Oil and gas production systems are continually moving into more challenging environments. Therefore having a precise understanding of the flexible pipeline behaviour for various configurations is becoming even more important. This paper presents a medium scale test of a flexible riser in a wave configuration aiming at representing the bending stiffness characteristic of a flexible riser. Results are then compared tothose of a dynamic analysis software to validate the experimental modeling.
This paper addresses the problem of scaling a flexible steep wave riser for model tests, where the global bending response is considered under quasi-static current loading. A methodology for cost-effective and robust model construction is presented, including an effective method of determining the bending stiffness of the model.
A 1/15 scale model of a 8″ flexible riser was constructed from silicon hose and foam for testing within the Australian Maritime College’s Circulating Water Channel (CWC). Variances in the model’s buoyant section length, system offset and bending stiffness were tested at different flow velocities to observe the changes in curvature experienced by the riser. The model test regime was formulated specifically to compare the results of CWC testing with numerical modelling results. Comparison between model test and numerical results demonstrate good agreement.
