This paper reports the implosion tests of aluminium alloy 6061-T6 tube models under external hydrostatic pressure. The investigations took an emphasis on how to replicate the deep-ocean pressure environment of the implosion phenomenon on a laboratory scale. The parameters which affected the implosion pressure pulse were also observed. Two kinds of implosion tests were conducted, namely, dynamic implosion test and quasi-static implosion test. The pressure drops in the post ultimate regime was negligible in the dynamic implosion test which performed using compressed nitrogen gas. The pressure and strain histories of the both implosion tests were compared and analysed. In addition, non-linear FE analyses for quantitative validation and comparison of the imploded tubes were conducted. The numerical quantities including the initial ovality, thickness unevenness, and air backed fluid cavity parameters are investigated to propose more realistic imploded tubes induced by the external hydrostatic loading.

Flexible risers are one kind of flexible pipes that transport fluid between subsea facilities and topside structures. This pipe-like structure consists of multiple layers and its innermost carcass layer is designed for external hydrostatic pressure resistance. For the flexible risers used in ultra-deep water fields, the critical collapse pressure of the carcass layers is one of the dominant factors in their safety design. However, the complexity of the interlocked carcass design introduces significant difficulties and constraints into the engineering analysis. To facilitate the anti-collapse analysis, equivalent layer methods are demanded to help construct an equivalent pipe that performs a similar collapse behavior of the carcass. This paper proposes a strain energy based equivalent layer method which trying to bridge the equivalence between those two structures by considering equivalent geometric and material properties for the equivalent layer. Those properties are determined through strain energy equivalence and membrane stiffness equivalence. The strain energy of the carcass is obtained through numerical models and is then used in a derived equation set to calculate the equivalent properties for the equivalent layer. After all the equivalent properties have been determined, an equivalent layer FE model is built and used to predict the critical pressure of the carcass. The prediction result is compared to that of the full 3D carcass model as well as the equivalent models that built based on other existing equivalent methods, which shows that the proposed equivalent layer method gives a better performance on predicting the critical pressure of the carcass.

Selecting a riser concept for FPSOs stationed in deep water has posed challenges, due to the high hydrostatic pressure and large vessel payload. One of the major factors governing the riser concept selection for deepwater FPSOs is the geographical location and weather conditions prevalent in the region. For example, the free hanging flexible riser has been mostly used in the moderate environments of offshore Brazil, while concepts like the SCR and Hybrid Riser Tower (HRT) are dominant in the calm weather conditions of the West of Africa (WoA). Selecting a riser concept for an FPSO stationed in harsh weather conditions like those of the Northern Norwegian Sea is a daunting task. This is due to the large vessel offsets and dynamics, which are directly transferred along the riser’s length to its base, thereby causing considerable fatigue damage to the riser. The main aim of this paper is to recommend a suitable riser concept, which may be hooked to an internal turret moored FPSO stationed in water of 1500m depth and in the harsh environmental conditions of the Northern Norwegian Sea. The recommendations are based on the literature review and the case study performed in the manuscript. On the basis of the literature review, a lazy wave configuration of flexible riser and Steel Lazy Wave Riser (SLWR) has been considered as a viable riser concept. Thereafter, a case study is performed to compare the two riser concepts, on the basis of vessel payload, fabrication cost and installation cost.

High tensile strength aluminum offers great potential as a conductor material for Medium Voltage power cables within subsea umbilicals. Its excellent fatigue performance makes it suitable for dynamic umbilicals and its high tensile strength and light weight make it an ideal candidate for deepwater dynamic umbilicals either as an independent load bearing member or as an electrical conductor taking load share in an armoured or steel tube umbilical. Umbilicals, are the bundles of electrical and hydraulic components that connect and control elements of a subsea Oil and Gas production system. 6000 series aluminum conductors, commonly known as AAAC (All Aluminum Alloy) conductors are widely used on high voltage overhead transmission lines, primarily on long spans due to their increased tensile strength. They have been widely used in various environments and possess an excellent track record. However, the use of AAAC 6000 series in a subsea umbilical system is novel. The cable located inside an umbilical bundle is normally of a wet insulation design, and an area of concern is that the seawater may permeate through the cable insulation allowing the conductor material to be in contact with water throughout its design life. Hence the corrosion resistance of the AAAC 6000 series in a seawater environment is of paramount importance and therefore must be assessed. This paper details the corrosion assessment of the 6000 series aluminum power cable conductor at RINA Consulting Ltd’s laboratories together with complimentary field testing. The presented test results are based on long term (6–12 months) laboratory testing. The test programme investigated permeation, impact of temperature, effect of hydrostatic pressure and galvanic corrosion, with the tests being performed on material coupons and cable samples in a simulated seawater environment. Also detailed is the outcome of a full-scale cable field immersion test, 6 months under 1000m depth at seabed temperature of 10°C. The results demonstrated that there was no Cl − and Na + ion permeation through the insulation layer. Also, there is no sign of aluminium conductor corrosion and no drop-in insulation resistance witnessed for all tested samples at temperatures up to 90°C and under a high pressure of 300bar after a one year test period, which is sufficient to qualify use in a subsea application. Based on the results of the presented laboratory testing and field immersion testing, it can be concluded that 6000 series aluminium conductors within ‘wet design’ Medium Voltage power cables will not be susceptible to corrosion in a subsea environment and could be used in other applications such as renewables.

As the tendency of the offshore oil industry is going deeper and further, the subsea pipeline is exposed under tougher condition combining lower temperature with higher hydrostatic pressure. The severe condition creates a challenge towards flow assurance, which often results in a high cost solution. Reducing the cost while providing a qualified insulation performance is of great significance to deepwater development. For ultra-deepwater beyond 1500m, single-wall pipe usually fails to meet the flow assurance requirements or requires a huge amount of insulation material. Pipe-in-pipe configuration can provide a good insulation performance but comes with a high cost associated. Sandwich pipe is a new concept composed of two concentric steel pipes separated by a cementitious composite annulus that provides a combination of high structural strength with thermal insulation. It is reported to be a promising alternative for both flexible and rigid conventional pipes in applications for long distance pipelines. In order to further investigate its feasibility in deep waters, a subsea production system with depth at 2200m was used as a case study for a comprehensive evaluation of insulation performance of the sandwich pipe, including both steady-state and shut-in working conditions. For a comparative study, scenarios using single-wall pipe (SW), pipe-in-pipe (PIP) and flexible pipe (FP) were also considered separately. The results showed that (i) sandwich-pipe performs better in steady-state but worse in between shut-in and the restart period (ii) sandwich-pipe with larger diameter performs better than it with smaller diameter. The reasons for the sandwich pipe behavior were discussed and suggestions to improve the performance are presented.

Traditionally, rock cutting models for land-based and shallow water applications assume that the rock is cut under atmospheric and dry conditions. For deep sea applications this assumption is not valid, especially because the hydrostatic pressure can be of the same order of magnitude as the unconfined compressive strength of the rock. Therefore it is necessary that both the effect of hydrostatic pressure and the presence of a pore fluid are included in the rock cutting models as well. This paper focuses on extension of the existing phenomenological rock cutting theory for deep sea applications. The suggested improvements of the model are based on observations from both experiments and simulations. The ideas presented can be helpful for the design of equipment for the drilling, deep sea mining and subsea trenching industries.

One way to control lateral buckling in the operation phase for High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) pipelines is by deliberately introducing residual curvature sections at intervals along the pipeline by adjusting the straightener settings of the pipelay tower, as described in a patent held by Statoil [1]. This method has been applied with reel-lay installation for a number of shallow water pipelines in Europe (Statoil’s Skuld project and Total’s Edradour project). The paper presents the benefits as well as the feasibility of the use of Residual Curvature Method (RCM) to control lateral buckling for deep water applications which involves high top tension in the overbend and high pressure and twist of the RC section in the sagbend. The study cases consider the application of the method for pipelines in 1850m water depth which are pushing the pipe top tension close to the limit of the capacity of the tensioners of Heerema Marine Contractor’s (HMC) Reel-lay vessel the Aegir. There are some challenges of the application of the residual curve method for deep water pipelines. Due to high top tension, some potential issues are investigated during lowering of the curved section from the straightener, passing the tensioners and through the J-lay tower into the water to the seabed. Detailed analyses have been performed to check the interaction of the residual curved pipe section against the tensioners (the effect of the squeeze load on the RC section) and to assess the maximum bending moment generated when the residual curved section is under high top tension below the tensioners against the Load Controlled Condition (LCC) for local buckling bending moment limit. Another consideration is the increase of hydrostatic pressure in deep water which could limit the allowable bending moment in the sagbend when lowering the curved sections to the seabed. Discussions are presented to the feasibility of the concept including the proposed ways of mitigation for the aforementioned potential issues. The paper will also show an improved prediction of pipe twist/roll by comparing a published analytical 2D plane solution against the 3D FEA model prediction. The improved prediction, which considers the out of plane bending component of the pipe catenary, results in an increase of pipe twist in the sagbend section. This reduces the bending moment in the residual curved section when entering the sagbend and increases the probability to roll the curved section over to the horizontal plane on the seabed.

One main objective of assessing vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in deep-water (1000 m) riser design analysis is to determine the VIV fatigue damage. Whilst the VIV assessment methodology is well known for steel catenary risers, the unbonded flexible risers require special attention due to their complex composite behaviour. This is especially true when using the superposition modal approach, which is used in Shear7. The VIV response of unbonded flexible risers when modelled by Shear7 is complex and depends on several parameters, mainly: bending stiffness, modal damping and riser configuration. Flexible risers exhibit a non-linear moment response due to the stick/slip hysteresis phenomena of the metallic wires. For low curvatures, a flexible pipe is characterised by a high bending stiffness. However, when the applied loads exceed a threshold level given by the friction resistance between the layers, slippage between the layers occur and the corresponding bending stiffness is significantly reduced, which leads to higher curvature levels. This behaviour is characterised by the moment-curvature response, which is specific to each cross section and is highly dependent on operating conditions (pressure, temperature), external conditions (temperature and hydrostatic pressure) and riser configuration (tension distribution). The objective of this paper is to establish a consistent VIV analysis methodology for unbonded flexible risers taking some of the main critical parameters such as bending stiffness, modal damping, riser configuration and environmental loading into account. This methodology has been developed for a large West African offshore project, where different types of flexible risers with different operating conditions have been assessed. The impact of the pre-slip and post-slip bending stiffness on the VIV response has been studied and an energy-based approach has been used to calculate the modal damping associated with the frictional energy loss due to the stick/slip phenomenon. This energy loss is directly dependent on the curvatures extracted from the modes excited by the oceanic currents acting on the risers. Different riser configurations have also been considered to assess the impact of the vessel offset on the VIV curvature response. Finally, VIV induced fatigue damage of the flexible risers has been determined using both extreme and long term current profiles assuming steady state current in the VIV model. The fatigue damage has been calculated at several critical locations along each flexible riser by converting the curvature histograms obtained from the VIV assessment into stresses using specific S-N data converting stress cycles into aggregated damage benchmarked against wave-induced damage.

It is of high potential and risk to form gas hydrate along the wellbore in deepwater drilled-kick scenarios. Considering the transient mass transfer process that appears as the hydrate shell renewal at gas-liquid interface, we build a fully coupled hydrodynamic-hydrate model to describe the interaction of hydrate phase transition characteristics and wellbore multiphase flow behaviors. Through comparison with experimental data, the performance of proposed model is validated and evaluated. The simulation results show that the hydrate formation region is mainly near the seafloor affected by the fluid temperature and pressure distributions along the wellbore. The volume change and mass transfer over a hydrate coated moving bubble, vary complicatedly, because of the hydrate formation, hydrate decomposition and bubble dissolution (both gas and hydrate). Overall, hydrate phase transition can significantly alter the void fraction and migration velocity of free gas in two aspects: (1) when gas enters the hydrate stability field, a solid hydrate shell will form around the gas bubble, and thereby the velocity and void fraction of free gas can be considerably decreased; (2) the free gas will separate from solid hydrate and expand rapidly near the sea surface (out of hydrate stability field), which can lead to an abrupt hydrostatic pressure loss and explosive development of kick accident. These two phenomena generated by hydrate phase transition can make deepwater gas kick to be “hidden” and “abrupt” successively, and present challenges to early kick detection and wellbore pressure management.

Offshore structures are founded on submerged foundations. The excavation of submerged foundations in the sea bed is a difficult task to accomplish when it comes to the decommissioning of these offshore structures. The extraction resistance is a lot higher than the pressure acting on the structure due to hydrostatic pressure, earth pressure and its self-weight. Once the extraction begins, a negative pore water pressure is created until inflowing pore water compensates this negative pore water pressure. This depression is hindering the extraction of the submerged foundation. Additionally, the resistance is dependent on the embedment depth of the structure, the soil properties as well as the extraction velocity, which influences the dimension of the negative pore water pressure. The numerical investigation of this dynamic problem is a limitation for continuum based approaches like the Finite Element Method (FEM) due to the occurring large deformations. These results from the soil bed failing under the movement of the structure and hence starting to flow. Additionally, in order to estimate the created depression, the investigation of the water-soil-interaction is crucial, as the change of the pore water pressure plays a significant role. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the behavior of the soil particles and the pore water pressure. In order to do this, a coupled Euler-Lagrange approach, namely the combination of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and the Discrete Element Method (DEM), is used. In these simulations on one hand, the liquid phase, e.g. the water, is considered as a continuum, while on the other hand, for the solid phase, e.g. the soil, a particle representation is chosen. Hence, it is possible to compute the particle-particle — as well as the fluid-particle-interactions. The calculations are carried out with the open source software package CFDEM coupling ® , which combines the discrete element code LIGGGHTS ® with CFD solvers based on O pen FOAM ® . This paper introduces the coupled CFD-DEM approach to simulate the extraction of a submerged plate in the soil bed. In this work, the soil grains are idealized by spherical particles of different diameters. In order to consider effects of dilatancy and contractancy in the soil bed, different relative densities are investigated. Additionally, a variation of the extraction velocity of the plate is carried out to examine the dependence on the creation of negative pore water pressure. For each case, the extraction resistance is calculated. The flow velocity and the pressure distribution in the vicinity of the structure are analyzed.

Underwater explosion (UNDEX) can severely damage warships and submarines, so improving shock resistance ability of such weapons is of great importance. However, studies on enhancing shock resistance ability of submerged structures are limited. In this paper, the shock mitigation effects of cellular cladding coated on the submersible hull subjected to combined loads of hydrostatic pressure and shock wave are analyzed. First, one-dimensional analytical model is proposed to reveal the shock mitigation mechanism of cellular claddings. The pressure at fluid-structure interface and the thickness of cellular foam needed to fully dissipate shock energy are obtained. Then, the finite element method is employed to investigate the transient response of bare/coated submersible hull subjected to UNDEX. The results indicate that the cellular cladding coated on the pressure hull is very effective on reducing hull deformation, velocity and acceleration response if the cladding is not fully densified. Otherwise, the stress enhancement appears when the cladding is fully densified prematurely, which will weaken the shock mitigation effects. The research results are useful in designing surface shields for submersible hull so as to enhance its resistance to underwater shock damage.

An accurate constitutive material model of iceberg ice is important for the finite element simulation of ship-iceberg collision process. A temperature-gradient-dependent elastic-plastic material model of iceberg ice, proposed by the authors in reference [5], is adopted in this paper. The model behaves linear elastic before reaching the ‘Tsai-Wu’-type yield surface, which are a series of concentric elliptical curves with different sizes. Increasing temperature leads to small curves which means the strength of iceberg is weak. Upon reaching yield surface, the iceberg model response is perfectly plastic. A failure criteria based on accumulated plastic strain and hydrostatic pressure is adopted. In order to reflect the change of temperature with depth of iceberg, three typical types of iceberg temperature profiles are assumed in the model. According to these profiles, iceberg ice element located at different depth has different temperature. Therefore, mechanical property of iceberg differs along depth. The iceberg model is implemented as a user-defined subroutine in the commercial explicit finite element code LS-DYNA. Collisions between FPSO side and iceberg are simulated. Four typical shapes of iceberg (sphere, prism, cone and cube) with three temperature profiles are applied. Also, different temperature ranges are assumed in each simulation case. The influence of temperature profile, temperature range and iceberg shape on relative strength between iceberg and side structure are analyzed. The energy dissipation ratio of side structure and iceberg in collision process is examined. Moreover, energy dissipation of the component structures of FPSO side is analyzed. The simulation results show that the iceberg model can be used to demonstrate the influence of temperature on collision process between FPSO-iceberg.

Flexible pipes have been used to transport oil and gas in subsea applications for more than 40 years. Since 2010, and following a significant qualification work performed within Technip flexible pipe technology center, it has been possible to use a low plasticized high molecular weight PVDF with enhanced mechanical properties as monolayer pressure sheath in flexible pipe applications. This qualification work covered both static and dynamic applications. A large number of projects have already taken advantage of the monolayer design for high temperature applications. Indeed, more than 80km of flexible pipe with this PVDF grade have already been manufactured. This paper will present the work that has been carried out during the last 5 years in order to extend the qualified domain of use of this PVDF grade: -Maximum design temperature extended from 130°C to 150°C, -Minimum design temperature extended from −20°C to −30°C, -Design pressure extended up to 17.5kPsi. A specific focus will be made on the results obtained on several tests performed at lab scale and on full scale flexible pipes and which have been used to support this extension of the domain of use. Such tests include the verification of the PVDF grade to sustain rapid gas decompression after exposure to gas medium at high pressure (> 17.5kPsi) and high temperature (150°C). Permeation tests have also been performed at 150°C. Four full scale tests have been performed on a 6″ flexible pipe with design pressure equal to 17.5kPsi. The first test was performed on a flexible pipe sample submitted to a hydrostatic pressure test at a pressure reaching 27.5kPsi. The second test was performed on a flexible subjected to a fatigue test (tension and angle variation) simulating flexible pipe loading in operating conditions. A burst test was performed on a third flexible pipe sample. During this test, a burst pressure equal to 37.9kPsi was reached. Finally, a fourth flexible pipe sample was tested through the realization of a large number of large bending cycles while keeping the flexible under internal pressure. The possibility to use this PVDF grade with enhanced mechanical properties down to −30°C has been demonstrated through the realization of thermal cycles between 150°C and −30°C on two flexible pipe samples. This test is realized in order to confirm sealing efficiency towards thermal stresses which occur during shutdowns. The result of a specific full scale test performed, after ageing at 150°C, in extreme conditions of bending and temperature (lower than −30°C) will also be presented. This extension of the qualified domain of use enables the use of flexible pipes in harsher applications, and also further substantiates the robustness for the use of this grade within the initial qualification domain.

Oil and gas offshore pipelines are one of the main components of a subsea system. A major accident can have a great economic impact due to loss of revenue and the expenses involving actions to mitigate damages to the environment. Therefore, investment in accident prevention through a carefully designed inspection and maintenance plan is necessary. In this scenario, many companies have changed their procedures to ensure the structural integrity of their pipelines — from a model that incorporates empirical safety factors and periodic inspections to another, based on methods that consider concepts of structural reliability to establish risk based inspections. The collapse pressure of pipelines containing corrosion defects is usually predicted by deterministic methods, either numerically or through empirical formulations. The severity of each individual corrosion defect can be determined by comparing the differential pressure during operation with the estimated collapse pressure. However, loads and resistance parameters have uncertainties which define the basic reliability problem. These uncertainties are related to the geometric and material parameters of the pipe and the operational conditions. In recent years, many studies have been developed using reliability concepts in order to predict the probability of failure of a corroded pipeline at any given time. The main problem in assuring the integrity and safe operation of pipelines lies in obtaining the necessary accurate prediction of their future condition. A simple deterministic procedure for estimating the collapse pressure of pipes with narrow and long defects has been recently proposed by Netto (2010). This formulation was based on a combined small-scale experimental program and nonlinear numerical analyses accounting for different materials and defect geometries. Probabilistic failure analyses of pipelines considering different failure mechanisms have been performed by different authors over the last decade. Limit state functions similar to the mentioned above, coupled with reliability algorithms such as the first-order second-moment (FOSM) iterative method, the Monte Carlo integration method, and the first-order and second-order reliability methods (FORM/SORM) are generally used. The analyses take into account the natural spread of material properties, geometric and operational parameters, and the uncertainties associated with the sizing of eventual corrosion defects. In this paper, Netto’s deterministic formulation and the crude Monte Carlo method were used to obtain the reliability of corroded pipelines under external hydrostatic pressure. This approach provides a method to predict the probability of collapse of a corroded pipeline along its operational life. It applies concepts of structural reliability to evaluate the detrimental effect of corrosion damages, giving the basis to develop a risk based maintenance strategy.

Sustained Casing Pressure (SCP) in petroleum wells poses environmental risk and needs to be removed using either downhole intervention or annular intervention methods. The latter method involves displacing the annular fluid above the top of the gas-leaking well cement with a heavy fluid to increase the hydrostatic pressure and stop the gas leak. Past field applications of the method failed — most likely due to incompatibility of the two fluids. In this study, a see-through scaled-down hydraulic analog of the well’s annulus was designed and used for video-taped displacement experiments with clear synthetic-clay muds and heavy (kill) fluids. The results show that only immiscible hydrophobic kill fluids provide effective displacement. The study demonstrates importance of controlled injection of the kill fluid to set out efficient buoyant settling and prevent initial dispersion. A side- (versus top-) injection geometry and the injection rate data are analyzed to develop empirical correlation of maximum injection rate for a given properties of the two fluids.

Accurate determination of residual ovality is an important parameter for a successful deployment of single pipeline and pipe-in-pipe in deep waters wherein the integrity of empty pipes during installation depends upon the collapse resistance under external hydrostatic pressure. The reel-lay process of installation during which pipeline undergoes multiple strain cycles due to spooling, reeling and straightening has a significant bearing on pipe ovalisation and hence accurate determination residual ovality at the end of straightening process is one of the key inputs. It is industry practice to use numerical finite element analysis techniques to predict residual ovality of pipelines as full scale testing is expensive and time consuming. In view of the importance of residual ovality on the pipeline integrity particularly for deepwater applications, an integrated approach of testing and finite element simulation have been used to identify the correct numerical model that predicts residual ovality accurately. This paper discusses the full scale tests performed which include material testing and bend tests performed to simulate spooling and straightening process and the pipeline deformations recorded using laser measurements at different cycles of bending process. The paper presents a brief summary of numerical finite element analyses performed to validate the test results and the effect of element types and material models used in the finite element analyses on the predictability of residual ovality. The material evolution models and their effect on the predictability of remaining ovality are discussed in the paper. Comparisons are made on the predictive residual ovality for reel lay process on single pipe and pipe-in-pipe. The effect of residual ovality on the pipeline integrity for the lateral buckling limit state under combined bending and external pressure are discussed in the paper.

As the cost of drilling and completion of offshore well is soaring, efforts are required for better well planning. Safety is to be given the highest priority over all other aspects of well planning. Among different element of drilling, well control is one of the most critical components for the safety of the operation, employees and the environment. Primary well control is ensured by keeping the hydrostatic pressure of the mud above the pore pressure across an open hole section. A loss of well control implies an influx of formation fluid into the wellbore which can culminate to a blowout if uncontrollable. Among the factors that contribute to a blowout are: stuck pipe, casing failure, swabbing, cementing, equipment failure and drilling into other well. Swabbing often occurs during tripping out of an open hole. In this study, investigations of the effects of tripping operation on primary well control are conducted. Failure scenarios of tripping operations in conventional overbalanced drilling and managed pressure drilling are studied using fault tree analysis. These scenarios are subsequently mapped into Bayesian Networks to overcome fault tree modelling limitations such s dependability assessment and common cause failure. The analysis of the BN models identified RCD failure, BHP reduction due to insufficient mud density and lost circulation, DAPC integrated control system, DAPC choke manifold, DAPC back pressure pump, and human error as critical elements in the loss of well control through tripping out operation.

Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada, is made of ice-rich permafrost and is affected by high rates of coastal erosion, likely to increase with decreasing summer sea ice extent. During an interdisciplinary expedition to Herschel Island in July 2014, geotechnical investigations were carried out in shallow water environments of up to 20 m water depth and at different beaches. The free-fall penetrometer BlueDrop was deployed at 299 positions. Apart from obtaining vertical profiles of sediment strength and the pore pressure response upon impact, the pore pressure evolution over a period of one hour after deployment was investigated. The focus area for these tests was Pauline Cove, located at the south-eastern side of the island, being sheltered by a spit from the open Beaufort Sea and affected by a number of old and young retrogressive thaw slumps, delivering large amounts of mud. The sediment resistance profiles revealed up to three distinct layers of sediment strength, expressing different consolidation states, or possibly changes in sediment composition. This stratification was supported by the pore pressure results, including pore pressure evolution “on-the-flight” during penetrometer penetration as well as pore pressure evolution at maximum penetration depth with the penetrometer being at rest. The sediment surface layer 1 was characterized by a thickness of 5–20 cm depending on the respective location, low sediment resistance and predominantly hydrostatic pressure. It most likely has frequently been reworked by wave action, and exhibited similar geotechnical signatures as fluid mud. Layer 2 reached sediment depths of 30–60 cm, showed an increase in sediment resistance and distinct subhydrostatic pore pressures during penetration, while pore pressures increased in an asymptotic manner to suprahydrostatic (160–180% of hydrostatic pressure) over an observation period of 30–50 minutes. Based on comparison to other examples from the literature, it was hypothesized that layer 2 was composed of overconsolidated mud. Layer 3 featured a significant increase in sediment resistance as well as pore pressure during penetration. As soon as the probe came to rest, the pressure decreased significantly to subhydrostatic conditions, before swinging back to being suprahydrostatic and then slowly dissipating. A similar behavior has been associated to silty sands and high bulk densities. Here, it may suggest a change in sediment composition, likely influenced by coarser nearshore and beach sediments, representing also a denser sediment matrix. The pore pressure results will complement the geological and geotechnical characterization of the coastal zone of Hershel Island, and contribute to the investigation of erosion and deposition processes.

The constant advance of offshore oil and gas production in deeper waters worldwide led to increasing operational loads on flexible pipes, making mechanical failures more susceptible. Therefore, it is important to develop more reliable numerical tools used in the design phase or during the lifetime to ensure the structural integrity of flexible pipes under specific operating conditions. This paper presents a methodology to develop simple finite element models capable of reproducing the behavior of structural layers of flexible pipes under external hydrostatic pressure up to collapse. These models use beam elements and, in multi-layer analyses, include nonlinear contact between layers. Because of the material anisotropy induced by the manufacturing process, an alternative method was carried out to estimate the average stress-strain curves of the metallic layers used in the numerical simulations. The simulations are performed for two different configurations: one where the flexible pipe is composed only of the interlocked armor, and another considering interlocked armor and pressure armor. The adequacy of the numerical models is finally evaluated in light of experimental tests on flexible pipes with nominal internal diameters of 4 and 6 in.

Spars are towed to installation site horizontally and upended by progressive flooding of tanks. It is common practice to perform a dynamic time domain simulation for a self upending classic spar to determine hydrostatic pressures on compartments. There are many different flooding scenarios that create challenges in modeling and simulation during the design phase. In one particular scenario, the spar upending is initiated by opening valves that allow water to flood into the skirt tank. The skirt tank will progressively fill, based on the differential hydrostatic pressure at valves, and cause the spar to upend. Flooding into keel tanks will commence once respective openings become submerged. Several openings from the skirt tank into the keel tanks reduce the differential pressure experienced in the keel tanks during upending. Simulation of the transfer of water between tanks cannot be modeled with ease using the standard tank flooding options available within the software suite. This particular compartment flooding problem is solved by utilizing a scheme in which the time domain simulation was performed iteratively for a specified time interval. For every iteration the amount of water transferred between the skirt and keel tanks are calculated. The amount of water transferred is calculated using a custom modeling technique. The openings from the skirt tank into the keel tanks are not modeled as a typical hole or valve into a compartment, but the location of these holes are modeled. The amount of water flowing through these openings is determined by the water level in the skirt tank, friction through the opening, and pressure inside the keel tanks. This paper will describe in detail the scheme developed, the tank modeling requirements, and the results obtained.