• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.16-21
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• 2010

During the loading/offloading operation of a liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) that is moored in a side-by-side configuration with an offshore plant, sloshing that occurs due to the partially filled LNG tank and the interactive effect between the two floating bodies are important factors that affect safety and operability. Therefore, a time-domain software program, called CHARM3D, was developed to consider the interactions between sloshing and the motion of a floating body, as well as the interactions between multiple bodies using the potential-viscous hybrid method. For the simulation of a floating body in the time domain, hydrodynamic coefficients and wave forces were calculated in the frequency domain using the 3D radiation/diffraction panel program based on potential theory. The calculated values were used for the simulation of a floating body in the time domain by convolution integrals. The liquid sloshing in the inner tanks is solved by the 3D-FDM Navier-Stokes solver that includes the consideration of free-surface non-linearity through the SURF scheme. The computed sloshing forces and moments were fed into the time integration of the ship's motion, and the updated motion was, in turn, used as the excitation force for liquid sloshing, which is repeated for the ensuing time steps. For comparison, a sloshing motion coupled analysis program based on linear potential theory in the frequency domain was developed. The computer programs that were developed were applied to the side-by-side offloading operation between the offshore plant and the LNGC. The frequency-domain results reproduced the coupling effects qualitatively, but, in general, the peaks were over-predicted compared to experimental and time-domain results. The interactive effects between the sloshing liquid and the motion of the vessel can be intensified further in the case of multiple floating bodies.