Predicting Wave Loads on Offshore Structures

In the offshore industry, it is common to analyse hydrodynamics and wave impact using potential flow solvers like ANSYS AQWA to assess wave loading and buoyancy dynamics. But shipping and offshore engineers who design complex oil platforms, ships and other marine structures also rely on 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to model and accurately predict various parameters such as ship drag, trim & sinkage and dynamic motion in waves; wave loading on offshore structures and the behaviour of green water, which occurs when a large quantity of water accumulates on a ship's deck as a result of massive waves from storms and often leads to equipment damage.In this paper, ANSYS solutions that can be used to offer a complete range of fluid dynamics and marine simulation tools for shipping and offshore product designers will be discussed such as its capabilities to generate rapid and high-quality meshing for complex offshore, naval and marine applications; to simulate a wide range of waves from shallow-water waves to nonlinear oceanic waves as well as tsunami waves and the superposition of waves. The accuracy and its fast CFD simulation of wave interaction with offshore platforms, ships and other marine structures will also be presented together with the software ability to connect 3-D CFD simulation to ANSYS AQWA as the hydrodynamic solver to predict the behaviour of moored and/or connected systems subject to random sea states