Implementation and validation of a potential model for a moored floating cylinder under waves

A three degrees-of-freedom model based on the potential flow theory was implemented to represent the motion of a slender cylindrical buoy under waves. The model calibration was performed by means of the comparison between the model results and the experiments performed at the Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering of the University of Bologna (Italy). The dynamics of the floating cylinder, placed at the mid-section of the wave flume and anchored at the bottom through a mooring system of four catenaries, were obtained through videography analysis, providing surge, heave and pitch motions. The implementation of the mathematical model consisted of two main parts: The first has been developed in the frequency domain by applying NEMOH to assess the hydrodynamic coefficients of the object, i.e., the excitation, radiation and added mass coefficients; then, the used mooring system was included in the time-domain model, solving the motion of the floating cylinder, by calibrating the mooring coefficients by comparing the results with the data. The simplicity of the implemented model is a very important feature, and it should be used as a preliminary study to understand the response of moored floating cylinders and others floating bodies under waves.