An Improved Simplified Method for Predicting the Hydroelastic Response of Mat-Like VLFS

摘要

Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS) have received considerable attention recently. Efficient and accurate estimation of their hydroelastic responses in waves is very important for the design. The most efficient approach would obviously be the analytical one. Within the category of analytical approaches, the simplified method proposed by Ohkusu and his colleague are of special characteristics. However, when one stndies their methods, several questions arise. The purpose of this paper is to critically study the simplified methods proposed by Ohkusu and his colleague in order to answer these questions. Some problems in their original methods have been found and possible improvements are suggested. It is concluded that the improved simplified method using the same idea of Ohkusu and his colleague could provide a reasonable estimate of the hydroelastic response of mat-like VLFS in a certain range of incident angles of waves.