Dynamic Stresses In Subsea Pipelay Using Semi-Analytic Approach

Introduction
The subsea surveys of some inshore and offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico around 1928 &1934 signalled the presence of reserves It all started in the Galveston Bay and Cameron the great offshore industry [Prat et al, 1997]

Subsea production is expected to still be very viable in the next two decades from now [Sandrea et al, 2010]

Aspects of an Offshore Pipelay Project

Route Survey

Load Estimation

Geotechnical Soil properties along the route by invasive method

Geophysical Mostly seabed imaging and sonar scan

Static

Dynamic Loads (Wind Generated Waves)

Responses

Vessel response to wave - RAO

Pipe response to Pipe response vessel motion to wave

Aspects of an Offshore Pipelay Project Continue

Superimposing the responses above result in the load case matrices Load case matrix

Motivation Of The Research

Typical installation project will publish a minimum of ten such matrices depending on
Steepness of the route Water depth Level of details required

Each of such matrix is generated after about 133 load case simulations at that depth i.e. A simulation each for 13 wave height, period and heading

Motivation Continues ...

Automation Python automatically receives each simulation result Indicates combinations which are damaging If there is a need for alteration in the design input; this process will have to be repeated

Motivation continues ...

This gist of this research is to produce a model which will give similar results with fewer simulations Such model stand a good chance of being a guide to further detailed installation simulation

Approach
I am proposing a pseudo-dynamic method Dynamic effects are captured and used in static equations for the estimation of the effective stress The relative velocity between the pipe and water particles is used to estimate the load. Published a conference paper on this area

Approach Continues...
The amplitude per unit length of the apt component of the produced response (Dynamic) is estimated

Add some equations

These are added to the static apparent weight and used in stress calculation

Approach Continues...
The advantages of this method are:
This approach circumvent the iterative time/frequency domain solutions calculation used in the commercial codes Hence, it is possible to know regions of safe stress in the pipe for various wave height, period; and tension

Approach Continues ...

limit curves for different top tensions 3.5 3

2.5

1.5

Each point on this plot is produced by a simulation on a commercial software. But the curves are produced by a single run by this method.

vessel heave amplitude in m

0.5

0.4

0.6

0.8 1 1.2 1.4 wave angular frequency rad/s

1.6

Research Expectations
Develop a code for the estimation of all dynamic loads i.e.
From vessel motion Direction wave load

Investigate the effect of top tension on the vessel response characteristics Provide plots of 100% stress utilisation at different top tensions as above

Expectations Continues
Validate result against existing dynamic stress simulation softwares Wamit or SeaWay for the vessel estimated vessel characteristics

Orcaflex for the pseudo-dynamic stress

Progress
The following progress has been made thus far:
Established an approach for achieving the set goal Review of relevant literatures is ongoing and incisive Derivation of vessel response characteristic (RAO) for deepwater is almost complete

Research Timetable