Coupled DEM-FEM Analysis of Ice-Induced Vibrations of a Conical Jacket Platform Based on the Domain Decomposition Method

The discrete-finite element coupling method is an effective approach to simulate the complex interactions between sea ice and offshore structures and ice-induced vibrations (IIVs) of structures. However, the small time step in the discrete element method, as the time step of the coupled method, is time-consuming. Adoption of a time multiscale strategy can solve this problem. This paper proposes a coupled discrete-finite element method based on a domain decomposition method to analyze the interactions between sea ice and a conical jacket platform. Moreover, IIVs of the platform were analyzed. The computational domain is split into several subdomains based on whether sea ice interacts with the platform. The subdomains directly impacted by sea ice use small time steps of the discrete element method. The numerical results show that the proposed time-efficient method is reliable and stable for the simulations of ice-platform interactions.