Steel Lazy Wave Riser Tests in Harsh Offshore Environment

The Steel Lazy Wave Risers (SLWR) is a newly utilized riser concept with increasing popularity due to its improved structural performance in harsh environment. However, SLWR technology is still new, and has very limited qualification test data and field experience to establish a consistent technology readiness and maturity level through industry. The present study, championed by the DeepStar^® consortium, planned and executed a comprehensive test campaign of a SLWR in an offshore model basin. The objective was to better understand the global dynamic behavior of SLWR due to vessel induced motions and currents to advance the concept maturity and quantify the design margins. The paper describes the experiment and highlights key findings from the tests that are essential in addressing the challenges around SLWR design. The findings of the study progress the technology readiness level of the riser concept and provide essential guidelines for the design of SLWRs.