Analysis of Optimization for Preliminary Design of Multi-Component Mooring Systems

Multi-component mooring systems become widely used in deep water position-keeping of drilling and production platforms. However, versatile materials make it difficult to design appropriate mooring lines made of several segments. Based on catenary equations of a multi-component mooring line at a specific water depth, this paper establishes a minimum model for designing this kind of lines. The model is solved by Genetic Algorithm and Multi-Objective Planning respectively. The model is verified by its application to a practical mooring design assignment—a quasi-static analysis for a large semi-submersible. The optimal result is finally obtained with the aid of design graphs.