A HYDRO-STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS PROGRAM FOR TLPS

The TLP configuration in this paper comes from the case study of the I SSC Derived toads Committee 1.2 in 1985. Two models, Model 1 and Model 2, are created aiming at developing a computational tool to handle hy dro-dynamic and structural aspects together to help the TLP designer. Another objective is to generate relevant information for a non-linear static local stress analysis of TLP components from a dynamic hydro-s tructural global analysis. Model 2 is developed for LUSAS, a general p urpose, well established, FE software, to validate the in-house progra m DCATLP. Model 1 and Model 2 are purposely made slightly different in the tether modelling so that the non-linear formulations in DCATLP to treat a TLP as a coupled system with the hull and tethers can be veri fied with a straightforward linear step-by-step dynamic analysis in LU SAS. The code in DCATLP has advanced features to account for some comp lex aspects of TLPs, such as compliant characteristics. The results fr om DCATLP can be directly used in the reliability based structural des ign of TLP components and subsequent optimisation studies. Copyright ( C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd