Stability Analysis of TLP Tethers Under Vortex-Induced Oscillations

Abstract

The vortex-induced oscillation of TLP tether is investigated in the vicinity of lock-in condition. The vortex shedding is caused purely due to current, which may vary across the depth of the sea. The vibration of TLP is modeled as a SDOF problem by assuming that the first mode response of the tether dominates the motion. Nonlinearity in the equation of motion is produced due to the relative velocity squared drag force. In order to trace different branches of the response curve and investigate different instability phenomena that may exist, an arc-length continuation technique along with the incremental harmonic balance method (IHBC) is employed. A procedure for treating the nonlinear term using distribution theory is presented so that the equation of motion is transformed to a form amenable to the application of IHBC. The stability of the solution is investigated by the Floquet theory using Hsu’s scheme.