Triangular Hull Research Articles

Global Structural Behavior and Leg Strength for Jack-Up Rigs with Varying Environmental Parameters

In the mobile jack-up unit, the leg supporting the hull is a very important structure, and it is important to closely examine the changes in accident load, environmental load, and seabed ground during jack-up operation. Generally, jack-up rigs are three-legged structures with a triangular hull that comprises several movable legs used to raise the hull above the sea surface. They can be operated in shallow water at less than 120 m, while large jack-up rigs, which have a structure that can withstand severe environmental loads, can be employed at depths ranging from 150 m to 200 m. However, a complex process is required to finalize the structural design of a jack-up rig, and the influence of various parameters must be comprehensively considered. In other words, the rig will encounter variable environmental conditions with variations in parameters such as wave height, wave period, wind speed, air gap, and so on. A unified procedure is proposed to review the structural strength of legs, hulls, and cantilevers, and different models and analyses can be configured so that it can be solved within a unit flow-chart. Through this process, we can expect that engineering time and cost can be reduced. From survey results, it was possible to determine the inputs to examine the effects of variables, and a large jack-up rig operating under extreme environmental conditions was modeled. In the present study, the jack-up rig was operating in the North Sea, and leg length and water depth were 160 m and 100 m, respectively. The basic environmental characteristics included wave height (20 m), wave period (10 s), wind speed (30 m/s), and air gap (22 m). A parametric sensitivity analysis was performed with varying environmental parameters. Through sensitivity analysis of environmental characteristics, the significance and sensitivity of the effect of each environmental parameter on leg strength was clarified. It is expected that this will be very useful guidance about the effect of parameters during the conceptual design stage of jack-up rigs.

Hull forms of small high-speed wave-piercing monohull crafts and hydrodynamics study

Wave-piercing design is a revolution in hull design for small high-speed boats to operate in adverse sea conditions. To study hydrodynamics of the small high speed wave piercing monohull craft systematically, four typical small high-speed wave-piercing monohull crafts were developed, and validated CFD methods were adopted to calculate hull resistances and motions. The resistances and hull motions of these high-speed wave piercing monohull crafts in calm water and waves were obtained and compared. Obvious operating differences can be observed. High-speed wave piercing monohull crafts with slender and twisted planing hulls have smaller resistance at high speed, but the dynamic effects increase as sea conditions worsen. The high-speed wave-piercing monohull craft with a slim multi-chine hull maintains in waves for softer hull motions but suffers the disadvantages of larger resistance. The high-speed wave piercing monohull craft with a triangular hull shows no obvious advantages compared with the other types.

A linear-time algorithm to compute the triangular hull of a digital object

A linear-time algorithm for determining the triangular hull of a digital object that is digitized with a uniform triangular-grid scan, is presented in this paper. A triangular hull consists of a sequence of edges on the underlying triangular grid T consisting of three sets of parallel grid lines that are inclined at 0°, 60°, and 120° w.r.t. the x-axis. The proposed algorithm determines the triangular hull of a given object on the basis of certain geometrical properties of the edge-sequence observed along its boundary. The approach is purely combinatorial in nature as opposed to other conventional algorithms used for computing the convex hull such as those based on divide-and-conquer or line-sweep. The running time of the algorithm is linear on the number of pixels on the perimeter of the object. Also, by using a more sparse grid, i.e., by increasing the grid unit, the number of perimeter-pixels, and in turn, the running time of the algorithm can be reduced proportionately. The algorithm is tested extensively on several test cases and experimental results and analysis are presented.

Genetic analysis and gene cloning of a triangular hull 1 (tri1) mutant in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Grain shape and size are two key factors that determine rice yield and quality. In the present study, a rice triangular hull mutant (tri1) was obtained from the progeny of japonica rice variety Taipei 309 treated with 60 Co γ-rays. Compared to the wild type, the tri1 mutant presents a triangular hull, and exhibits an increase in grain thickness and protein content, but with a slight decrease in plant height and grain weight. Genetic analysis indicated that the mutant phenotype was controlled by a recessive nuclear gene which is stably inherited. Using a map-based cloning strategy, we fine-mapped tri1 to a 47-kb region between the molecular markers CHR0122 and CHR0127 on the long arm of chromosome 1, and showed that it co-segregates with the molecular marker CHR0119. According to the rice genome sequence annotation there are six predicated genes within the mapped region. Sequencing analysis of the mutant and the wild type indicated that there was a deletion of an A nucleotide in exon 3 of the OsMADS32 gene, which could result in a downstream frameshift mutation and premature termination of the predicted polypeptide. Both semi-quantitative and real-time RT-PCR analyses showed that this gene expressed highly in young inflorescences, while expressed at very low levels in other tissues. These results implied that the OsMADS32 gene could be a candidate of TRI1. Taken together, the results of this study lay the foundation for further investigation into the molecular mechanisms regulating rice caryopsis development. Oryza sativa L., triangular hull 1 mutant (tri1), genetic analysis, gene cloning, OsMADS32

BEAK-SHAPED GRAIN 1/TRIANGULAR HULL 1, a DUF640 gene, is associated with grain shape, size and weight in rice

Grain shape and size both determine grain weight and therefore crop yield. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling grain shape and size are still largely unknown. Here, we isolated a rice mutant, beak-shaped grain1 (bsg1), which produced beak-shaped grains of decreased width, thickness and weight with a loosely interlocked lemma and palea that were unable to close tightly. Starch granules were also irregularly packaged in the bsg1 grains. Consistent with the lemma and palea shapes, the outer parenchyma cell layers of these bsg1 tissues developed fewer cells with decreased size. Map-based cloning revealed that BSG1 encoded a DUF640 domain protein, TRIANGULAR HULL 1, of unknown function. Quantitative PCR and GUS fusion reporter assays showed that BSG1 was expressed mainly in the young panicle and elongating stem. The BSG1 mutation affected the expression of genes potentially involved in the cell cycle and GW2, an important regulator of grain size in rice. Our results suggest that BSG1 determines grain shape and size probably by modifying cell division and expansion in the grain hull.

TH1, a DUF640 domain-like gene controls lemma and palea development in rice

The developmental regulation of grasses lemma and palea and their relationship to the floral organs in dicots had been variously explicated and extensively debated. Here, we characterized a triangular hull mutant th1-1 from EMS-mutagenized Oryza sativa ssp. indica cv. 93-11. The th1-1 mutant exhibited obviously triangular hull with tortuous and slender lemma/palea. Using a map-based cloning strategy, the TH1 gene was narrowed down to a 60-kb region on the long arm of chromosome 2. Sequence verification revealed that the th1-1 mutant harbored 1-bp deletion in exon 2 of LOC_Os02g56610 which resulted in a frame-shift mutation. The RNA-interference transgenic plants of LOC_Os02g56610 displayed a similar phenotype to the th1 mutant. Consequently, LOC_Os02g56610 was identified as the TH1 gene which encoded 248 amino acids and contained a DUF640 domain. RT-PCR analysis and GUS staining showed that the transcripts of TH1 mainly accumulated in young inflorescence, lemma and palea of spikelet. These results suggested that TH1 was an important gene controlling the lemma and palea development in rice.

Practical mathematical representation of the flow due to a distribution of sources on a steadily advancing ship hull

A practical mathematical representation of the flow velocity due to a distribution of sources on the mean wetted hull surface and the mean waterline of a ship that steadily advances along a straight path in calm water, of large depth and lateral extent, is presented. A main feature of this flow representation is a simple analytical approximation—valid within the entire flow region—to the local flow component in the expression for the gradient of the Green function associated with the classical Kelvin–Michell linearized free-surface boundary condition. Another notable feature of the flow representation is that the singularity associated with the gradient of the Green function is removed, using a straightforward regularization technique. The flow representation only involves elementary continuous functions (algebraic, exponential and trigonometric) of real arguments. These functions can then be integrated using ordinary Gaussian quadrature rules. Thus, the flow representation is particularly simple and well suited for practical flow calculations. The specific case of a low-order panel method—in which the hull geometry, the source density, and the flow velocity are consistently represented via piecewise linear approximations within flat triangular hull panels or straight waterline segments—is considered.

Time-domain wave diffraction of two-dimensional single and twin hulls

The nonlinear diffraction of 2D single and twin hulls are studied by employing a mixed Eulerian–Lagrangian model based on a higher-order cubic-spline boundary element solver. Two types of simulations are considered. In the first, waves are generated by a piston-type wave-maker in a rectangular tank and in the second case a nonlinear incident wave is assumed to exist in the tank in which the body is introduced. For the application of this model, the full nonlinear diffraction problem is recast in terms of a perturbation wave-field. Computations are performed for rectangular and triangular hull geometries. Computed results show significant nonlinearities, particularly in the heave force. The twin hull results show the influence of wave interference on the diffraction forces. This interference influences the surge force considerably, but heave force is less affected.

Recipes for Computing the Steady Free-Surface Flow Due to a Source Distribution

This study provides complete and precise rules for evaluating the steady velocity potential of a piece-wise-constant distribution of Kelvin-Havelock sources on flat triangular hull panels and straight waterline segments with three digits of accuracy. The recipes yield a reliable and practical basis for a numerical method to compute steady flow about a ship using a distribution of Kelvin-Havelock sources.