Global analysis of a flexible riser

Abstract

The mechanical performance of a flexible riser is more outstanding than other risers in violent environmental conditions. Based on the lumped mass method, a steep wave flexible riser configuration attached to a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) has been applied to a global analysis in order to acquire the static and dynamic behavior of the flexible riser. The riser was divided into a series of straight massless line segments with a node at each end. Only the axial and torsional properties of the line were modeled, while the mass, weight, and buoyancy were all lumped to the nodes. Four different buoyancy module lengths have been made to demonstrate the importance of mode selection, so as to confirm the optimum buoyancy module length. The results in the sensitivity study show that the flexible riser is not very sensitive to the ocean current, and the buoyancy module can reduce the Von Mises stress and improve the mechanical performance of the flexible riser. Shorter buoyancy module length can reduce the riser effective tension in a specific range of the buoyancy module length when other parameters are constant, but it can also increase the maximum curvature of the riser. As a result, all kinds of the riser performances should be taken into account in order to select the most appropriate buoyancy module length.