Given the recent success in the development of several submersibles in China, people’s interest in the history of submersible development is increasing. This paper presents the history of submersible development in China, which can be briefly divided into three periods. The first one is the early period of hardship (1971-2000). Many prototype submersibles of HOVs, ROVs, and AUVs were developed at this time, but the main achievement was the establishment of special research organizations and the training of research and development personnel. The second period can be regarded as the quick development period (2001-2015). All currently used submersibles were developed during this period. The most remarkable achievement was the successful development of 7000 m-deep manned submersible "Jiaolong." The third period aims to develop 11 000 m submersibles for challenging the full ocean depth (2016-2020). In this period, two unmanned submersibles and two manned submersibles will be the significant indicators of achievement. If this 5-year plan can be successfully completed, China can play a significant role in the investigation of the deepest part of the oceans, namely, the hadal trenches (6500-11 000 m).

We developed a detailed simulation model of the Arctic marine transport system (MTS) for oil platform Prirazlomnaya. The model has a multidisciplinary nature and involves:sub-models of various transport and technological processes; stochastic weather generator to obtain time series of 15 environmental parameters; and contextual planning algorithm to build voyage plan considering several types of ships and cargoes. We used a significant amount of real operational data to identify model parameters and to prove its statistical reliability. Our main scientific task is to investigate the interaction of various processes of a different nature, while the practical aim is to find a set of measures to increase the efficiency of MTS. The results of the study reveal many examples of the mutual interaction of various processes that need to be considered at the design stage to avoid technical mistakes. The study formed a basis for making managerial decisions at the top level of Gazprom Neft Shelf Company.

A compliant tower is modeled as a partially dry, partially tapered, damped Timoshenko beam with the superstructure modeled as an eccentric tip mass, and a non-classical damped boundary at the base. The foundation is modeled as a combination of a linear spring and a torsional spring, along with parallel linear and torsional dampers (Kelvin-Voigt model). The superstructure adds to the kinetic energy of the system without affecting the potential energy, thereby reducing the natural frequencies. The weight of the superstructure acts as an axial compressive load on the beam, reducing its natural frequencies further. The empty space factor due to the truss-type structure of the tower is included. The effect of shear deformation and rotary inertia are included in the vibration analysis; with the non-uniform beam mode-shapes being a weighted sum of the uniform beam mode-shapes satisfying the end condition. The weights are evaluated by the Rayleigh-Ritz (RR) method, and verified using finite element method (FEM). The weight of the superstructure acts as an axial compressive load on the beam. Kelvin-Voigt model of structural damping is included. A part of the structure being underwater, the virtual added inertia is included to calculate the wet natural frequencies. A parametric study is done for various magnitudes of tip mass and various levels of submergence. The computational efficiency and accuracy of the Rayleigh-Ritz method, as compared to the FEA, has been demonstrated. The advantage of using closed-form trial functions is clearly seen in the efficacy of calculating the various energy components in the RR method.

In this study, the passage of waves through pile groups with different arrangements is investigated using a three-dimensional (3D) numerical model. For the simulations, waves of three different heights of 36, 58, and 81 mm, a fixed period of 0.88 s, and a fixed wave length of 1.128 m were used. To simulate the waves and flow pattern through the piles, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations of fluid motion were solved based on the finite volume method (FVM). Piles were defined as obstacles in the rectangular domain using the fractional area/volume obstacle representation (FAVOR) method. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) and re-normalization group (RNG) methods were used to simulate the free surface and turbulence phenomenon, respectively. By performing different numerical simulations, the effect of coastal pile arrangements on wave pattern was studied and was compared with existing experimental data, and an acceptable agreement was achieved.

Strong hydrodynamic interactions during the side-by-side offloading operation between floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) can induce high risks of collision. The weather vane effect of a single-point mooring system normally results in the satisfactory hydrodynamic performance of the side-by-side configuration in head seas. Nevertheless, the changes in wave directions in real sea conditions can significantly influence the relative motions. This article studies the relative motions of the side-by-side system by using the theoretical analysis method and the numerical calculation method. Based on the three-dimensional potential theory modified by artificial damping-lid method, the frequency-domain hydrodynamic coefficients can be improved to calculate the retardation functions for the multi-body problem. An in-house code is then developed to perform the time-domain simulation of two vessels, through which the relative motions are subsequently obtained. A range of oblique waves are chosen for the extensive calculation of relative motions between the two vessels, which are further analyzed in terms of the phase shift of motion responses induced by specific resonant wave patterns. Investigation results show that wave directions have a significant influence on the relative sway, roll, and yaw motions. Under the circumstance that the absolute phase shift between the roll motions of two vessels approaches 180°, stronger relative motions are induced when LNGC is on the weather side. Moreover, the gap water resonances at high frequencies tend to cause the dangerous opposed oscillation of two vessels in the sway and yaw modes, whereas FLNG reduces the gap water resonances and relative motions when located on the weather side.

Computations for air gap response of a semisubmersible platform based on a 3D numerical wave tank approach are presented. The developed method is in time domain and can consider nonlinearities associated with incident wave and hydrostatic forces exactly in determining the body response, but the interaction hydrodynamics of radiation and diffraction are based on simplified linearization assumptions. The incident wave can be defined by any suitable wave theory and here defined by a fully nonlinear numerical wave model. After verifying the present computations results in its degenerated linearized version against the usual linear 3D Green function-based frequency-domain results for air gap predictions, systematic comparative studies are undertaken between linear and the approximate nonlinear solutions. It is found that nonlinear computations can yield considerably conservative predictions as compared to fully linear calculations, amounting to a difference of up to 30%-40% in the minimum air gap in steep ambient incident waves at high and moderate frequencies.

In this paper, wave-body interactions under the effects of complex topography are investigated numerically by a two-phase incompressible Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver in OpenFOAM. A submerged bottom-standing structure is distributed below the floating body, and the effects of the water depth and top width of the submerged structure on wave-body interactions are studied. The results show that the submerged structure can affect wave loads and roll motion. The vertical force can be amplified on the fixed body when the water depth of the submerged structure is smaller than half of the water depth of the body. The top width significantly affects the vertical force when the top width is smaller than the incident wave length and larger than the body width. For the free-rolling body, roll amplitude can be increased when the ratio of the incident wave length to the water depth of the submerged structure is large enough. On the resonance condition, roll amplitude is slightly reduced by the submerged structure. The effects of the top width on roll amplitude are remarkable when special conditions are fulfilled.

Scattering of oblique flexural-gravity waves by a submerged porous plate in a finite water depth is investigated under the assumptions of linearized surface waves and small-amplitude structural response. The study is carried out using eigenfunction expansions and the corresponding orthogonal mode-coupling relations associated with flexural-gravity waves in uniform water depth. The characteristics of the roots of the complex dispersion relation are examined using the principle of counting argument and contour plot. Characteristics of the flexural-gravity waves are studied by assuming both the floating elastic plate and the submerged porous plate are infinitely extended in horizontal directions. The effectiveness of the submerged porous structure on the reflection, transmission, and dissipation coefficients is analyzed for various wave and structural parameters.

Experimental studies are carried out with slender bodies vertically exiting out of the water using a high-speed camera. The mechanisms for the formation, development, and collapse of the cavity around the slender body are explored. The dynamic characteristics of the shoulder cavity and the trail cavity during the water-exit of low-speed bodies are analyzed for various water depths and initial velocities. The results show that the initial velocity has a great influence on the formation, development, and collapse of the cavity. The length and the thickness of the shoulder cavity vary non-linearly with the depth.

Robust and efficient AUV path planning is a key element for persistence AUV maneuvering in variable underwater environments. To develop such a path planning system, in this study, differential evolution (DE) algorithm is employed. The performance of the DE-based planner in generating time-efficient paths to direct the AUV from its initial conditions to the target of interest is investigated within a complexed 3D underwater environment incorporated with turbulent current vector fields, coastal area, islands, and static/dynamic obstacles. The results of simulations indicate the inherent efficiency of the DE-based path planner as it is capable of extracting feasible areas of a real map to determine the allowed spaces for the vehicle deployment while coping undesired current disturbances, exploiting desirable currents, and avoiding collision boundaries in directing the vehicle to its destination. The results are implementable for a realistic scenario and on-board real AUVas the DE planner satisfies all vehicular and environmental constraints while minimizing the travel time/distance, in a computationally efficient manner.

A series of experimental studies of the innovative propulsor named Collective and Cyclic Pitch Propeller (CCPP) applied to an underwater vehicle were designed and performed at the Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania. The bollard pull and captive model tests were conducted to investigate the characteristics of CCPP and to examine the effect of different parameter settings to its performance. The results show that the CCPP is able to generate effective manoeuvring forces in various operational condition. In addition, the obtained results in the form of force coefficients provide a useful empirical model for the simulation and control of an underwater vehicle equipped with this propulsor.

Various structures such as marine structures age over time. In order to always maintain safety conditions, maintenance processes including inspection and repair should be implemented on them. Corrosion and fatigue cracks are two main factors that reduce the ultimate strength of the ship’s hull girder over time and thus increase the probability and risk of failure. At the time of inspection, the structural conditions must be checked so that, if necessary, the required repairs can be done on it. The main objective of this paper is to provide optimized maintenance plans of the ship structure based on probabilistic concepts with regard to corrosion and fatigue cracks. Maintenance activities increase the operational costs of ships; therefore, it is advisable to inspect and repair in the optimal times. Optimal maintenance planning of the ship structure can be conducted by formulating and solving a multi-objective optimization problem. The use of risk as a structural performance indicator has become more common in recent years. The objective functions of the optimization problem include minimizing the structure’s lifecycle maintenance costs, including inspection and repair costs, and also minimizing the maximum risk of structural failure during the ship’s life. In the following, to achieve better responses, reliability index has been added to the problem as the third objective function. The multi-objective optimization problem is solved using genetic algorithms. The proposed risk-based approach is applied to the hull structure of a tanker ship.

A concrete gravity base structure may not be suitable for offshore weak soil because of its heavy weight. Therefore, a conceptual model for a concrete offshore wind turbine structure suitable for weak soils is proposed. The proposed model is composed of a prestressed concrete (PSC) supported by a pile foundation. For a three-dimensional analysis of the large concrete structure, wave pressures based on the diffraction wave theory are developed using a three-dimensional solid finite element method. Static and dynamic analyses were performed to achieve the conceptual model of a PSC structure subjected to ocean environmental loads and a 5-MW turbine load on southwest coast in Korea. From the analysis, the maximum displacement and stresses of the proposed model did not exceed the allowable values from design standard, and the first mode of natural frequency of the structure was in a safe range to avoid resonance. The proposed model has enough structural stability to withstand external loads, and it is expected to be used in locations suitable for concrete gravity structures.