The design of a novel small waterplane area pillar buoy based on rolling analysis

As one of the main ways to obtain marine data, marine buoys have the advantages of low cost and little environmental restrictions. So far, a variety of buoys with different functions have been developed and buoy internal loading, power systems, mooring systems and hydrodynamic performances have become research hotspots, but few scholars pay close attention to buoy design. Therefore, this paper focuses on the design for pillar buoys to improve their stability in rolling. To obtain the geometric parameters, first the mathematical models is established for an ideal floating structure and then the rolling analysis of small waterplane area pillar buoy (SWAP) and novel small waterplane area pillar buoy (NSWAP) are performed. It shows that small waterplane area can help reduce the rolling angle. The prototype of NSWAP is built and its experiments in water flume are carried out at the wave height of 0.1 m, 0.2 m and 0.3 m. Taking the maximum rolling angle as an indicator, the analysis of experiments data proves that the experiment basically meets the design value and NWAP shows good rolling stability. This paper can be a guideline for further research in rolling analysis and floating structure design.