ON THE USE OF A FLEXIBLE STRUCTURE AS A BREAKWATER
Stergios I. Liapis, Linda S. Constantine and Jeremy D. Trowbridge, Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061.
ABSTRACT
The potential effectiveness of flexible inflatable structures as breakwaters is investigated numerically. Such structures are cylindrical in shape and made of strong reinforced rubber. They may be filled with water, air or a combination of air and water. This can be done in a relatively short time so that assembly and disassembly can be very efficient. Such structures can be anchored to the ocean floor along two lines and inflated only in the event of a severe storm. They offer an attractive alternative to a fixed breakwater, since in calm weather t hey can be deflated and will not obstruct marine life or navigation. They also could be used as sacrificial breakwaters in the event of large storms, reducing the size of waves incident on fixed breakwaters.
SURVIVAL ANALYSIS OF DEEP-WATER FLOATING OFFSHORE PLATFORMS:
CRITICAL AXIS
Jeffrey M. Falzarano and Ravikiran S. Kota, School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the global dynamics of a typical Column
Stabilized Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (CSMODU) about its critical, approximately quartering axis. It is well known that short and wide (i.e., small L/B ratio) twin hull vessels such as CS-MODUs have minimum righting moment about an approximately quartering axis. This paper attempts to answer the question of whether this is also a critical rotational motion axis. In order to answer this question, a comparative global transient dynamical systems analysis is undertaken which compares the vessels response at all heading angles.
