Studies on platform configurations for offshore energy and desalination applications

In the current study, a detailed hydrodynamic investigations of the responses of suitable SPAR and Semi-submersible configurations were carried out, to identify the configuration with minimum motion response, which would be ideal for the functioning of process equipment of an offshore plant. The study was carried out in potential/diffraction theory based commercial code ANSYS AQWA and MOSES. The article includes the comparison of wave exciting forces, added mass, radiation damping and Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs) among various shapes of SPAR configurations (conventional and stepped SPAR) to choose the best configuration and comparing response spectra in a given operating environment condition of chosen SPAR configuration with a semi-submersible configuration for supporting same plant payloads. The article also includes the comparison of RAO between numerical and experimental study for Semi-submersible configuration. It is observed that stepped SPAR configuration has better motion response characteristics than simple conventional SPAR and Semi-submersible configuration for the same payload to house plant equipments for offshore energy and desalination applications.