm chain a t 150 m water depth

Measured
o

Oscillation S = 4..l m

F'ig. 6. T e s t set-up f o r i r r e g u l a r wave t e s t s During t h e t e s t s t h e motions of the s t r u c t u r e were measured by means of an o p t i c a l tracking device while the upper-end mooring l i n e tensions and angles were measured by means of two-component s t r a i n gauges. The f a i r l e a d motions derived from t h e measured motion a t deck level were used as input t o DYNLINE. This procedure enabled a determi ni s t i c a l comparison between experi mental and numeric tension records. Results f o r a 46,000 tons semi -submersi b l e f l o a t i n g i n i r r e g u l a r waves with a s i g n i f i c a n t height of 13.0 m and a mean period of 15.5 S (F'ig. 7 ) a r e given in F'ig. 8 and Fig. 9. In order t o show the contribut i o n of the dynamic behaviour the computer simulations were repeated f o r 80 per cent reduced l i n e diameters thus reducing drag (80%) and added i n e r t i a (96%).

Fig. 5. Results of harmonic o s c i l l a t i o n t e s t s f o r 76 mm chain-wire combil i n e a t 608 m water depth

Measured wave spectrum

4 J i 5 = 13..0 m; T l = 15.6 S

Wave frequency in rad/s

Fig. 7. Wave spectrum DISCUSSION Results of the present study clearly show t h a t in practical s i t u a t i o n s the dynamic behaviour may contribute t o the maximum tension s i g n i f i c a n t l y . Important parameters are the non-l inear s t a t i c load-excursion, the low frequency ( "pre-l') tension and the amp'l i tude and frequency of the exciting upper-end o s c i l l a t i o n . increase 'The pr.ime dynamic tension originated from the normal drag forces related t o large global ( f i r s t mode) l i n e motions a t the middle sections. Long periods of slackness even a t low frequencies of oscil'lation occurred due to "flying" of the l i n e under the influence of gravity and drag only. With increasing frequency the drag and i n e r t i a equal l e d gravity forces resulting i n an "elevated equilibruim" of the l i n e and normal motions i n the upper section yielding l ower DTA-val ues. I n e r t i a became of importance a t higher wave frequencies especially f o r steel wires u 1 ti-component lines. and m Fig. 10 compares the dynamic tension excursion re1 ation w i t h the s t a t i c characteri s t i c s . From t h i s figure i t appears t h a t the maximum dynamic tension may be approximated by applying the material e l a s t i c i t y t o the high frequency o s c i l l a t i o n s directly. For o s c i l l a t i o n s covering the t a u t s i t u a t i o n of the l i n e , however, the dynamic ampl i f ication i s small. A good correlation between measured and calculated l i n e tensions was found during the harmonic o s c i l l a t i o n t e s t s f o r the wide range of s i t u a t i o n s investigated. Parasitical normal l i n e motions originating from
4.

the numerical d i s c r e t i z a t i o n may r e s u l t in high frequency secondary tension components especially when the normal drag of the line i s small. Due to the high frequencies and the small magnitude of the tension components these numerical model l i n g e f f e c t s are of minor importance for engineering appl ications. Dynamic sea f l o o r reaction forces do not a f f e c t the behaviour of the l i n e and can be modelled as ' c r i t i c a l damped springs to prevent numerical i n s t a b i l i t i e s . Determini s t i c correlations f o r irregul a r upper-end osci 1l ations have cl early shown the strong increase of l i n e tension also in practical s i t u a t i o n s due to the dynamic behaviour of the l i n e . By means of the "reduced dynamics" simulation i t was found t h a t the normal drag forces govern the mechanism of dynamic motion of tension ampl i f i c a t i o n of the line. A s shown by Figs. 8 and 9 the high frequency secondary tension components which r e s u l t from the numerical d i s c r e t i z a t i o n of the l i n e are of minor importance. Both harmonic and i rregul a r upper-end correlation t e s t s have c l e a r l y shown the v a l i d i t y and appl icab i l i t y of the presented numerical model. I t may therefore be concluded t h a t the use of the Lumped Mass Method does provide e f f i c i e n t and accurate predictions of dynamic motions and tensions f o r offshore mooring analysis. The f i r s t assumption in the dynamic analy s i s of mooring l i n e s , viz. the separation of motion analysi S of the f l o a t i n g structure and the dynamic upper-end l i n e tension has not been discussed y e t . Observing typical regions of response a t wave frequencies and resonant low frequencies of the moored s t r u c t u r e the following interferences should be considered: - dynamic tensions and motions of the s t r u c ture a t wave frequency; - dynamic tensions and motions of the structure i n the low frequency region; - dynamic tensions i n the wave frequency region and low frequency motions of the structure. The f i r s t two interferences strongly depend on the geometry of the f l o a t i n g structure. Due t o the large displacement the wave frequency motions will normally not be affected by the mooring forces. On the other hand the mooring system will respond quasis t a t i c a l l y t o low frequency motions of the structure. The t h i r d interference, viz. the e f f e c t of high frequency dynamic l i n e tensions on the low frequency behaviour of the vessel, was investigated by means of several additional simul ations f o r bi-harmonic oscil l at i o n s . A typical low frequency o s c i l l a t i o n w i t h a period of 100 s and 10 m ampl itude was combined w i t h a 4 m wave frequency oscillation.

2.

FT.

10

WAVE M

0 -10 5

X 1 M

0
H

-5

W
H

X in m Line discretization

-1000

J
I
I

_I
I I
1

50

100 TIME

150

200

F i g . 8. C o r r e l a t i o n Lumped Mass Method -. model test f o r 0.076 m chain a t 292 m water depth

l0

300

,
X1

WAVE M
-10 l0 /'
E 200

100

X 1 M

v
1000 X in m Line discretization 2000

2500 T-NODE12 KN "reduced O dynamics" -2500 2500 T-NODE12 KN -2500

-)
I
I '
S

50

100

150

200

TIME S

Fig. 9. C o r r e l a t i o n Lumped Mass Method - model t e s t f o r 0.076 m s t e e l w i r e a t 292 m water depth

Displacement i n m

Fig. 10. Dynamic tension-displacement r e l a t i o n

T-.NODE17

r e s u l t s for w l

I
0

50

100 TIME S

150

200

Fig. 11. E f f e c t of dynamic behaviour of mooring l i n e on low frequency r e s t o r i n g f o r c e s

The low frequency energy in the bi-harmonic r e s u l t was studied by removing t h e high frequency tension components by means of low-pass f i l t e r i n g . This r e s u l t was compared with the tension due t o the low f r e quency o s c i l l a t i o n only. Time h i s t o r i e s of such a comparison are given i n Fig. 11. The change of r e s t o r i n g f o r c e s experienced by t h e f l o a t i n g s t r u c t u r e i s i l l u s t r a t e d by an increase in amplitude of low frequency tension and a phase s h i f t . Dividing the tension record i n a in-phase and quadrature phase component, i t i s c l e a r t h a t t h e dynamic behaviour of t h e mooring l i n e may increase both the e f f e c t i v e mooring s t i f f n e s s and the low frequency damping. The l a t t e r can be of the same order of magnitude as the potential and viscous f l u i d damping a c t i n g on the vessel ' S h u l l d i r e c t l y and i s t h e r e f o r e important f o r t h e low frequency behaviour of the moored s t r u c t u r e . 5. CONCL USIONS The following major concl usions were drawn from t h e research program presented i n this paper: o The dynamic behaviour of mooring l i n e s occurs in many p r a c t i c a l offshore mooring s i t u a t i o n s and strongly increases the maximum l i ne tensions. o The use of the Lumped Mass Method does provide e f f i c i e n t and accurate predictions of dynamic l i n e motions and tensions cert a i n l y f o r engineering appl i c a t i o n . The dynamic components of mooring l i n e tension may a f f e c t t h e low frequency mot i o n s of the moored s t r u c t u r e by increase of the v i r t u a l s t i f f n e s s and damping of t h e system. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author i s indebted t o the sponsors of t h e research program "Mooring Line Dynamics" of the Nether1 ands Marine Technological Research (MaTS) f o r t h e i r kind permission t o make use of the r e s u l t s from t h i s program. REFERENCES C11 Van S l u i j s , M.F. and Blok, J . J . : "The dynamic behaviour of mooring l i n e s " , O T C paper 2881, 1977. C21 Walton, T.S. and Polacheck, H.: "Calcul a t i o n of non-l i n e a r t r a n s i e n t motion of cables", D.T.M.B. Report 1279, 1959. C31 Wilhelmy, V., F j e l d , S. and Schneider, S. : "Non-l i near response a n a l y s i s of anchorage systems f o r compl i a n t deep water platforms", O T C paper 4051, 1981. C41 Wilhelmy, V. and F j e l d , S.: "Assessment of deep water anchorings based on t h e i r dynamic behaviour1', OTC paper 4174, 1982. C51 Nakajima, T., Motora, S. and Fujino,

M.: "On the dynamic analysis of multicomponent mooring l i n e s " , OTC paper 4309, 1982. L61 Fylling, I.J. and Wold, P.T.: "Cable dynamics - comparison of experimental and a n a l y t i c a l r e s u l t s " , Report-8979, The Ship Research I n s t i t u t e of Norway, Trondheim, 1979. C71 Larsen, C.M. and Fylling, I.J.: "Dynamic behaviour of anchor l i n e s " , BOSS 1982, Boston. C81 Lindahl, J . and Sjoberg, A.: "Dynamic a n a l y s i s of mooring cables", Second International Symposium on Ocean Engineering and Ship Hand1 ing, Gothenburg, 1983. C91 Bathe, K. and Wilson, E.L..: "Numerical methods in f i n i t e element analysis", Prentice Hall, Englewood C l i f f s , 1976. Cl01 De Zoysa, A.P.K.: "Steady s t a t e a n a l y s i s of undersea cables", Ocean E:ngineering, Vol. 5, 1978. NOMENCLATURE A = material area cross-section = added i n e r t i a a B =linkwidth C , = hydrodynamic drag c o e f f i c i e n t CI = hydrodynamic i n e r t i a c o e f f i c i e n t = c u r r e n t vector c D = l ine diameter dc = volumetric diameter F' = force F D = drag force F1 = i n e r t i a f o r c e F W = weight minus buoyancy fD = drag force in local co-ordinates G = weight per u n i t length j = subscript: node number k = i t e r a t i o n index L = length e = l i n e segment length M = l i n e mass ( m a t r i x ) m = added i n e r t i a (matrix) N = node n = subscript: normal d i r e c t i o n T = tension To = pre-tension Tdy = maximum dynamic tension = maximum q u a s i - s t a t i c tension ;qs = subscript: tangential d i r e c t i o n u = f l u i d velocity V = segment volume X = displacement x,z = 2-D system of co-ordinates 6 = displacement A.r = time s t e p A = transformation matrix p = f l u i d density r = transformation matrix T = time = v e r t i c a l l i n e angle = segment length e r r o r vector n = transformation matrix