Experimental Study on Coupled Motion of Floating Crane Barge and Lifted Module in Irregular Waves

Installation and decommissioning activities of offshore structures often applied a floating crane barge for a lifting operation. The excessive movement response of lifted module affected by the motion of floating crane barge in waves can increase a large amplitude. However, the coupled motions of a floating crane barge and lifted module are not easy to predict accurately due to the dynamic movement of a lifted module and the complex coupling system. The coupled motion responses of a floating crane barge and a lifted module during lifting operation were investigated based on time domain by experimental method in this study. The model tests are carried out at Manoeuvring and Ocean Basin of Indonesian Hydrodynamic Laboratory, BRIN. The experimental conditions include the load cases of without and with a load of lifted module in crane tip, and the lifting operation was evaluated under irregular wave conditions. The experimental results show in that the phenomena of shift resonant frequency for the dynamic responses are clearly observed on the coupled motion of multibody system. The dynamic oscillations of the lifted module have a significant effect on the motion response of the floating crane barge. And the hoisting of lifted module has an obstructed effect on the rolling motion of crane barge.