Experimental and Numerical Study on Dynamic Response of FSRU-LNGC Side-by-Side Mooring System

Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) becomes one of the most popular equipment in the industry for providing clean energy due to its technical, economic and environmental features. Under the combined loads from wind, wave and current, it is difficult for the prediction of the dynamic response for such FSRU-LNGC (Liquified Natural Gas Carrier) side-by-side mooring system, because of the complicated hydrodynamic interaction between the two floating bodies. In this paper, a non-dimensional damping parameter of the two floating bodies is obtained from a scaled model test. Then the numerical analysis is carried out based on the test results, and the damping lid method is applied to simulate the hydrodynamic interference between floating bodies. The dynamic response of the side-by-side mooring system including six degrees of freedom motion, cable tension and fender force are provided and analyzed. According to the comparisons between numerical results and the test results, it is shown that the proposed coupled analysis model is reliable, and the numerical analysis can properly describe the dynamic response of the multi-floating mooring system in the marine environment. Moreover, the non-dimensional damping parameter which is used in numerical analysis can act as a good reference to the dynamic response analysis of similar multi-floating mooring systems.