• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.650-658
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• 2021

Flexible risers are usually used as conveying systems to bring ocean resources from sea bed up to onshore. Under ocean environments, risers need to bear complex loads and it is crucial to comprehensively examine riser's configurations and to analyze structural dynamic performances under excitation of bottom vehicle motions, to guarantee structural safe operation and required service lives. In this study, considering a saddle-shaped riser, the influences of some important design parameters, including installation position of buoyancy modules, buoyancy ratio and motion of mining vehicle, on riser's configuration and response are carefully examined. Through our FEM simulations, the spatial distributions of structural tensions and curvatures along of riser length, under different configurations, are compared. Then, the impacts of mining vehicle motion on riser dynamic response are discussed, and structural tolerance performance is assessed. The results show that modules installation position and buoyancy ratio have significant impacts on riser configurations. And, an appropriate riser configuration is obtained through comprehensive analysis on the modules positions and buoyancy ratios. Under this proposed configuration, the structural tension and curvature could moderately change with buoyancy modules and bottom-end conditions, in other words, the proposed saddle-shaped riser has a good tolerance performance to various load excitations.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.250-258
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• 2018

Free Standing Hybrid Riser (FSHR) is comprised of vertical steel risers and Flexible Jumpers (FJ). They are jointly connected to a submerged Buoyancy Can (BC). There are several factors that have influence on the behavior of FSHR such as the span distance between an offshore platform and a foundation, BC up-lift force, BC submerged location and FJ length. An optimization method through a parametric study is presented. Firstly, descriptions for the overall arrangement and characteristics of FSHR are introduced. Secondly, a flowchart for optimization of FSHR is suggested. Following that, it is described how to select reasonable ranges for a parametric study and determine each of optimal configuration options. Lastly, numerical analysis based on this procedure is performed through a case study. In conclusion, the relation among those parameters is analyzed and non-dimensional parametric ranges on optimal arrangements are suggested. Additionally, strength analysis is performed with variation in the configuration.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.466-473
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• 2018

This paper presents an estimation method for the static configuration of a steel lazy wave riser (SLWR) using the dynamic relaxation method applied to estimate the configuration of structures with strong geometric non-linearity. The lumped mass model is introduced to reflect the flexible structural characteristics of the riser. In the lumped mass model, the tensions, shear forces, buoyancy, self-weights, and seabed reaction forces at nodal points are considered in order to find the static configuration of the SLWR. The dynamic relaxation method using a viscous damping formulation is applied to the static configuration analysis. Fictitious masses are defined at nodal points using the sum of the largest direct stiffness values of nodal points to ensure the numerical stability. Various case studies were performed according to the bending stiffness and size of the buoyancy module using the dynamic relaxation method. OrcaFlex was employed to validate the accuracy of the developed numerical method.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2017

It is generally acknowledged that the Steel Catenary Riser (SCR) is the most cost-effective riser type for deep-water offshore fields among various risers, including the SCR, flexible riser, and hybrid riser. However, in West Africa, the SCR type may not be suitable for FPSO systems because the large vertical motion of the floater brings about a considerable riser dynamic response. In this paper, an SCR system is designed for the FPSO in the West African field, where the use of a hybrid riser has been preferred. The proposed SCR configuration fulfills the design criteria of the API, such as the strength check and fatigue life. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is also carried out to improve the certainty in the SCR design of a deep-water FPSO. The parameters affecting the strength and fatigue performance of the SCR are considered.

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.323-328
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• 2003

A basic design on a flexible riser in a floating type development system for upwelling deep ocean water is presented. In the numerical study, an implicit finite difference algorithm is employed for three-dimensional riser equations. Fluid and geometric non-linearity and bending stiffness are considered and solved by Newton-Raphson iteration. To keep the depth of end point of a flexible and light riser is very important for upwelling deep ocean water in a floating type development system. Weight attached at the end point of the riser in order to keep its intake depth is designed under the strong surface current and the configuration of the riser is predicted. The results of this study can be contributed to the design of the development system in floating type for upwelling deep ocean water.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.313-327
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• 2018

Meeting the touchdown point (TDP) target box is one of the challenges during catenary riser installation, especially for deep water or ultra-deep water riser systems. TDP location mismatch compared to the design can result in variation of riser configuration, additional hang-off misalignment, and extra bending loads going into the hang-off porch. A good understanding of the key installation parameters can help to minimize this mismatch, and ensure that the riser global response meets the design criteria. This paper focuses on investigating the potential factors that may affect the touchdown point location, and addressing the challenges both in the design stage and during installation campaign. Conventionally, the vessel offset and current are the most critical factors which may affect the TDP movement during installation. With the offshore exploration going deeper and deeper in the sea (up to 10,000ft), other sources such as the seabed slope and seabed soil stiffness are playing an important role as well. The impacts of potential sources are quantified through case studies for steel catenary riser (SCR) and lazy wave steel catenary riser (LWSCR) in deep water application. Investigations through both theoretical study and numerical validation are carried out. Furthermore, design recommendations are provided during execution phase for the TDP mismatch condition to ensure the integrity of the riser system.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.18 no.4 s.59
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• pp.15-22
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• 2004

Static and dynamic analyses of a very flexible and light riser, for upwelling the deep ocean water, is performed. In this numerical study, an implicit finite difference algorithm is employed for three-dimensional riser equations. Fluid non-linearity and bending stiffness are considered and solved, using the Newton-Raphson iteration. Maintaining the depth of end point of a flexible and light riser is very important for upwelling deep ocean water in a floating type development system. Weight is attached at the end point of the riser in order to maintain its intake depth. It is designed under the strong surface current and the configuration of the rise is predicted. In the dynamic analysis, the tension variation at the top point of the riser is presented. T e results of this study can contribute to the design of the development system in floating type for upwelling deep ocean water.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-81
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• 2021

The nonlinear formulation using the principle of virtual work-energy for free vibration of a large-sag extensible catenary riser in two dimensions is presented in this paper. A support at one end is hinged and the other is a free-sliding roller in the horizontal direction. The catenary riser has a large-sag configuration in the static equilibrium state and is assumed to displace with large amplitude to the motion state. The total virtual work of the catenary riser system involves the virtual strain energy due to bending, the virtual strain energy due to axial deformation, the virtual work done by the effective weight, and the inertia forces. The nonlinear equations of motion for two-dimensional free vibration in the Cartesian coordinate system is developed based on the difference between the Euler's equations in the static state and the displaced state. The linear and nonlinear stiffness matrices of the catenary riser are obtained and the eigenvalue problem is solved using the Galerkin finite element procedure. The natural frequencies and mode shapes are obtained. The results are validated with regard to the reference research addressing the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed nonlinear formulation. The numerical results for free vibration and the effect of the nonlinear behavior for catenary riser are presented.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.153-160
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• 2010

This paper deals with the topology optimized design of the riser support structures for floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs) under global and local loading conditions. For a preliminary study and validation of the numerical approach, a simplified plate under static loading is first evaluated with the representative topology optimization methods, the Homogenization Design Method (HDM) and Density Method (DM) or Simple Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP). In the context of the corresponding riser support structures, the design problem is formulated such that structure shapes based on design domain variables are determined by minimizing the compliance subject to a mass target, considering the stress criterion. An initial design model is generated based on an actual FPSO riser support configuration. The topology optimization results present improved design performances under various loading conditions, while staying within the allowable limit of the offshore area.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.970-979
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• 2019

Compliant Vertical Access Risers (CVARs) are compliant systems that incorporate a differentiated geometric configuration that allows the exploitation of oil and gas in deepwater fields and enables a number of operational advantages in the offshore system. One of the main features of CVAR systems is that they allow direct intervention procedures to be applied to the well bore, enabling workover operations to be performed directly from the production platform. Based on the principles of virtual work and variation, a static geometric nonlinear equation of CVARs is derived and applied in this study. The results of this study show that the two ends of the riser as well as the transition region are subject to high stress, while the positions of the floating platform exert significant effects on the geometry of the riser configuration. Compliance and buoyancy factors should be set moderately to reduce the CVAR stress. In addition, the buoyancy modules should be placed in the lower region, in order to maximize the operation advantages of CVAR.