Resonant Oscillations within Multiple Moonpools for a Fixed Rectangular Vessel

Abstract

We present experimental results of resonant free surface oscillations within three circular moonpools arranged in tandem at forward, central, and aft positions of a fixed rectangular vessel in head waves. The piston mode resonance frequency is primarily captured, which decreases with the increase in the vessel draft. The aim is to study the effect of body diffraction on the free surface amplitude and phase of the oscillating water columns at the three locations. The results indicate that, in general, the forward moonpool has the highest response amplitude, whereas the relative amplitudes of the central and aft moonpools depend on the wave frequency. It is observed that the nondimensional response amplitude increases nonlinearly with decreasing wave steepness close to the resonance frequency, while the effect diminishes at lower wave frequencies. The oscillation phase differences between the moonpools show effects of wave-body interaction, a phenomenon dependent on the vessel draft and wave frequency. Finally, the study includes a comparison of the responses at the three moonpool locations between multiple and single configurations. A moonpool is a vertical opening through the ship deck and open to the sea at the bottom, which is installed in vessels specialized in certain offshore operations. Resonant water column oscillations are encountered in moonpools (Aalbers 1984) due to vessel operations in waves. On the other hand, oscillating water columns (OWCs) have been extensively researched, primarily due to their potential for ocean wave energy conversion (Evans 1978; Heath 2012; Falcão & Henriques 2016). Now, considering design perspectives, the focus of the studies on water column resonance in waves depends on the specific marine application. For example, wave energy converters would require maximized OWC responses for efficient energy capture (Evans & Porter 1995; Morris-Thomas et al. 2007), while large free surface oscillations within moonpools of drillships have adverse effects on the vessel dynamics (Fakuda 1977).