Coupled surge-heave-pitch dynamic modeling of spar-moonpool-riser interaction

Due to the rather intense ongoing development of deep water gas and oil fields, the technical community has devoted considerable attention to the dynamic behavior of Spar floating systems. Spar dynamics exhibits a highly nonlinear behavior due to the presence of various components such as mooring lines, moonpool, and risers. Certain studies have focused on the reduction of the heave response of single-degree-of-freedom Spar models due to the oscillations of water entrapped in the moonpool through the partially closed bottom plates. In this paper, a novel coupled six-degree-of-freedom analytical model of a Spar system comprising top tensioned risers is proposed. The model accounts for the interactions among the Spar hull kinematics (heave, surge, and pitch), the riser kinematics (heave and surge), and the moonpool. This model involves six coupled differential equations comprising nonlinearities associated not only with stiffness and damping but also with inertia terms. A dynamic analysis is performed by subjecting the model to JONSWAP ocean wave spectrum compatible extreme forces (corresponding to the 100 year wave) and to moments applied to the center of gravity computed by means of a standard motion simulation program. Both numerical and analytical techniques (statistical linearization including inertia terms) are used for the determination of the response of the proposed dynamic model, both in the time and the frequency domains. Related parameter study results are reported, including ones pertaining to the dependence of the Spar system motion on the degree of opening of the bottom plates. © 2011 American Society of Mechanical Engineers.