State-of-the-Art of Green Water on FPSO in Harsh Environment

Abstract

The phenomena of green water are the maximum vertical extent of wave uprush over freeboard on the deck with the result of damage to the deck, bow and auxiliary equipment. The FPSO with Single-point mooring system or disconnectable mooring system always operates in the severe deepwater or ultra-deepwater environment such as Gulf of Mexico or Southeast Asia, which should be allowed to weathervane. Therefore, FPSO is always exposed to wave runup and overtopping. Nowadays green water problem has become one of the most important factors to endanger offshore structures, such as FPSO, TLPs and SPARS. This paper gives a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in green water, including the forming mechanism, numerical simulation and model test of wave runup. Finally the prospect of simulating green water is discussed.