S. Agarwal
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16 records found
1
Viscoelastic floating membranes can be used as flexible wave breakers to protect coastal and offshore structures or as flexible wave energy converters. Despite their potential, the role of viscoelastic floating membranes in optimally harvesting or dissipating wave energy remains largely unexplored, particularly regarding how spatially varying material properties influence their performance. To address this gap, we develop an adjoint-based PDE-constrained optimization framework, built on a monolithic finite element formulation of the coupled fluid–structure interaction problem, to investigate and optimize the viscoelastic properties of floating membranes. This methodology enables a systematic optimization of design parameters such as the mass, tension, and damping, which govern the response of the membrane at different wave conditions. In this study we demonstrate that the proposed methodology allows for the optimization of homogeneous and inhomogeneous properties of membranes for different wave excitation frequencies, leading to significant improvements in energy absorption. The framework is implemented in Julia using the Gridap package ecosystem, which enables automatic differentiation of adjoints and avoids the need to derive complex adjoint formulations.
The expansion of floating offshore renewable energy demands reliable mooring solutions. Synthetic mooring ropes offer cost savings and performance benefits but exhibit complex, nonlinear, and frequency-dependent behavior. This study investigates their mechanical response through experimental testing, characterizing quasi-static and dynamic properties. The results inform a viscoelastic material model that captures nonlinear stiffness and dynamic response under marine loading. Based on Schapery’s formulation, this model can be integrated into a Finite Element framework to simulate real-world conditions, improving predictive capabilities for synthetic mooring lines in offshore applications.
Offshore floating structures are experiencing harsh environmental conditions risking their safety. Therefore, mooring lines are crucial for ensuring structures’ stability. Sudden increases in tensions after temporarily slack of the mooring line are called snap loads and are the most critical load states. These snap loads and their dependence to various factors are investigated in the present study. 12 study locations in the south-eastern North Sea are selected. For each location, wave and current variables are extracted from a three-dimensional large-scale numerical model covering the European Shelf. Mooring tensions at different rope positions are calculated via a Finite Element model for flexible mooring lines for different hydrodynamic conditions and used subsequently to obtain tension rates as indicator for snap loads. The dependence among 13 variables per study location is modelled via Gaussian copula-based Bayesian Networks (GCBN). This allows for spatial analysis of the relationships between hydrodynamic variables and tension rates, but also to determine the influence of hydrodynamic variables on expected tension rates. Furthermore, distributions of tension rates are obtained under specific constant hydrodynamic conditions. The results indicate that conditionalising on certain hydrodynamic variables can reduce the expected tension rates, as their marginal distributions are characterised by heavy tails. Still, mooring systems should be designed conservatively. However, once specific hydrodynamic information is available, uncertainties can be minimised, enhancing safety and reliability. Thus, accounting for the dependence among hydrodynamic variables and tension rates is crucial for improving the safety of structures under varying environmental conditions.
Synthetic mooring lines are increasingly considered for lightweight offshore renewables, but their elasticity poses modelling challenges due to large deformations and frequency-dependent dynamic and non-linear stiffness. To address this, we developed a finite element model based on finite-strain theory and dynamic stiffness. We utilise Tangential Differential Calculus for large deformation analysis and Schapery viscoelastic model for the non-linear constitutive relationship. Our results show that in taut systems, viscoelastic effects dominate at higher frequencies, leading to creep and relaxation under cyclic loads. In catenary systems without a chain segment, viscoelastic impacts are minimal due to low tension in the synthetic line.
The paper first presents the procedure for calculating the depth-resolved velocities in 3D from the Boussinesq model. The resultant velocities are compared against theory, experiments and other models. The following sections present the coupling algorithm along a single and multiple coupling interfaces in MLPG_R. Validation results for this hybrid model are provided using surface elevation and velocity measurements for regular waves, including directional cases. In general, the results from the hybrid model are reported to have marginal over-prediction of peaks compared to purely MLPG_R simulation. Finally, the interaction of a vertical cylinder with direction regular wave is simulated using the 3D hybrid model. ...
The paper first presents the procedure for calculating the depth-resolved velocities in 3D from the Boussinesq model. The resultant velocities are compared against theory, experiments and other models. The following sections present the coupling algorithm along a single and multiple coupling interfaces in MLPG_R. Validation results for this hybrid model are provided using surface elevation and velocity measurements for regular waves, including directional cases. In general, the results from the hybrid model are reported to have marginal over-prediction of peaks compared to purely MLPG_R simulation. Finally, the interaction of a vertical cylinder with direction regular wave is simulated using the 3D hybrid model.