Evaluation of the Effect of Riser Support System on Global Spar Motion by Time-domain Nonlinear Hull/Mooring/Riser Coupled Analysis

J. Ocean Eng. Technol. 2005;19(5):16-25.

KOO BON-JUN;KIM MOO-HYUN;

Basic Design Part, Offshore Design Team, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.;Coastal and Ocean Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station USA.;

Keywords: Spar Platform, Pneumatic Cylinder, Buoyancy-can, Guide Frame, Multi-contact Coupling, Moon-pool, Hull-mooring-riser Coupling

Abstract

The effect of vertical riser support system on the dynamic behaviour of a classical spar platform is investigated. Spar platform generally uses buoyancy-can riser support system, but as water depth gets deeper the alternative riser support system is required due to safety and cost issues. The alternative riser support system is to hang risers off the spar platform using pneumatic cylinders rather than the buoyancy-can. The existing numerical model for hull/mooring/riser coupled dynamics analysis treats riser as an elastic rod truncated at the keel (truncated riser model), thus, in this model, the effect of riser support system can not be modeled correctly. Due to this reason, the truncated riser model tends to overestimate the spar pitch and heave motion. To evaluate more realistic global spar motion, mechanical coupling among risers, guide frames and support cylinders inside of spar moon-pool should be modeled. In the newly developed model, the risers are extended through the moon-pool by using nonlinear finite element methods with realistic boundary condition at multiple guide frames. In the simulation, the vertical tension from pneumatic cylinders is modeled by using ideal-gas equation and the vertical tension from buoyancy-cans is modeled as constant top tension. The different dynamic characteristics between buoyancy-can riser support system and pneumatic riser support system are extensively studied. The alternative riser support system tends to increase spar heave motion and needs damper system to reduce the spar heave motion.