Hydrodynamic Response Analysis of Ultra-Deep Water FPSO System Using Ansys Aqwa, Wamit, and HydRA

Abstract Offshore energy resources are essential to the growth of a future civilization. For offshore production, deep and ultradeep water fields are an ideal option. FPSOs are the most commonly installed platform compared to the other types. In this paper, the numerical hydrodynamic response analysis of an FPSO system has been performed using ANSYS Aqwa, Wamit, and HydRA. ANSYS Aqwa is a commercial software used widely in the offshore industry for offshore structure hydrodynamic analyses. WAMIT is the most efficient tool for examining wave interactions with offshore platforms and other structures or vessels. HydRA (Hydrodynamic Response Analysis) is a code developed at IIT Madras that simulates marine and offshore structure linear and nonlinear dynamics. The motion response study of the FPSO platform has been conducted without mooring lines at 2100m water depth and for two different load cases of ballast loaded and fully loaded condition, with the wave headings of 90°. The experimental results of a model study conducted for the FPSO model in the wave basin, IIT Madras have been compared and validated with numerical results of the fully loaded case. Finally, the compatibility of the numerical tools used for the hydrodynamic analysis has been discussed.