Comparison of Time and Frequency Domain Analysis With Full Scale Data for the Horn Mountain Spar During Hurricane Isidore

The Horn Mountain Spar is located in 1,654 m of water about 135 km from Venice, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility was instrumented extensively to measure key spar and riser response parameters (Edwards et. al. 2003). Halkyard et. al. (2004) and Tahar et. al. (2005) have compared measured spar responses such as motion and mooring line tensions with numerical predictions. This paper extends the work done on comparison of the full scale data during hurricane Isidore. All previous numerical simulations were based on a time domain analysis procedure. One concern related to this method is that it is computationally intensive and time consuming. In the initial stages of a project, a frequency domain solution may be an effective tool compared with a fully coupled time domain analysis. The present paper compares results of time domain and frequency domain simulations with field measurements. Particular attention has been placed on the importance of the phase relationship between motion and excitation force. In the time domain analysis, nonlinear drag forces are applied at the instantaneous position. Whereas in the frequency domain analysis, nonlinear drag forces are stochastically linearized and solutions are obtained by an iterative procedure. The time domain analysis has better agreement with the field data compared to the frequency domain. Overall, however, the frequency domain method is still promising for a quick and approximate estimation of relevant statistics. With advantages in terms of CPU time, the frequency domain method can be recommended as a tool in pre-front end engineering design or in a phase where an iterative nature of design of an offshore structure takes place.