Investigation of hydroelastic behavior of a pontoon-type VLFS during unsteady external loads in wave condition using a hybrid finite element-boundary element (FE-ME) method

Abstract

The hydroelastic behavior of a pontoon-type VLFS subjected to unsteady external loads in wave condition is investigated in the context of the time-domain modal expansion theory, in which the boundary element method (BEM) based on time domain Kelvin sources is used for hydrodynamic forces and the finite element method (FEM) is adopted for solving the deflections of the VLFS. In this analysis, the interpolation-tabulation scheme is applied to assess rapidly and accurately the free-surface Green function in finite water depth, and the boundary integral equation of a quarter VLFS model is further established taking advantage of symmetry of flow field and structure. The VLFS is modeled as an equivalent solid plate based on the Mindlin plate theory. The coupled plate-water model is performed to determine the wave-induced responses and transient behavior under external loads such as a huge mass impact onto the structure and moving loads of an airplane, respectively. These results are verified with existing numerical results and experimental test. Then, the developed numerical tools are used in the study of the combined action taking into account of the mass drop/airplane landing as well as forward or reverse incident wave action. The deflections of the runway, the time history of vertical positions and the trajectory of the airplane are also presented through a systematic time-domain simulation, which illustrates the usefulness of the presently developed numerical solutions.