An Investigation on the Vortex Effect of a CALM Buoy under Water Waves Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

Abstract

Floating offshore structures (FOS) must be designed to be stable, to float, and to be able to support other structures for which they were designed. These FOS are needed for different transfer operations in oil terminals. However, water waves affect the motion response of floating buoys. Under normal sea states, the free-floating buoy presents stable periodic responses. However, when moored, they are kept in position. Mooring configurations used to moor buoys in single point mooring (SPM) terminals could require systems such as Catenary Anchor Leg Moorings (CALM) and Single Anchor Leg Moorings (SALM). The CALM buoys are one of the most commonly-utilised type of offshore loading terminal. Due to the wider application of CALM buoy systems, it is necessary to investigate the fluid structure interaction (FSI) and vortex effect on the buoy. In this study, a numerical investigation is presented on a CALM buoy model conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in ANSYS Fluent version R2 2020. Some hydrodynamic definitions and governing equations were presented to introduce the model. The results presented visualize and evaluate specific motion characteristics of the CALM buoy with emphasis on the vortex effect. The results of the CFD study present a better understanding of the hydrodynamic parameters, reaction characteristics and fluid-structure interaction under random waves.

Keywords

• catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) buoy
• computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
• numerical modelling
• vortex
• vortex-induced motion (VIM)
• fluid-structure interaction (FSI)