Hydroelastic Analysis and Validation of an End-Anchored Floating Bridge Under Wave and Current Loads

Abstract

Analysis tools used by the offshore industry are applied for prediction of global dynamic behaviour of the extreme floating bridge concepts being evaluated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). Validation and code-code comparison of these analysis tools are of significant importance when they are applied to such new and non-traditional structures. The current paper focus on validation between numerical modelling and model tests. An end-anchored floating bridge of around 850m length is studied. A hydro-elastic global analysis model was created by considering the bridge as large radiation/diffracting floaters connected by elastic beams. The analysis has been done both in frequency and time domain, by including the hydrodynamic interaction between the pontoons or not. A systematic check of different parameters that may have impact on the analysis was carried out. The numerical results have been compared with the model tests carried out in MARINTEK (1990). The work provides validation of the current analysis tools and guidelines for future work.