Spectral Decomposition of Nonlinear TLP Sway Response to Non-Gaussian Irregular Seas

By modelling the sway response of a tension leg platform (TLP) in terms of a second-order Volterra system, we are able to decompose both spectrally and temporally the response into its linear and quadratically nonlinear components. The approach is demonstrated with the aid of experimental data of TLP sway motion obtained from a scaled (1:54) model of a prototype TLP anchored in 1500 feet of water.Reconstruction of time signals of sway responses by utilising linear and quadratic transfer functions is used to spectrally decompose the sway responses.