Marine Operability Prediction Using Phase-Resolved Wave-Fields

Many offshore operations are carried out under restrictive operational limits due to uncertainties in the operating environment. Operators are looking for methods to enhance the operation envelopes and safety of their operations. With the advent of wave radar, optical and respective processing technology, it is now possible to measure incident phase-resolved wave-fields a distance away from a floating system. The incident wave-fields can be used to predict the response of the floating system ahead of time taken for the wave-fields to evolve into the floater location. In this paper, we demonstrate the concept via simulations of evolving wave-fields and the induced response of a generic floater. It is shown that the floating system response, and subsequent exceedance of the operational limits, can be predicted in advance. This methodology can help to reduce uncertainties related to the operating environment and the system response and forms a building block for operability decision support systems.