| Abstract | Vessel stationkeeping in moving pack ice is an important issue for floating production systems that are being considered for use in ice-covered waters. In order to be effective, it is important that the loads generated by moving pack ice are within the range of the capabilities of their mooring systems. To better understand loads on moored vessels in ice, the full-scale data from the Kulluk, which was a floating drilling unit used in the Beaufort Sea, were analyzed and summarized for different conditions. A new two-dimensional model of icestructure interaction was applied and compared to the full-scale Kulluk data. One base case was selected and a good correlation was obtained by adjusting the mechanical properties of the pack ice in the numerical model. The analysis shows that this model, with suitable calibration, can be used to predict loads on a moored vessel over a wide range of pack ice conditions, such as those found in the Grand Banks of Canada, the Pechora Sea or offshore Sakhalin in Russia. |
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