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Diffraction method for spar platforms

C.Y. Ng1, V.J. Kurian2, M.A.W. Mohamed 3


Civil Engineering Department Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia Tel: +6012-5714800, E-mail: carrol_ng82@yahoo.com Faculty of Civil Engineering Department Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia Tel: +605-3687345, E-mail: kurian_john@petronas.com.my Civil Engineering Departments Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia Tel: +605-3687306, E-mail: mubarakwahab@petronas.com.my
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Abstract
This paper presents the numerical hydrodynamic analysis for the motion responses of spar offshore platforms in regular sea waves using both Morison Equation and Diffraction Method. The spar was modeled as a rigid body with three degrees of freedom restrained by mooring lines affecting the stiffness values. Linear Airy wave theory and Morisons equation were used for calculating the wave forces on the structure in the first case. The mass, damping and stiffness matrices were evaluated at every time step and the equations of motion were formulated for the platform dynamic equilibrium. The equations were solved using Newmarks Beta time domain dynamic analysis method. The results were obtained as Transfer Functions in Surge. In the second case, the Transfer Functions were obtained using a linear diffraction Method. The results were compared and conclusions arrived at. It was observed that the responses using diffraction method were higher than that using Morison Equation for the low frequencies and vice versa for the high frequency.

Keywords
Spar platforms, Hydrodynamic analysis, Degree of freedom (DOF), Morison modified equations, Diffraction method, and Transfer function.

Introduction
Oil & gas industry has been blooming in Malaysia for the last three decades. Fixed type of offshore Platforms (Jacket type) has been mostly used for the drilling and production of oil & gas. Now, the industry is moving towards depths of 500 m to 1500 m (deep) and above 1500 m (ultra deep) due to the depletion of nearshore resources of petroleum. Spar Platform is one type of deepwater platform widely being used.

Spar platform can be described as a floating platform with a deep draft cylindrical hull. Classic spar comprises of a single cylindrical hull whereas the truss spar has an upper buoyant cylindrical hard tank and a keel ballast soft tank connected at the midsection by a truss system [1]. Recently, even more advanced concepts of spar platform have been developed such as geometric spar [2], cell spar and cell truss spar [3,4]. Wave force calculation is one significant step in the design of any offshore structure. Basically

wave forces on offshore structures could be determined by three methods, namely Morison equation, Froude-Krylov theory and Diffraction theory, for different conditions [5]. The objective of this paper is to presents the numerical hydrodynamic analysis for the motion responses of spar offshore platforms in regular sea waves using both Morison Equation and Diffraction Method. Transfer functions of classic spars were determined by both Morison Equation and Linear diffraction and the results were compared.

Table 1 Typical Dimension of Classic Spars


Spar CS1 CS2 CS3 CS4 CS5 Diameter 30.0m 32.5m 35.0m 37.5m 40.0m Hull Length 205m 205m 205m 205m 205m Draft 190m 190m 190m 190m 190m

Morison Equation In Morison equation, wave force computation is a summation of inertia force and drag force. Inertia coefficient and drag coefficient to be used for the wave force calculation have been determined primarily based on experimental studies. Morison Equation is basically suitable for structures which are relatively small as compared to the water wave length. Morison Equation elaborated wave force as a summation of inertia force and drag force,
F = FI + FD F = CM

Methodology
Analysis model Classic spar platform was modeled as a rigid cylinder with three degree-of-freedom at its origin. The mooring lines attached to the fairleads near the center of gravity, connected the platform to the seabed for providing stability to the spar. Spar platform is always stable because the center of gravity is below the center of buoyancy [6]. Figure 1 shows a typical offshore Classic Spar Platform.

D 2
4

u '+C D

D
2

uu

Where F FI FD u u

D CM, CD
Source from Globalsecurity.org

= the wave force; = inertia force; = drag force; = water particle velocity normal to the cylinder; = the water particle acceleration normal to the cylinder, calculated with the selected wave theory at the cylinder axis; = the seawater density; = member diameter; = inertia and drag coefficient;

Equation 1 - Morison Equation

Figure 1 - Typical Offshore Classic Spar Platform Five classic spars were considered in this study. Each of the spar platforms was connected by four mooring lines to the seabed at depth of 800 m. The typical dimensions of these five classic spars for the determination of respective transfer functions are presented in Table 1.

By adopting the linear wave theory, the water particle kinematics was determined by the following equations [7]:
u=

H cosh ks
T sinh kd

cos

Equation 2 - Horizontal water particle velocity

u' =

2 2 H cosh ks sin T sinh kd

Equation 3 acceleration Where, S k d T y x

Horizontal

water

particle

Transfer function of the above mentioned models were determined by Morison Equation. The transfer functions in time domain were determined by MATLAB program based upon Newmark Beta Method. Diffraction Theory

t L H

= y+d; = kx- t; = (2/L); =water depth; = wave period; =height of the point of evaluation of water particle kinematics; = point of evaluation of water particle kinematics from the origin in the horizontal direction; = time instant at which water particle kinematics is evaluated; = wave length; = wave height and d was water depth.

When the structure is large compared to the wave length, Morisons Equation is no longer applicable. This is mainly due to wave field near by the structure would be affected when the structure is large enough; and diffraction of the waves from the surface of the structure is to be taken into account into evaluation of the wave forces. In the case, Diffraction Theory is applicable for computing the wave force. [5] Transfer functions of the spar platforms by diffraction method were adopted with commercial structural analysis software. Data input for linear wave diffraction was as shown in Table 2. Table 2 Data for diffraction method Description Water Depth (m) Sea water Density (MT/m3) Origin Orientation (vertical axis) Frequency range (Hz) Wave height (m) 2 Mooring Cross section area (cm ) Elastic Modulus line (1000kN/cm2) Value 800 1.035 +z 0.05 0.20 1 128.68 10.409

In this study, CM and CD values were selected based upon the test data conducted by Charkrabarti [5] for a smooth circular cylinder in waves. Mean curves were prepared for CM and CD value from the tests as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 2 - Inertial Coefficient vs. KC for a smooth circular cylinder in waves

Numerical Results and Discussions


Transfer function of the classic spar models were determined numerically by time domain analysis as well the linear wave diffraction analysis. All the response results at the origin are presented in this paper. Figure 3 - Drag Coefficient vs. KC for a smooth circular cylinder in waves
Source: Hydrodynamics of Offshore Structures [5]

The transfer functions for surge response of the models are compared in Figures 4 to 8. For the time domain analysis, the transfer function was determined as the ratio of response height to the wave height.

Surge Response For Classic Spar 1 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.00 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.00

Surge Response For Classic Spar 4

Surge Response, m/m

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

Surge Response, m/m

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

Frequency, Hz Morison's Equation Linear Diffraction

Frequency, Hz Morison's Equation Linear Diffraction

Figure 4 - Transfer Function for Classic Spar 1 in Surge motion

Figure 7 - Transfer Function for Classic Spar 4 in Surge motion

Surge Response For Classic Spar 2 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.00 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.00

Surge Response For Classic Spar 5

Surge Response, m/m

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

Surge Response, m/m

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

Frequency, Hz Morison's Equation Linear Diffraction

Frequency, Hz Morison's Equation Linear Diffraction

Figure 5 - Transfer Function for Classic Spar 2 in Surge motion

Figure 8 - Transfer Function for Classic Spar 5 in Surge motion Through the study it was found that, the application of Morison equation is simple and easy as it involves only determination of the water particle kinematics and substitution into the equation. In other hand, the application of diffraction method involves very cumbersome solutions. Nonlinearities can be easily incorporated into Morison equation while nonlinear diffraction method is extremely complicated. Morison equation can be applied using normal computer programming while diffraction method needs very costly software like SACS. Because of these reasons, it can be observed that majority of the research papers that deal with such studies resort to using the Morison equation even for large cylinders where diffraction method is the only correct method. From the above figures, it is obvious that responses from Morison equation (time domain) gave much smaller values of transfer function for frequencies below 0.05 Hz and higher values for frequencies above 0.05 Hz. For large members,

Surge Response For Classic Spar 3 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.00

Surge Response, m/m

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

Frequency, Hz Morison's Equation Linear Diffraction

Figure 6 - Transfer Function for Classic Spar 3 in Surge motion

as the size of the structure was expected to alter the wave field in the near by area, diffraction at the vicinity has to be taken in to account [5]. The wave diffraction analysis provides a reliable and accurate result of transfer function for deep water structure such as spars and semi submersibles.

[3] Zhang F., Yang J.M., Li R.P., Chen G., Numerical investigation on the Hydrodynamic Performances of a New Spar Concept, Journal of Hydrodynamics 2007, 19(4), 473-481. [4] Zhang F., Yang J.M., Li R.P., Chen G., Coupling Effects for Cell Truss Spar Platform: Comparison of Frequency- and Time Domain Analysis with Model Tests, Journal of Hydrodynamics 2008, 20(4), 424 432. [5] Chakrabarti S.K., Hydrodynamic Offshore Structures, WIT Press, 2001. of

Conclusion
1. The results of this analysis showed that the responses using diffraction method were higher than that using Morison Equation for the low frequencies and vice versa for the high frequency. 2. The maximum amplitudes of the spar platforms obtained by both methods are shown in Table 3: Table 3 Maximum amplitude for classic spars
Classic Spar CS1 CS2 CS3 CS4 CS5 Linear Diffraction 8.942 8.381 7.899 7.478 7.084 Morison Equation 3.760 3.123 5.400 5.015 6.153

[6] Agarwal A.K. and Jain A.K., Dynamic Behaviors of Offshore Spar Platforms Under Reguar Sea Waves, Ocean Engineering 2003, 30, 487-516. [7] Kurian V.J.,Wong B.S., and Montasir O.A.A., Frequency Domain Analysis of Truss Spar Platform, International conference on Construction and Building Technology 2008.

Acknowledgment:
The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the civil engineering department and management department of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) for their support and encouragement.

References
[1] Kurian V.J., Montasir O.A.A and Narayanan S.P., Numerical and Model Test Results for Truss Spar Platform, Proc 19th Intl. Offshore and Polar Eng, ISOPE, Japan, 2009. [2] Wang Y., Yang J.M., Hu Z.Q., Xiao L.F., Theoretical Research on Hydrodynamics of a Geometric Spar in Frequency and Time Domains, Journal of Hydrodynamics, 2008, 20(1), 30-38.

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