Hydroelastic response of mat-type VLFS: effects of non-zero draft and mass assumptions

Theoretical analysis of the hydroelastic response of mat-type floating runways, as very large floating structures (VLFS), has usually been made under the assumptions of 'zero draft' and/or 'zero mass'. In the 'zero draft' approximation, the thickness of the runway is neglected in the hydrodynamic modeling. The mass of runway is also often neglected in the structural modeling. The validation of these two assumptions is made in this work through the hydroelastic analysis of an infinitely-long runway in oblique seas. The numerical results reveal that the thickness of the runway in hydrodynamic modeling, which is more often neglected than the mass of the runway, impacts the response of the runway significantly.