The Moving Element Method for the Dynamic Responses of Floating Double-Plate Structures on the Shallow Water

Abstract

In this paper, the dynamic behavior of floating double-plate structures under a moving load is investigated in great detail with different factors utilizing the moving element method (MEM). The structures in this study are very large floating structures (VLFSs). The Kirchhoff–Love theory is used to model two floating plates connected by a Winkler-type elastic core, whilst the water surrounding the structure is simulated by the shallow linear water wave theory. In order to improve the computational efficiency of moving load problems, the MEM is adopted. Since the MEM uses fewer discrete elements than those of the traditional finite element method (FEM), the computational cost is reduced. The proposed two-plate model helps to reduce the influence of the surrounding water on the upper plate. Several numerical results are presented to investigate the influence of the ratio of thickness between layers as well as core stiffness on the displacements with different water depths, and load speeds.