Dinâmica de uma estrutura flutuante monocoluna usando o método de escoamento potencial.

Abstract

Floating structures are widely used around the world to develop various activities in the naval industry. Among them, it is possible to mention the storage of fuels and/or chemical products, water desalination, conversion of renewable energy, supply for naval operations, leisure, housing, among others. The Amazon region has a large system of waterways, where the use of floating structures becomes fundamental. However, studies are still needed to evaluate the behavior of different types of floating structures that can be implemented in the region. The present work aims to evaluate the use of a cylindrical floating platform for possible regional applications, analyzing its behavior in waves. The structure concept is based on a floating water desalination plant proposed in scientific literature. The study was carried out using potential flow methods of hydrodynamics available in the Ansys Aqwa software. First, the structure motions were validated with experimental data available in the literature, considering a reference case. Therefore, three similar structures of different sizes were evaluated, aiming to know the difference between their motions. Considering the proposed structures, the hydrodynamic coefficients of additional mass and damping were evaluated, as well as the heave and pitch motions. The effects of mesh refinement on these parameters were evaluated and, finally, the effect of draft changes on the motions of the proposed structures was investigated. The floating structure concept studied can be extended to several naval activities in the region. Studies involving validation and parametric analysis, such as the one presented in the present work, can be useful in the development of new concepts of floating structures for regional use.