A new approach to the overturning stability of floating structures

The increasingly widespread use of floating offshore production facilities has led to a need for a better understanding and accurate prediction of dynamic behavior. The approach described in this paper uses an approximate criterion for safe, forced, roll oscillations of a typical semi-submersible based on a stability margin. This stability margin is developed from a comparison between the total energy of the steady-state oscillating system and the total energy required to cause instability in the corresponding unforced, undamped system. The accuracy and utility of the new approach is assessed by comparing the loss of stability of numerical simulations with the approximate criterion. © 1994.

Duke Scholars

Author Lawrence N. Virgin Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...