Effects of tendon breakage on the dynamic behaviour of a TLP

In this paper, the dynamic behaviour of a tension leg platform (TLP) under different damaged mooring conditions is studied. ANSYS/AQWA is used to develop a nonlinear hull-tendon model, which can consider the coupling effects between the platform motion and mooring line dynamics at each time step. Noteworthily, an effective method for simulating tendon breakage is proposed. The transient effects of tendon breakage, the transient responses of the platform for simultaneous and progressive tendon breakage, and the performance changes of the platform after tendon breakage are investigated. The results show that the tendon breakage has a significant influence on the dynamic responses and performance of the platform. Therefore, the effects of tendon breakage on the platform should be examined in advance to prevent the safety of the platform from being threatened.