Analysis of longitudinal coupling dynamic characteristics of deep sea mining vessel and stepped lifting pipe

In deep-sea mining, the coupling dynamic response between the mining vessel and the lifting pipe is a significant problem, which directly affects the structural design of the lifting system and the safety of field operation. The characteristics of coupled motion model have not been fully considered in the existing research. Therefore, this paper uses time-domain coupled numerical model as the research object, considering ocean current, surface wave, pipe dynamics and vessel-pipe contact mechanics, to study the dynamic behavior of the lifting pipe and mining vessel during the process of deep-sea mining using AQWA and OrcaFlex softwares. The response amplitude operator (RAO) is used to compare the measured and simulations dynamic response of the mining vessel. There is a very good agreement in RAO between the experiments and simulations. The coupling simulation results show that the coupling effect has a significant effect on the time domain dynamic response of the lifting pipe, but has little effect on the average effective tension and longitudinal amplitude along the pipe length. The research results of this paper are of great significance to the safety design of deep-sea mining lifting system and the planning of deep-sea operation activities.