Conventional offshore pipeline installation operations in Brazil have been performed in an S-Lay procedure employing the BGL-1 barge, owned by Petrobras. However, this procedure has some limits, and may not be feasible in some particular scenarios. Therefore, the objective of this work is to present the numerical simulation of an alternative pipeline installation procedure. This procedure basically consists of performing the pipeline assembly on shore, and deflecting it to the sea using a tug boat. The numerical simulations employ the SITUA-Prosim computational tool, which is able to incorporate the correct definition of the seabed and shore from bathymetric curves. An actual pipeline installation by this lateral deflection procedure is analyzed and discussed. The characterization of the procedure passes through the determination of the better velocity and direction of the tug boat in order to minimize the efforts on the pipeline (especially due to the curvatures).

Volume Subject Area:
Pipeline and Riser Technology
Topics:
Computer simulation, Deflection, Underwater pipelines, Pipelines, Boats, Manufacturing, Seabed, Seas
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Copyright © 2007
 by ASME
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