Hydrodynamic Response Analysis of a Multi-Moonpool Floating Structure Using the Boundary Element Method

Muhammad Taufiq Nur Hidayat (Universitas Sebelas Maret)
Aditya Rio Prabowo (Universitas Sebelas Maret)
Ristiyanto Adiputra (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN))
Mahfud Alfajar (PT Internik Nusa Prawira)
Oleksiy Melynk (Odesa National Maritime University)
Martin Jurkovic (University of Zilina)

Research in Education, Technology, and Multiculture
Vol 5, No 3 (2026): Research in Education, Technology, and Multiculture

This study aims to evaluate the hydrodynamic response of a displacement-type hull integrated with a multi-moonpool system (one main and sequential cylindrical moonpools) using the Boundary Element Method (BEM), addressing the critical challenge of piston-mode resonance that causes excessive heave motion. The analysis used ANSYS AQWA based on linearized potential-flow theory, assuming infinite water depth and head-sea conditions. Grid independence tests were conducted at resolutions ranging from 5.0 m to 0.7 m, and the resulting Heave RAO curve was benchmarked against a reference dataset. A significant amplitude deviation was found in the high-frequency zone (piston-mode resonance), where the BEM solver overpredicted the heave RAO by 68.77% relative to the reference curve, while both curves showed near-perfect asymptotic alignment in the macro-wave regime. BEM is reliable for predicting motion response in the macro-wave regime, but future hydrodynamic optimization of moonpool structures requires integrating viscous damping modifiers to realistically capture resonance amplitude peaks. Keywords: Boundary element method, Floating structure, Hydrodynamics, Moonpool, Piston mode resonance.