Professional paper
Wave Loads and Motions of Floating Bodies in Close Proximity
Ivan Ćatipović
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Zagreb, Croatia
*
Tomislav Prosinečki
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Zagreb, Croatia
Antonio Mikulić
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Zagreb, Croatia
Smiljko Rudan
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Zagreb, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The engineering problem of floating bodies positioned in close proximity and exposed to sea waves
arises in cases of novel structures, such as floating photovoltaics, and traditional offshore structures, like
a floating natural liquefied gas terminal, during the transfer of gas from a gas carrier to a gas storage
and regasification unit. An integral part of the design of such structures is calculating loads and motions
due to the incident waves. The calculation includes the assessment of first-order wave forces as well
as hydrodynamic reactions, i.e. the added mass and the radiational damping. The calculation is based
on potential flow theory, utilising the three-dimensional boundary element method. Compared to the
case of one floating body, the case of multiple bodies is more complex because it contains 6N degrees
of freedom, where N represents the number of observed floating bodies. Therefore, the hydrodynamic
coefficients and the incident wave forces must account for the interaction between the floating bodies.
The paper presents the calculations done for floating pontoons (intended for carrying the photovoltaic
panels) and for a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) with a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.
Keywords
wave-induced motions, floating bodies in close proximity, boundary element method, potential flow
Hrčak ID:
347252
URI
Publication date:
19.5.2026.
Visits: 0 *