Performance analysis of the mooring system of a two-module scientific research and demonstration platform

A mooring system has been designed for the position keeping of a two-module semi-submersible platform which is connected by hinge-type connectors. Under the excitation of ocean waves, the relative motion between the two modules can be significant. It is therefore no longer adequate to model the platform as a single rigid body in the analysis of the performance of the mooring system. In this study, an analysis method has been developed based on the three-dimensional frequency domain hydroelasticity theory in conjunction with the time domain quasi-static analysis method of mooring actions, which takes into account of the coupling effect of the platform motion and mooring tension. The proposed method is verified by comparing the numerical results with the measured data obtained from the on-site measurements. The comparison shows a good agreement, and demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method for the analysis of the module responses and mooring tensions of multi-module floating platforms.