A direct coupling method for 3D hydroelastic analysis of floating structures

This paper presents a complete formulation for three-dimensional hydrodynamic analysis of floating flexible structures subjected to surface regular waves, as well as other excitation forces, by employing a direct tight coupling method. The continuum mechanics-based finite element method is employed to model floating structures with arbitrary geometries, which can account for the geometric nonlinearities and initial stress effects that result from the hydrostatic analysis, whereas the boundary element method is used for the fluid via total potential formulation. The simplicity and generality of the present formulation are revealed as compared with the conventional formulation. Numerical examples demonstrate the general capability of the formulation proposed. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.