Figure 1: Airflow around the Wind Load JIP generic FPSO
Establishing wind loads using CFD
With the increasing size of offshore structures, wind loads are becoming more and more important when designing vessels for operational conditions. For some locations, the wind may be the predominant load factor.
T Patrick Schrijvers,
p.schrijvers@
marin.nl 26 report
here are several ways to determine the wind loads of typical vessels. A dramatic growth in computing
power has meant that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become increasingly capable of calculating the wind load coefficients. This article discusses the possibilities of using CFD to determine wind loads.
Why CFD? Using a numerical tool does not require the production of a physical model, and thus can be used early on in the design phase to assess the wind loads and
in turn, optimise the design. Secondly, CFD calculations compute the wind speed, wind direction and local pressures on the hull with a high resolution of about 1 m2
.
This means that information about wind loads is available for every square metre of the vessel, and areas where wind loads are at their highest (cranes for instance) can be distinguished and consequently, designs can be adapted. In addition, the wind field behind the vessel can be extracted and used as input for time domain simulations of two vessels in close proximity. Lastly, CFD can be used to visualise the flow, therefore
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