Development of Coupled Numerical Model between Floating Caisson and Anti-Oscillation Tanks

Abstract

Floating caissons can oscillate owing to ocean waves when towed to an installation site. To reduce these oscillations, free-surface anti-oscillation tanks mounted on floating caissons have been proposed. However, no coupled numerical model exists between the motion of the floating caisson and fluid flow in the tanks based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this study, a coupled model is developed and compared to existing physical experiments for validation. In the coupled model, the vertical and rotational motion of the floating caisson are computed as a rigid body, and the motion of the free water in the tank is computed using a CFD model. Numerical results show the predictive capability of the coupled model in terms of the rotational motion (pitch) of the floating caisson within ±20% of experimental data, regardless of the absence or presence of water in the tank. The numerical results also show that the fluid flow with complex air–water interface motion in the tank can be analyzed in detail using the coupled model. This suggests that the coupled model developed in this study is a useful tool for quantitatively assessing the effectiveness of an anti-oscillation tank for reducing the pitch of a floating caisson.