Ocean Engng, Vol. 17, No 5, pp. 499-516, 1990. (0029-8018/90 $3.00 + .00 Printed in Great Britain. Pergamon Press ple DYNAMICS OF AN ELASTICALLY MOORED FLOATING BODY BY THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL INFINITE ELEMENT METHOD S. L. Lau, Z. J1* and C. 0. Ne Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hung Hom, Hong Kong Abstract—The three-dimensional problem of the dynamics of a moored floating object under the action of regular waves is solved numerically as a boundary value problem by use of the finite-infinite element method. The cross-sectional shape of the floating body and the mooring arrangements may all be arbitrary. The mathematical formulations of the problem and procedures of the numerical method are presented in this paper. A corresponding computer program WALOAD has been developed, which is capable of computing wave forces on fixed and floating structures. Numerical computations using this program could give very accurate results, even though rather coarse meshes were used. The program is easy to use and is readily applicable in many practical situations NOMENCLATURE component of hydrodynamic force or moment radius of sphere/cylinder component of force or moment due to mooring effect radius of inner domain component of force or moment due to hydrostatic effect component of translational or angular motion of body water depth’ component of force due to incident and diffracted waves component of force due to dynamics of body extra-nodal parameter in infinite element gravitational acceleration wave height _ complex number V=1 moment of inertia of body spring constant of mooring line wave number wavelength standard shape function of two-dimensional isoparametric element mass matrix body mass standard shape function of three-dimensional isoparametric element unit normal vector into the body component of nor r Xn dynamic wave pressure hydrostatic restoring coefficient , cylindrical coordinates ye fixed rectangular coordinates ZBIREOTM AL AAR ABAHOTHSD Ow UES * Permanent address: Research Institute of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, People's Republic of China 499500 S.L. Lav et al. xyz body rectangular coordinates Se submerged body surface Srey Ser free-water surface in the outer and the inner domains Se bottom surface Sa outer domain boundary whose radius tends to be very large qT, component of tension force in a mooring Tine t time Ve functional in outer domain vy, functional in inner domain Vo volume of body % z-coordinate of the centre of mass of body ey added mass coefficient By damping coefficient 7 wave incident angle ° water density Po ‘body density ® velocity potential component of velocity potential %% nodal parameter of potential ° wave angular frequency Qe outer domain a inner domain § complex amplitude of component of motion of body o frequency parameter Ch, surge force coefficient cr, heave force coefficient chy surge response coefficient Ce heave response coefficient chs pitch response coefficient. 1. INTRODUCTION ‘THE DESIGN of floating structures, such as floating breakwaters, floating platforms, etc., has now become a common task for civil engineers. To meet theit demands, the development of a simple yet accurate method for the analysis of the dynamics of floating, bodies is necessary. Until recently, analyses of the motion of floating bodies have largely been based on the Green’s function method developed by John (1950). Investigators using this method included Garrison (1974), Adee and Martin (1974), and Yamamoto ef al. (1980). These methods are rather complicated and may not be readily applied by many design engineers. Lau and Ji (1989a) recently presented a simple and efficient numerical method for solving boundary value problems of three-dimensional linear wave forces on large bodies. The method is based on the application of the three-dimensional infinite element for modelling the far field potential of the wave difftaction. This technique has been found to be accurate and efficient when compared with other available methods. Since the method is readily applicable for the problems of wave interactions with a floating object, an extension work has been carried out by the authors in this paper. This paper presents a complete mathematical formulation of the general three- dimensional problems of wave interactions with elastically moored floating objects, and explains how the three-dimensional infinite element may be applied in this case. Computational results of some selected problems are also presented.Floating body dynamics by the infinite element method so 2. THEORY 2.1. The problem Figure 1 shows the definition sketch of the three-dimensional problem. An arbitrarily shaped floating object is moored with elastic lines. The total number, the spring constants, the attachment points, and the orientations of these mooring lines are all arbitrary. Two coordinate systems are defined : body coordinate axes CX’ Y’ Z’, with C fixed at the centre of gravity of the floating body, and fixed reference frame OXYZ, with O at the free-surface and vertically above C at the static condition. When static, the corresponding axes of the two systems are parallel to each other and the coordinates of C in the fixed system are given by (0, 0, z.). The water is assumed to have a constant depth and to extend to infinity. It is also assumed that the problem is free from disturbances due to any neighbouring structures. In response to the incident and diffracted waves, the body will undergo a small amplitude oscillation. A three-dimensional body response may be resolved into 6 degrees-of-freedom (Fig. 2). These 6 degrees-of-freedom are numbered 1-6, as indicated in Fig. 2. Assuming that the waves upon the body are plane progressive with small amplitude, and with sinusoidal time dependence, we may express the displacement (translational or angular) for the six modes of motion as Dij= hel G=1,.. 56) w Hence, D, (t) denotes the respective translational motion along the X’-, ¥'- and Z'- directions for j = 1, 2, 3, and the respective angular motion about the same axes for j = 4, 5, 6. & is the complex amplitude of the jth mode of motion, J is the complex number Vai and oi the frequency of the incident wave. 2.2. The wave potentials The water flow is assumed to be inviscid and irrotational, so that it may be expressed by a velocity potential (x, y,z,1). If the incident wave is sufficiently small in amplitude and the body is stable, the resulting motions will be proportionally small. We may write sketch.502 Fic. 2. Degrees-of-freedom of a floating body. Mey2d [3 69.4 a (e9.2)+ mearaferm. @) In the above equation, 4, (j ~ 1, . . ., 6) denotes the potential function associated with the jth mode of motion, and > and 4; denote the potentials of the incident and diffracted waves, respectively. For smali amplitude incident wave, éo is given by the linear wave theory BH cosh k(2+4) cscorysysinn) 1 coshkd © ’ ° ry where g = gravitational acceleration, H = incident wave height, y = wave incident angie, d = water depth, k = 2n/L = wave number (L = wavelength) satisfying gk tanh (kd). @® The other potentials should satisfy the governing equations and boundary conditions as detailed below. The water region comprises the inner domain 9, and the outer domain Q,, and the submerged body surface, the free-water surface, and the bottom surface are denoted by S,, Sp, Sa, respectively (Fig. 1). Continuity: V%g,=0(j= 1,. . .,7)in and (5) Bottom: = 0g : .Ton Sp ©) Free-surface: be - » Ton Sp a Body surface: aby ofr, (j (8a) 7 on / abr __ aby ‘an jn O50 (8b)Floating body dynamics by the infinite element method 503 Radiation at infinity: lim. vee (2 Ik ee) (9) pares or (where r = radius in polar coordinates). In Equation (8), n = n,e, + me, » 11.02, the unit normal vector on the body surface directed into the body (n,, n,, m, are the direction cosines of n and e,, e, €, are the unit vectors in the coordinate system), and the 1, values (j = 6) are defined as follows: ny =n, mean : men, n= ye ~ (220) My ns = (z — 29) My — x; Ng = Any ~ yn The & (j = 1, ..., 6) in Equation (8a) is @ priori unknown. However, we may assume here , = 1 and consider ¢, (j = 1, . . ., 6) for unit displacement of the jth mode of motion. 2.3. The hydrodynamic effect On solving the potential 4, values given by Equations (5)-(9), the total dynamic pressures can be calculated by the linearized Bernoulli's equation. Pressure due to incident and diffracted waves PP (xyz) =~ PE Ilbo + br) €%] = Ipw (0 + dy) an Pressure due to the jth mode of motion a Py (xyizd) =— pa [el] = Ipwdenlr. (12) By integrating these pressures on the body surface, we may obtain the total hydrodynamic force on the body and the moment about the centre of gravity. 6 A(t) = I nPeds + > Il nPjds (i= 1,. . .,6) (13) so Fills, where n, (i = 1, . . ., 6) is given by Equation (10). The subscript i follows the sequential meanings of the subscript j, and should not be confused with the complex J. Hence A(®) denotes the ith component of the hydrodynamic force for i = 3 and the (i-3)th component of the moment about C for i > 3. By inserting P? and P, into Equation (13), we may write A(t) = (e a 3 ) eat (14)soa S.L. Lau er al where FP = If Ipw (by + >) nds (1s) Is, Fy= I [ _ tows (as) 2.4, The mooring effect Let us consider the mth mooring line AB in Fig. 1. Let the coordinates of the attachment point be (xm) You 2m); the spring constant K,,; the direction cosines of the mooring line at the attachment point (rte, ym Mzm), directed outward of the body. By ignoring the effects of the inertia of the mooring line and the viscous force on the line, we may express the linearized forces and moments due to the mth mooring line as the form ‘ Be Ooe (3 xs) em 6 As before, B,(t) represents the ith component of force (i = 1,2,3) or the (i-3)th component of moment about C (i = 4,5,6). In Equation (17), Ki represents a spring constant and is given by aT Gye 36 ij where Ty”) = Tn” [T = tension in the mth mooring line; nf” is given by Equation (10) with (1, my.) replaced BY ("tem Rynir Nem) and (x,y, Z) by Bn» Yo Zm)] Therefore 1,...,6). (7) Kyo = ys) (18) a arm anf Kye = 2 Cempgenny = nfm 2E peony OTE | ¥ Fra mg) = nf 3 TF 36 The second term may be neglected if we assume that the line orientation is not affected ante = 0). Furthermore, we have (19) by the oscillation ( a To) = K,n{” & + terms independent of , and therefore =K,nf”. : (20) Finally Kp = Kner? (if = 1. - 6) 1) 2.5. The hydrostatic effect When the body is displaced from its static equilibrium position, the hydrostatic pressure causes certain forces and moments to restore the body to its original position.Floating body dynamics by the infinite element method 505 With small amplitude oscillations, these restoring forces and moments may be linearized and have the form: c@=- (5 or ‘Again, C,(A) denotes the ith component of force (i = 1,2,3) or the (-3)th component of moment about C (i = 4,5,6). R, is a hydrostatic restoring coefficient and is given by res r6)- (22) au, tare (23) where 5 U,= | I peznads [x given by Equation (10) : (24) Io Substituting, a Ry> (en) ds. 25) voaff, tens @s) A linearized relationship for z is 2 +294 Esty! Ex’ Es (26) which gives Rx oe{[ n, ds = pgAy (Aw = water plane area) Is, Ras = Rag = o¢{| yn, ds so Ru = oe([ On, — y (Z — 20) ny)ds - 7) Rss = Ras = oe] an.ds se Rss = Ras = oe i aynds Is, Rss = oe(| (Pn, ~ x(z ~ 20) n,) ds Is Alll other Rj values are zero. In addition, if the floating object is symmetrical with respect to the x-z and y-z planes, the coefficients Rag = Ras = Rs = Ras = Rss = Ras = 0.506 S. L. Lav et al, 2.6. The equations of motion Having discussed the forces and moments due to the hydrodynamic, the mooring and the hydrostatic effects, we may now express the equations of motion of the floating body for the 6 degrees-of-freedom. By Newton's second law, we have in the body coordinates, 6 * XM, BD =A + Y BP + CH = 1... 6) (28) a mt where At, denotes the inertia matrix of the body, and Dj(1), Adi), BY” (1), C(f) are given by Equations (1), (14), (17) and (22), respectively. The matrix My is defined by me 0. 0 om oO 0 0 0 _|0 0 m 0 0 0 Mel 0 0 dew ley hee oe 0 8 0 Ht Dy —Iype 00 0 Hh hy Lee where m, is the body mass, and the moments of inertia Teg = Sf. po(y'"? + 2") dv (30) Tey = If. Pox’ y’ dv G1) and so on (V, is the volume of the body and p, is the density of the body). Substituting Equations (1), (14), (17) and (22) into Equation (28), we obtain 6 " 6 >: (-o4 > Ky? + Ry) = r+ Ey G1 6) (32) m at A Equation (32) consists of six linear equations in six unknowns (£;, ..., &). The equations may be solved by algebraic manipulations. Since ; (j = 1, . . ., 6) is actually solved on the assumption that & = 1, F; has to be separated into two components according to the definition: F, 4 = woy + [By 3) of where a, and B, are known as the added mass and the damping coefficient, respectively. On substituting Equation (33) into Equation (32), we have 6 B 2 [- (My + a) — LoBy + 2, Kyo + ni] R= GH 3. FINITE AND INFINITE ELEMENTS Let us now discuss how the potentials ¢,, . . ., 7 are numerically solved using the finite and infinite element method. A detailed description of the finite element andFloating body dynamics by the infinite element method 507 infinite element formulation for the wave problem is given in the paper by Lau and Ji (19894). The procedure is briefly summarized as follows. The problem of Equations (5)-(9) can be re-cast in a variational principle as the form 8V(d,) = BVAd,) + BV eC) = 0 = 1,.. -.7) (35) where V, denotes the functional in the inner domain, * a VAo;) = fff, (Vo)? dv — all, bp ds + IU. ‘ty ods (36) and Ve is the functional in the outer infinite domain, - aby, 1 (a6, , (a6))"] Vly) = fff [ey + 4%) + (22) proved G7) a : - ‘all, 7 ds — van ae ‘These variational Equations (35)-(37) form the basis for the finite element and infinite element formulation. For simplicity, the subscript j will be dropped from 4, in the following discussions In the inner domain, the problem is modelled by the standard finite element method, using the 15-node and 20-node isoparametric elements. With the standard shape function N,, the potential @ can be written as o=> Nei (m= 15 or 20) (38) a where g; (i = 1,2, . . ., m) are nodal values of ¢. Inserting Equation (38) into Equation (36), and following the standard finite element procedure, we can obtain the element coefficient matrix and the right-hand side vector as follows: eee rn) 129) Sy = I If. [VN]? [VN] dedydz -2 {f.. NINqds (i, ee an |[ tas ‘The partial derivative a in Equation (40) is given by Equation (8) with & = In the outer domain, we use a three-dimensional 8-node infinite element (Fig. 3) with two-term asymptotic expansion of the zeroth Hankel function as the shape function in the radial direction: se Sans [ OPO .m) (40) y ah a) where b = radius of the inter-boundary of the inner and the outer domain, @, = the nodal potentials, f; = the extra-nodal parameters and M, = M,(0,z), the standard shape function in terms of the coordinates 0 and z.508, S. L. Lav et al $s Fic. 3. Infinite element Inserting Equation (41) into Equation (37), integrating the functional with respect to rand applying the variational principle, we may obtain the coefficient matrix of the infinite element: (cutea) (i) « whete [Ci], [Ci2], [Cay], [C2z] are 8 x 8 matrices with complex coefficients and [¢], [f] are the vectors consisting of the nodal parameters. The following equations give the relationships for the matrix coefficients: wt [Curly = Ciliy + Coleg + Coleg — ze Coy (43) 1 1 w [Craly = 3 Cali * 3 Cole + 3 Coley ~ pg Cody (44) 2 U(Ceala = Caly + Colon + Clay ~ Cay (43) [Cals = [Culy * (46) where = [fo maooie ley = wf Ik am a dedz ee Inga . «n 1 dedz ff "62 3M, aM, Iog-az 02 OZ Jem ee M(6,0) M,(0,0)d0 a2 andFloating body dynamics by the infinite element method 508 1 1 ~ 5ikb ~ 5kbO 5 C aie Ge i + FUkb + JuKbO + BIRO + AH + AO C= — Sikb — 312820 + kbO + : Cu= 1+ 2KbQ See? 4 1 nn ee = 41k C5 = — alkb — 5k2b? — 51°b°Q + 2KbQ — 41170°O + 5 (48) Ca= -1 + 2kb + 41k2b7Q — 4kbO seul C= 5lk'b Cy = (1 + 2kbQ) + 2167Q + de» Cy = ~Ik~'b(1 + 2kbQ) in which Q = —f(2kb) + Ig(2kb) (49) no= [3PM u (s0) FO) - [Sitau (51) 4. NUMERICAL RESULTS 4.1. The WALOAD program Based on the three-dimensional infinite element method as discussed in the last section, a computer program WALOAD was developed by Lau and Ji (1989a) for computing wave forces on fixed structures. Now the program is further developed so that it is also capable of calculating wave forces on an elastically moored floating object and the dynamic response. The program was written in FORTRAN 77 language and can be executed in the VAX 750 and 8500 series machines. Use of the program is detailed in a user’s guide (Lau and Ji (1989). 4.2. Computed examples Several configurations have been considered as examples in computing the hydrodynamic coefficients, the added mass and damping coefficients, and the components of dynamic response. Non-dimensionalized parameters are defined as follows:510 S. L. Lav et al. Palg Frequency parameter vs 1 Surge force coefficient CF, = Frmax ‘(bee He) . 1 Heave force coefficient CFs = Femax ‘es H@) (3x) a0 1 Heave response coefficient Cé, = ed(jn) at where a = characteristic dimension (radius of the sphere/cylinder in the following examples), Femex, aNd Fimax, = maximum horizontal and vertical components of the resultant wave force. Surge response coefficient C&, Pitch response coefficient Cés 4.2.1, Free floating semi-submerged sphere, d/a = 3.0 (Fig. 4). Figure 4 shows the geometry and the arrangement of the element mesh for the problem. The water depth is three times the radius of the sphere. The placement of elements in the mesh is based on the experience that the authors have gained when dealing with the fixed structures [Lau and Ji (1989a)]. A coarse mesh is in most cases sufficient to give satisfactory results. Figures 8-11 show the computed results for the problem. Garrison (1974) studied the same problem using the three-dimensional source distribution method and presented results with similar plots. Garrison’s results are reproduced in Figs 8-11 for comparison purposes. It can be seen that the agreement with Garrison’s results is excellent for the coefficients associated with the surge. On the other hand, some slight differences are element under the sphere Fic. 4. Geometry and mesh for floating sphere.Floating body dynamics by the infinite element method su ‘loments under ‘the cylinder Fic. 5. Geometry and mesh for floating cylinder. Fic. 6, Floating cylinder with horizontal mooring lines. pe t t ai ica -_ Fic. 7. Floating cylinder with inclined mooring lines. ‘Surge an heave force coefficients 2 70 Frequency parameter Fic, 8. Surge and heave force coefficients for floating sphere, exhibited by the two sets of results corresponding to the heave-associated coefficients. When compared with Garrison’s plots: (i) the present heave force is lower for small values of 0; (ii) the present heave damping coefficient Bas is higher for large values of ©; (iii) the present heave response curve shifts to the higher o side with a lower peak512 ‘Aes moss ond daring coetfiients Frequency rameter Fio. 9. Added mass and damping coefficients in surge for Roating sphece i : Tad a Pare mts Gates oe 5 BF i * 3 _, | Fregqueney parameter Fic. 10. Added mass and damping coefficients in heave for floating sphere. Surge ord heave response coetticants ce, oS Feequeney parameter Fig, 11. Surge and heave response coefficients of floating sphere.Floating body dynamics by the infinite element method 513 Surge ane heave force coef oF, Frequency perameter Fig. 12. Surge and heave force coefficients for floating cylinder, Added mass and damping coefficients Frequency parameter Fio. 13, Added mass and damping coefficients in surge for floating cylinder. Aedes moss end darping coefficients FS a rr ee Frequency porameter Fis. 14, Added mass and damping coefficients in heave for floating cylinder.514 S. L. Lav et al Surge and heave response coefficients Frequency borameter Fic. 15. Surge and heave response coefficients of floating cylinder. Pitch response coefficient Frequency parameter Fic. 16. Pitch response coefficients of floating cylinder. Grae raana revrg Sn etary ents ‘Surge response coett ce Frequency porometer Fig. 17. Surge response coefficients of moored floating cylinder.Floating body dynamics by the infinite element method S15 Dm wimarentg ee SR Necncry be Heove response coetficients ce, & Frequency porometer Fic. 18, Heave response coefficients of moored floating cylinder. Pitch response coefficients Frequency porameter Fic. 19, Pitch response coefficients of moored floating cylinder. value. These differences are ascribed partly to the errors in reproducing Garrison’s results from the small plots given in the literature, and partly to the different numerical methods used 4.2.2. Free floating cylinder, d/a = 1.0 (Fig. 5). The geometry and element mesh for a free floating cylinder is shown in Fig. 5. The depth of submergence is half of the radius of the cylinder, and the water depth equals the radius of the cylinder. Garrison (1974) also presented results for the same problem, Figures 12-16 show the computed results together with those given by Garrison. It is interesting to note from the figures that the computed results agree in the same way with Garrison’s results, as in the previous case, Surge-associated coefficients agree with each other very well. For heave-associated coefficients, the same differences as mentioned above also occur between the two sets of results.516 S.L. Lav et al, 4.2.3. Moored floating cylinder, d/a = 1.0 (Figs 6 and 7). The same floating cylinder as in 4.2.2. is considered in two mooring conditions: (i) with two horizontal mooring lines; (ii) with two inclined mooring lines directed at (45°, 90°, 135°) and (135°, 90°, 135°) out of the body. ‘The attachment points for both conditions are at (a, 0, —a/2) and (—a, 0, ~a/2). The spring constant is K = 100 kgf/m for all mooring lines. The mooring effects will not change the hydrodynamic coefficients, but will affect only the dynamic response of the body. Figures 17-19 show the surge, heave and pitch response components of the floating cylinder under the two mooring conditions. With the mooring lines, the surge response of the body is greatly reduced, and becomes zero as the frequency approaches zero (Fig. 17). This contrasts with the unrestrained condition in which the surge response tends to be very large at small frequencies (Fig. 15). The horizontal mooring effect allows a surge response approximately half of that given by the inclined mooring effect. The horizontal mooring lines, however, have no effect on the heave response (Fig. 18). The inclined mooring lines are capable of reducing the heave response to a considerable extent and eliminating the large resonant response, The pitch response is very sensitive to the resonant frequency. It is almost unbounded at resonance when the body is unrestrained (Fig. 16). The horizontal mooring effect does not help reduce the peak response very much (Fig. 19), but the inclined mooring effect can limit it to a much more reasonable value. Better damping in pitch can result if more mooring lines and more stiff lines are used. {t is interesting to note that the mooring effects lower the resonant frequency of pitch of the body. 5. CONCLUDING REMARKS (1) It has been shown that the simple three-dimensional infinite element method can be applied in computing wave forces on an elastically moored floating body and its dynamic response. (2) Numerical examples indicate that satisfactory results can be obtained with this infinite element model, even though the meshes used have been rather coarse. The results are consistent with those given by Garrison (1974), even though some slight differences are exhibited in the heave-associated coefficients by the two sets of results. REFERENCES Apee, B.T. and Manny, W. 1974, Theoretical analysis of floating breakwater performance. Floating Breakwater Conference Papers, University of Rhode Island, pp. 21-39. Gaanison, CJ. 1974. Dynamic response of floating bodies, Offshore Technol. Conference, Houston, Texas, 6-8 May 1974, Paper No, OTC 2067, 99. 365-377. Jou, F, 1950, On the motion of floating bodies. II. Commun. Pure appl. Math. 3, 45-101. Lav, 'S.L. and Jt, Z. 1989a. An efficient 3-d infinite element for water wave diffraction problems. lat. J Num. Method’ Engng 28, 1371-1387. Lav, S.L. and Ji, Z. 1989. User manual on WALOAD—a 3-4 infinite element model on wave forces on large offshore structures. Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hung Hom, Hong Kong. Yamamoto, T., Yosmpa, A. and Ima, T. 1980, Dynamics of elastically moored floating objects. Appl. Ocean Res.'2, 85-92.