Hydrodynamic interaction between two barges during berthing operation in regular waves

Abstract

In this study, the berthing problem in waves is numerically investigated by a time-domain simulation method based on a potential flow model. The boundary value problem for a berthing operation is formulated with respect to an earth-fixed coordinate system. The Laplace equation of a moving boundary problem is solved using the finite element method by adopting an efficient re-mesh algorithm. The developed numerical method is applied to investigate the berthing problem between two rectangular barges, with particular focus on the hydrodynamic forces acting on the barges during the berthing process. It is assumed that the two barges correspond to installation and transportation barges. To simplify the berthing problem, the transportation barge is assumed to approach the installation barge along a straight path at constant speed. The hydrodynamic force responses during berthing operation are investigated via a series of numerical computations. Further, the effects of wave heading and wave frequency are investigated. To validate present numerical results, model tests were conducted in the Ocean Engineering Basin of KRISO. The berthing tests were performed using two barge models under the head and beam sea conditions. Fairly good agreement is observed between the numerical simulation and experimental results.