Experimental Study for the Effect of Appendages on Vortex-Induced Motions of Tension Leg Platform

Abstract

Vortex-induced motions (VIM) of large marine structures have been emerged as hot issues both in engineering and academic fields. Aiming to investigate the effect of the appendages on the VIM phenomenon of the tension leg platforms (TLP), experimental studies were carried out in a towing tank., The tendon pretensions and mass ratio were modeled exactly by using an air-bearing system. Additionally, the motions in vertical plane were almost restricted and the TLP model was allowed to move freely in horizontal plane. The 6-degrees of freedom (6-DOF) motions of the model were recorded by the motion acquisition system, consistent with an acceleration sensor installed at the deck as well as four load cells employed to acquire the restoring forces of the four mooring lines respectively. This paper presents the VIM responses of the TLP model with bare hull and the model with appendages located at the surface of columns with different relative positions to the current (i.e., 0°, 45°, 90° and 135°, respectively). In addition, the dynamic behaviors are also processed. The results show that the amplitudes of VIM response in the transverse direction are mitigated significantly for the configuration of 45°-appendages, lower than that of the bare hull model about 65 percent but slightly subsided at other locations. Moreover, the appendages at all locations can obviously reduce the amplitudes of the yaw motions, with the maximum decrease of 52 percent of the yaw responses for the configuration of 0°-appendages and 45°-appendages, compared with that of the bare hull model.