Wind Loads on Offshore Structures

A new computational model for determining the wind loads on offshore structures is described. This model aims to bridge the gap between calculation procedures provided by the classification societies and wind tunnel testing. The new model is based on the so-called building block approach, whereby the structure is thought to be composed of standard components with known force characteristics. Special attention is given to the modelling of the wind flow field, component interaction and lift forces on elevated and inclined main decks. Three comparisons between experimental and calculated results are given for typical offshore structures. These comparisons show that the results obtained by using the new computational model are much closer to the experimental values than those obtained from the classification society rules.