Dynamic Analysis of an Offshore Platform With Compressor Packages—Application of the Substructure Method

This paper presents the substructure-based dynamic analysis of an offshore platform with compressor packages. Three typical substructure methods, the Guyan condensation method, the fixed-interface component mode synthesis (CMS) method and the free-interface CMS method, were compared to identify the appropriate substructure method for this application. A mode truncation criterion was proposed to ensure the accuracy of the recommended substructure method. The results indicated that the free-interface CMS method could generate almost the same results as the fully coupled method and save more than 50% in calculation time and more than 60% in storage space. When the same amount of time was used, the free-interface CMS method obtained more accurate results than the fixed-interface CMS method and Guyan condensation method; thus, the use of this method for evaluating the dynamics of an offshore platform with compressor packages was recommended. The cutoff frequency of the substructure was suggested to be 1.25 times the highest frequency of interest when conducting a dynamic analysis of an offshore platform with compressor packages using the free-interface CMS method. In addition, the offshore platform is a flexible structure with low and dense mechanical natural frequencies (MNFs), with approximately 4500 orders vibration modes in the frequency range of 0–40 Hz, and the displacement response at the area around the compressor package exceeded the allowable value under the excitation of the compressor package.