Sum-Frequency Diffraction Loads on Tension-Leg Platforms in Bidirectional Waves

Abstract

Second-order diffraction theory is utilized to compute the sum-frequency diffraction loads on a deepwater tension-leg platform (TLP) in bidirectional waves. The linear diffraction solution is obtained utilizing a Green function approach using higher-order boundary elements. The second-order hydrodynamic loads explicitly due to the second-order potential are computed using the indirect, assisting radiation potential method. An efficient numerical technique is presented to treat the free-surface integral which appears in the second-order load formulation. Numerical results are presented for a stationary ISSC TLP in water of infinite depth. It is found that wave directionality may have a significant influence on the second-order hydrodynamic loads on a TLP and that the assumption of unidirectional waves does not always lead to conservative estimates of the sum-frequency loading.