Speaker
Description
This numerical study presents the concept and preliminary performance evaluation of a pontoon-type concrete modular floating platform, designed to serve as a supporting structure for ocean renewable infrastructure applications. The modular floating structure is constructed by connecting individual lightweight hexagonal prismatic concrete modules in a circular manner, revolving around the six edges of the centre module and expanding outwards to form the global array. All the numerical simulations of this study were performed using Ansys Aqwa based on the potential flow theory. The proposed modular floating platform was subjected to several loading scenarios in this study: (i) Empty module (Self-weight), (ii) Ballasted to achieve the designated draft, (iii) Subjected to superstructure loading of a horizontal-axis wind turbine on the centre module. The hydrostatic performance of the individual module and floating platform was first evaluated to ensure sufficient stability. Frequency-domain responses, including the response amplitude operator (RAO) and regular wave analysis of the proposed structure, were then evaluated for each loading case. This study served as a baseline for further time-domain irregular wave response studies, and subsequently for structural analysis and design optimisation as future work.
| Topic Area | Sustainable Ocean Structures |
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