Abstract :
Physical model testing of floating structures, including ships and offshore platforms, provides an extremely valuable tool for designers and operators to help them better understand the behavior of these structures. The new technologies and designs that emerge everyday in this filed introduce new challenges. Numerous computer programs have been developed and tested in the last two decades to aid in overcoming some of these design challenges. Yet, model testing is still essential in many cases to validate or fine-tune these programs, or to provide a design tool, where designers can extract information that otherwise would not be available until the structure is in operation. This paper discusses the role of physical model testing and the innovative techniques used in testing facilities to accurately simulate environmental and prototype conditions while minimizing scaling effects.
