An alternative method for computing hydrostatic performances of a floating body with arbitrary geometrical configurations

In the fields of naval architecture and ocean engineering applications, floating platforms or multi-hull vessels with very different geometrical appearance have been designed to meet their mission requirements. Many objects were built by composing a number of sub-objects in an arbitrary way because of the high flexibility available for the construction work. Because the composition of the sub-objects normally are not arranged along a certain direction in a fixed sequence, it could be sometimes troublesome for computing the hydrostatic data of such objects. In order to facilitate this computation more easily and flexibly, a method has been developed in this paper, which was derived from the simple principles of an exact pressure integration over triangles for getting the total buoyancy force vector and the static equilibrium condition between the buoyancy force and the weight of the floating object. The triangles thereby were generated by triangulation of the surfaces representing a whole floating object. Finally, applications on a high-speed trimaran hull and a floating Kuroshio current turbine were conducted for demonstrating the merit of this method. The placement of water compartments and free surface effects were further analysed to evaluate the changing ballast conditions for hydrostatic and transitional stabilities.