ANALYSIS METHOD FOR SINGLE POINT MOORING, 1ST REPORT: BASIC EQUATION AND SALM BUOY MOTION

Single point mooring systems (SPMs) are multicomponent structures normally composed of a vessel, yoke or hawser, buoy and mooring chains. They are designed on the basis of model test results owing to the lack of a mathematical method for motion and structural analyses under combined loads. This paper derives such a method, developing a mathematical model of a multicomponent structure under combined wind, wave and current loads, considering higher order motions and hydrodynamic loads with Langley's constraint matrix. The model is applied to a single anchor leg mooring system (SALM) and the numerical results are compared with those from model tests.