Very Large Floating Structures

Very Large Floating Structure (VLFS) is a unique concept of ocean structures primary because of their unprecedented length, displacement cost and associated hydroelastic response. International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress (ISSC) had paid attention to the emerging novel technology and launched Special Task Committee to investigate the state of the art in the technology. This paper summarizes the activities of the committee. A brief overview of VLFS is given first for readers new to the subject. History, application and uniqueness with regard to engineering implication are presented. The Mobile Offshore Base (MOB) and Mega-Float, which are typical VLFS projects that have been investigated in detail and are aimed to be realized in the near future, are introduced. Uniqueness of VLFS, such as differences in behavior of VLFS from conventional ships and offshore structures, are described. The engineering challenges associated with behavior, design procedure, environment, and the structural analysis of VLFS are introduced. A comparative study of hydroelastic analysis tools that were independently developed for MOB and Mega-Float is made in terms of accuracy of global behavior. The effect of structural modeling on the accuracy of stress analysis is also discussed. VLFS entails innovative design methods and procedure. Development of design criteria and design procedures are described and application of reliability-based approaches are documented and discussed.