Dynamic analyses of triceratops under Hurricane-driven Metocean conditions in Gulf of Mexico

The form-dominance approach is efficient in designing deep-water offshore platforms; one of the structural forms conceived in the recent past is a triceratops, which consists of three buoyant legs connected to the deck by ball joints. The buoyant legs are connected to the sea bed by a set of taut-moored tethers under high initial pretension. Dynamic response of Triceratops under Hurricane-driven Metocean conditions in the ultra-Deepwater depth of 2400 m is assessed under 10-year, 100-year, and 1000-year storms. Based on the numerical studies, it is found that the responses in all active degrees of freedom increase drastically with the increase in the severity of Hurricane conditions. The Peak Wave Case governs the Surge response, whereas the Sway response is governed by the Peak Current Case for the Wind and Current heading considered in the present study. The maximum Surge and Sway responses are only about 3% of the total water depth, and the maximum Heave is about 2.6% of the draft under extreme conditions. The rotational responses in the deck are negligible as ball joints partially isolate the deck. The recentering of the platform is observed as gentle, and deck responses are stable and periodic for different Hurricane conditions.