Karl Schultz (MS student)

Numerical Modeling of Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) Forces and Response of Flexible Offshore Structures

Predict the hydrodynamic loads of flexible offshore structures. Simulate the unsteady flow under a wide range of Re and KC numbers.
Improved understanding of the significance of combinations of hydrodynamic loads resulting in ideas regarding more realistic hydrodynamic loads.

Numerical solution algorithms of the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible flow were developed. The research pursued the use of the new generation of parallel computers in order to reduce the simulation times by at least an order of magnitude over conventional vector super computers. This was coupled with ongoing OTRC water tunnel experiments in order to validate the numerical results.

Numerical methods of unsteady incompressible flows being developed at both NASA and academia
Parallel computation being studied mainly at the NASA Ames Research Center

1. Numerical simulations yield the forces on offshore structures under various sea conditions. In this study there are no simplifying models and all of the load components are computed.
2. Parallel computation was shown to enable simulations that are otherwise prohibitive for 3-D flows.

October 1992 to September 1997

Computations of realistic load values by prediction of the forces along both stream wise and cross flow directions based upon water tunnel experiments were shown. The potential of this approach to handle a variety of realistic conditions of the sea can now be realistically considered.