ABSTRACT
The hydroelastic analysis of a very large floating structure (VLFS) in water waves has gained a great deal of attention due to the growing demand to use more and more ocean space for various human activities. These unconventional structures are often proposed as a thin mat-like configuration extending in the horizontal direction up to several kilometers with a thickness of less than 10 m. Such floating structures are very flexible and the elastic deformations due to wave action are more crucial than the rigid body motions. In general, rectangular platforms are preferred as it is the basic shape for construction. In reality, the geometry of the platform is expected to be more complicated. Various numerical methods have been developed over the years to improve the hydroelastic predictions of VLFS. On the other hand, analytical results are always in need to provide the benchmarks. The extensive review of literature on the significant developments in the field of wave interaction with flexible floating structures is provided by Kashiwagi (2000), Watanabe et al. (2004) and Chen et al. (2006).
