HYDRODYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR ON 3D PRINTED FLOATING STRUCTURES USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMIC SIMULATION

Abstract

As a small country with limited land, Singapore has been actively reclaiming land along its peripheral areas to expand the land parcel. However, the costly and time consuming solution has caused Singapore to steer its direction towards floating structures to resolve the land constraint issue. Floating structure is an alternative solution to reduce the cost whilst increasing land space. To boost the productivity rate for the implementation of floating structures, countries are looking into 3D Construction Printing to print 3D concrete for floating structures. 3D Construction Printing is a resource efficient methodology for the built environment as it reduces the material waste, cost and time for construction. It is also capable of printing complex geometries that the conventional method of construction may not be able to do as effectively.

In this study, it will investigate how 3D Construction Printing can play a part in constructing the base of the floating structure - concrete pontoon. The investigation will study how the different geometries of concrete pontoons can help to provide stability for the floating structure, particularly on the rolling test. Five designs will be put into a simulated roll test set up where the pontoons will be released at an inclined angle of 15° and the roll period will determine is capability to return back to its hydrostatic position.