Session: 12-04-01 Blue Economy IV: Modular Marine Platforms: Wave Energy, Aquaculture Integration, and Ocean Sensing

Submission Number: 174684

Experiment and Modelling of Multi-Modular Floating Structures With Hinge Connectors 

The development of multi-modular floating structures offers promising opportunities for large-scale offshore energy and aquaculture applications, where modularity and reconfigurability can reduce costs, enable repair-by-replacement strategies, and enhance structural resilience. Connectors play a central role in such systems, as they must simultaneously allow relative motion between modules and transmit loads in a controlled manner. Understanding their influence on the global response is therefore essential.

This paper presents the first step in investigating the role of connector by investigating scaled wave tank experiments in combination with a modelling approach for hinge connections. Experiments were carried out on physical models consisting of three-module configurations subjected to uni-directional regular waves. Six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) motions were measured, but the focus was on vertical motions (surge, heave, and pitch), as these dominate under uni-directional excitation. The results show that hinge connections lead to coupled heave-pitch dynamics and affect the distribution of loads across the modules, when compared with 1-DOF modelling.

To capture the main dynamics of the multi-modular structures from the experiments, a modelling methodology based on a “robot-arm” formulation was developed. Each module was represented as a rigid bar with three degrees of freedom (surge, heave, pitch), interconnected by revolute joints modelling the hinges. Dynamics in heave and pitch, as well as surge mooring stiffness at the boundary modules, are modelled through hydrostatics and hydrodynamics elements. The model reproduces the key dynamics observed in the experiments.

The investigation provides new insights into the mechanics of hinge-connected modular platforms and establishes a foundation for evaluating different connector stiffnesses. This work thus lays the groundwork for future studies on alternative connector concepts, including spring-based joints, and for the development of control-oriented models aimed at mitigating connector loads and module motions in realistic ocean conditions.

Presenting Author: Dong Trong Nguyen NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU

Presenting Author Biography: Dong Nguyen received the Ph.D. degree from the National University of Singapore. He is currently a Professor with the Department of Marine Technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. His research interests include digital twins, assurance of autonomous maritime systems, and intelligent marine structures. He has coordinated and participated in EU- and Research Council of Norway–funded projects on renewable energy systems and marine cybernetics.

Authors:

Dong Trong Nguyen NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU
Rameen Sheikh NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU
Trine Aas-Hansen NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU