Side Wall Effects on the Hydrodynamics of a Floating Body by Image Green Function Based on TEBEM

A novel numerical model based on the image Green function and first-order Taylor expansion boundary element method (TEBEM), which can improve the accuracy of the hydrodynamic simulation for the non-smooth body, was developed to calculate the side wall effects on first-order motion responses and second-order drift loads upon offshore structures in the wave tank. This model was confirmed by comparing it to the results from experiments on hydrodynamic coefficients, namely the first-order motion response and second-order drift load upon a hemisphere, prolate spheroid, and box-shaped barge in the wave tank. Then, the hydrodynamics of the KVLCC2 model were also calculated in two wave tanks with different widths. It was concluded that this model can predict the hydrodynamics for offshore structures effectively, and the side wall has a significant impact on the first-order quantities and second-order drift loads, which satisfied the resonant rule.