• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.307-322
• /
• 2014

With the rate of worldwide LNG demand expected to grow faster than that of gas demand, most major oil companies are currently investing their resources to develop floating LNG-FLNG (i.e. LNG FSRU and LNG FPSO). The global Floating LNG (FLNG) market trend will be reviewed based on demand and supply chain relationships. Typical technical issues associated with FLNG design are categorized in terms of global performance evaluation. Although many proven technologies developed through LNG carrier and oil FPSO projects are available for FLNG design, we are still faced with several technical challenges to clear for successful FLNG projects. In this study, some of the challenges encountered during development of the floating LNG facility (i.e. LNG FPSO and FSRU) will be reviewed together with their investigated solution. At the same time, research of new LNG-related technologies such as combined containment system will be presented.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
• /
• v.51 no.3
• /
• pp.220-230
• /
• 2014

Typical technical issues associated with Floating LNG (FLNG: FSRU and LNG FPSO) design are categorized in terms of global performance evaluation. Although many proven technologies developed through LNG carrier and oil FPSO projects are available for FLNG design, we are still faced with several technical challenges to clear for successful FLNG projects. In this paper, some of the challenges encountered during development of the floating LNG facility (i.e. LNG FPSO and FSRU) will be reviewed together with their investigated solution. At the same time, research of design improvement including new LNG-related technologies such as combined containment system will be presented to overcome the unrevealed challenges for the FLNG development.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.10
• /
• pp.1037-1043
• /
• 2015

In recent years, Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Unit have attracted considerable attention. Generally, liquefied natural gas (LNG) units are produced in onshore liquefaction terminals from gas supplied from onshore gas fields or large-scale offshore gas fields near the coast. However, the development of these gas fields has approached saturation. Large-scale offshore gas fields far from the coast, as well as undeveloped medium- and small-scale offshore gas fields, have recently attracted attention. Among several proposed concepts, the floating LNG plant in the form of the FLNG system was chosen for further evaluation and development, considering worldwide receiving infrastructure. The design of a 2.5 million tonne per annum FLNG unit has been completed with a capacity corresponding to that of modern onshore liquefaction plants. Various simulation tests were performed to evaluate the performance of the electrical power plant, focusing on the efficiency of the electrical system to secure the aspects of plant safety. This design study analyzes the electrical system for the FLNG unit to improve the safety of operation and maintenance in the field.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.114-125
• /
• 2017

This paper addresses a study of inner-tank sloshing effect on motion responses of a Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) system, through experimental analysis and numerical modeling. To investigate hydrodynamic characteristics of FLNG under the conditions of with and without LNG-tank sloshing, a series of numerical simulations were carried out using potential flow solver SESAM. To validate the numerical simulations, model tests on the FLNG system was conducted in both liquid and solid ballast conditions with 75% tank filling level in height. Good correlations were observed between the measured and predicted results, proving the feasibility of the numerical modeling technique. On the verified numerical model, Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs) of the FLNG with 25% and 50% tank filling levels were calculated in six degrees of freedom. The influence of tank sloshing with varying tank filling levels on the RAOs has been presented and analyzed. The results showed that LNG-tank sloshing has a noticeable impact on the roll motion response of the FLNG and a moderate tank filling level is less helpful in reducing the roll motion response.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.95-105
• /
• 2018

An FLNG (floating liquefied natural gas) or LNG FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) unit is a notable offshore unit with the increasing demand for LNG. The liquefaction process on an FLNG unit is the most important process because it determines the economic feasibility, but would be a hazard source because of the large quantity of hydrocarbons. While a high efficiency process such as C3MR has been preferred for onshore liquefaction processes, a relatively simple process such as the SMR (single mixed refrigerant) or DMR (dual mixed refrigerant) liquefaction process has been selected for offshore units because they require a more compact size, lighter weight, and higher safety due to their space limitation for facilities and long distance from shore. It is known that an SMR has the advantages of a simple configuration, small footprint, and lower risk. However, with an increased production rate, the inherent safety of SMR needs to be evaluated because of its small train capacity. In this study, the potential explosion risks of the SMR and DMR liquefaction processes were evaluated at the conceptual design stage. The results showed that an SMR has a lower overpressure than a DMR at the same frequency, only with a small production capacity of 0.9 MTPA. With increased capacity, the overpressure of the SMR was higher than that of the DMR. The increased number of trains increased the frequency in spite of the small amount of equipment per train. This showed that the inherent risk of an SMR is not always lower than that of a DMR, and an additional risk management strategy is recommended when an SMR is selected as the concept for an FLNG liquefaction process compared to the DMR liquefaction process.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.342-347
• /
• 2015

Floating LNG is a new concept which is used as LNG regasification/receiving facility and for LNG production/export facility. LNG Floating Production Storage and Offloading(FPSO) concept will put vitality into marginal gas fields which were delayed because of excessive investment cost in the world. LNG Floating Storage Regasification Unit(FSRU) also provides commercially competitive and effective solutions to the areas where onshore infrastructure is not well established. LNG cargo containment system is one of the key functions for FLNG to store produced LNG on a floating structure. This paper presents a new technology related to a LNG containment system; a combined cargo containment system utilizing the advantages of iIndependent tank type and membrane system. Technical advantages have been validated through research work.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
• /
• v.46 no.6
• /
• pp.491-500
• /
• 2022

It has been noted that an accurate estimation of wind loads on offshore structures such as an FLNG (Liquefied Natural Gas Floating P roduction Storage Offloading Units, LNG FPSOs) with a large topside plays an important role in the safety design of hull and mooring system. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a computational model for estimating the wind load acting on an FLNG. In particular, it is the sequel to the previous research by the author. The numerical computation model in the present study was modified based on the previous research. Numerical analysis for estimating wind loads was performed in two conditions for an interval of wind direction (α), 15° over the range of 0° to 360°. One condition is uniform wind speed and the other is the NPD model reflecting the wind speed profile. At first, the effect of sand-grain roughness on the speed profile of the NPD model was studied. Based on the developed NPD model, mesh convergence tests were carried out for 3 wind headings, i.e. head, quartering, and beam. Finally, wind loads on 6-degrees of freedom were numerically estimated and compared by two boundary conditions, uniform speed, and the NPD model. In the present study, a commercial RANS-based viscous solver, STAR-CCM+ (ver. 17.02) was adopted. In summary, wind loads in surge and yaw from the wind speed profile boundary condition were increased by 20.35% and 34.27% at most. Particularly, the interval mean of sway (45° < α <135°, 225° < α < 315°) and roll (60° < α < 135°, 225° < α < 270°) increased by 15.60% and 10.89% against the uniform wind speed (10m/s) boundary condition.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.598-625
• /
• 2014

To support the procedure for determining an optimal liquefaction cycle for FLNG FEED, an ontological modeling method which can automatically generate various alternative liquefaction cycles were carried out in this paper. General rules in combining equipment are extracted from existing onshore liquefaction cycles like C3MR and DMR cycle. A generic relational model which represents whole relations of the plant elements has all these rules, and it is expressed by using the system entity structure (SES), an ontological framework that hierarchically represents the elements of a system and their relationships. By using a process called pruning which reduces the SES to a candidate, various alternative relational models of the liquefaction cycles can be automatically generated. These alternatives were provided by XML-based formats, and they can be used for choosing an optimal liquefaction cycle on the basis of the assessments such as process simulation and reliability analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.22 no.7
• /
• pp.900-905
• /
• 2016

The field of power system harmonics has been receiving a great deal of attention recently. This is primarily due to the fact that non-linear (or harmonic-producing) loads comprise an ever-increasing portion of what is handled at a typical industrial plant. The incidence rate of harmonic-related problems is low, but awareness of harmonic issues can still help increase offshore power plant system reliability. On the rare occasion that harmonics become a problem, this is either due to the magnitude of harmonics produced or power system resonance. This harmonic study used an electrical configuration for the offloading scenario of a Floating LNG (FLNG) unit, considering power load. This electrical network configuration is visible in the electrical network load flow study part of the project. This study has been carried out to evaluate the performance of an electric power system, focusing on the harmonic efficiency of an electrically driven motor system to ensure offshore plant safety. In addition, the design part of this study analyzed the electric power system of an FLNG unit to improve the safety of operation and maintenance.