Digital twin based stress field prediction method for offshore floating power generation platform connectors

Objectives When assessing the safety of the connectors of a multi-module offshore floating power generation platform, in order to compensate for the inability to carry out the real-time monitoring of the structural stress field across the whole domain due to a limited number of sensors, a digital twin method based on a simulation database is proposed that can rapidly predict the platform's stress field.

Methods By downgrading the three-dimensional physical model of the connectors to a one-dimensional digital model, the stress field data is interpolated and deduced in digital space, thereby achieving the rapid prediction of the structural stress field across the whole domain and its visual display.

Results The results show that the simulation model is in good agreement with the test results, with a maximum absolute error of 8.61%; for the interpolation of data under different loading angles, when the interpolation step of the loading angle is 10°, the aver-age absolute error of stress is 1.98%; and for the interpolation of data under different loads, when the interpolation step of the load is 10 t, the average absolute error of stress is 1.28%, achieving the rapid prediction and visualization of the connectors' stress field distribution.

Conclusions  The digital twin-based model of connectors can provide useful references for the rapid dynamic perception and scientific prediction of the structural strength of offshore floating power generation platforms.