• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.288-300
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• 2015

Since the first jack-up was built, jackups have become the most popular type of mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) for offshore exploration and development purposes in shallow water. The most pivotal component of the jack-up unit is the leg, which can directly affect the global performance of the unit. In this paper, an investigation into extending the length of the jack up leg is carried out in order to study the enhancement of the rig capability to drill in deeper water approaching the range of the Semisubmersible Drilling Unit (SSDU) (300-1000ft). A study of the performance of a deep-water jack-up unit is performed with different leg lengths. Typical leg scantling dimensions and identical external loads are assigned, and then a detailed Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model is created in order to simulate the jack-up leg unit's structural behavior. A Multi-point Constraint (MPC) element together with the spring element is used to deal with the boundary conditions. Finally, a comparative analysis for five leg lengths is carried out to illustrate their performance, including the ultimate static strength, and weight.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.86-92
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• 2012

An exploration well is drilled where oil or gas potential is shown by a seismic survey and interpretation. With the advance of drilling technology, most of the easily accessible oil had been developed by the end of the 20th century. To satisfy the ever increasing demand for oil, and bolstered by high oil prices, the major oil companies started to drill in deep water, which requires a deep offshore drilling unit. Offshore drilling units are generally classified by their maximum operating water depth. Many semi-submersible rigs have been purpose-designed for the drilling industry as the allowable drilling water depth has become deeper by the developed technics since the first semi-submersible was launched in 1963. Semi-submersible rigs are commonly used for shallow to deep water up to 3,000 m. Drilling equipment such as a top drive, blowout preventer, drawworks and power system, mud circulation system, and subsea wellhead system are explained to help with an understanding of offshore drilling procedures in the oil and gas fields. The objective of this paper is to introduce the main components of a semi-submersible rig and, by doing so, to raise the awareness of offshore drilling, which accounts for over 30% of the total oil production and will continue to increase.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.110-119
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• 2020

Explosions and fires on offshore drilling units and process plants, which cause loss of life and environmental damage, have been studied extensively. However, research on drilling units increased only after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. A major reason for explosions and fires on a drilling unit is blowout, which is caused by a failure to control the high temperatures and pressures upstream of the offshore underwater well. The area susceptible to explosion and fire due to blowout is the drill floor, which supports the main drilling system. Structural instability and collapse of the drill floor can threaten the structural integrity of the entire unit. This study simulates the behavior of fire subsequent to blowout and assesses the thermal load. A heat transfer structure analysis of the drill floor was carried out using the assessed thermal load, and the risk was noted. In order to maintain the structural integrity of the drill floor, passive fire protection of certain areas was recommended.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.102-110
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• 2019

The shipbuilding and offshore plant industry of Korea is important and leads Korea's economic growth, designated as the 1st to 4th export items in Korea in terms of export contribution over the period from 2011 to 2015. This study proposes ways to improve the national competitiveness of Korean shipyards in the global offshore drilling market by reviewing a business model for providing an integrated offshore drilling commissioning service in Korea. This commissioning service model, which was attempted in 2014, was reviewed, and a new proposed business model for overcoming the limitations of the previous model and activating further business was evaluated. As a result of an economic evaluation, it was found that a 150-meter water depth model is economically more effective. As the number of integrated commissions increased from 2 to 5 times per year, NPV, IRR and B/C ratios increased and the fee per use decreased. Therefore, for offshore drilling facilities constructed and delivered in Korea, it will be necessary to encourage integrated offshore commissioning.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.673-676
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• 2017

The Offshore drilling system of domestic drilling systems (drill rigs, drill ship) in Korea is dependent on full imports and the monopolistic situation of a few foreign large corporations is intensifying. In addition, most of domestic technology development tries to develop single product oriented products until now, but it is necessary to develop monitoring control system for package unit commercialization by approaching package development method. Therefore, we will develop a control monitoring system that can integrate the single equipment of the mud system developed previously.

• Special Issue of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• 2015.09a
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• pp.74-78
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• 2015

When floating platform or drilling unit is located at operating station during its design life, it has to have the sufficient stability considering external environment. To evaluate whether offshore structure is complied with the required design criteria for intact stability, the factors which decrease the righting moment have to be considered. Wind heeling moment is one of main factors because the direction is opposite to the righting moment. According to 2009 MODU CODE (Code for the construction and equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 2009), wind heeling moment derived from wind tunnel test on scale model of offshore structure enables to apply as alternative given formula and method in 2009 MODU CODE. However, there is no the specific method for applying data derived from wind tunnel test. Based on the following reasons, this paper presents that the calculation method of wind heeling moment utilizing non-dimensional coefficient relative to wind loads (wind forces and moments) and the comparison with each method applying an example.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.403-414
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• 2019

Offshore drilling has become a key process for obtaining oil. Offshore platforms have many applications, including oil exploration and production, navigation, ship loading and unloading, and bridge and causeway support. However, vibration problems caused by severe environmental loads, such as ice, wave, wind, and seismic loads, threaten the functionality of platform facilities and the comfort of workers. These concerns may result in piping failures, unsatisfactory equipment reliability, and safety concerns. Therefore, the vibration control of offshore platforms is essential for assuring structural safety, equipment functionality, and human comfort. In this study, an optimal multiple tuned mass damper (MTMD) system was proposed to mitigate the excessive vibration of a three-dimensional offshore platform under ice and earthquake loadings. The MTMD system was designed to control the first few dominant coupled modes. The optimal placement and system parameters of the MTMD are determined based on controlled modal properties. Numerical simulation results show that the proposed MTMD system can effectively reduce the displacement and acceleration responses of the offshore platform, thus improving safety and serviceability. Moreover, this study proposes an optimal design procedure for the MTMD system to determine the optimal location, moving direction, and system parameters of each unit of the tuned mass damper.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.331-341
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• 2015

A degasser is a separation unit used in drilling to separate gas from the drilling mud. The degasser used in offshore drilling was developed at an early stage of drilling. Since its development, the design of the degasser’s internal structure has been optimized, with many limitations due to the restrictions of experimental and computational performance measurement methods. Despite the recent development of CFD technology for multiphase flow analysis, CFD has only been used in a limited way for degasser internal flow analysis and design optimization. In this study, a design optimization procedure for a degasser’s internal structure design was proposed, and CFD analyses of three types of internal structural designs were performed to evaluate the separation performance. The CFD result for each design type was used for the design optimization and, as the result, an optimized design is proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.257-264
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• 2011

On April 20, 2010, semi-submersible offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon was exploded and sank, and 4.9 million barrels(about 778 thousand tons) of crude oil was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. As more than one year has been passed since the incident, a lot of investigation reports and lessons learned have been made public and also a lot more will be released soon. This paper studies the final report of the National Commission on "the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling", which was organized by the executive directive of U.S. President Barack Obama, and the interim report of Joint Investigation team of U.S. Coast Guard and BOEMRE of "Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Explosion, Fire, Sinking and Loss of Eleven Members Aboard the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon". The review is focused on the response to the oil spill. And the paper suggests how to improve national marine pollution response policy. In the paper, the Korean governments is suggested to reinforce the capability for instructing and supervising the responsible party's source control measures, to review how to introduce in-situ burning and vessel of opportunity program into our country, and to continue monitoring on the progress of developments of R&D projects related to oil spill response in the U.S..

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.935-941
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• 2012

This paper describes a study of conventional electrical rig and simulated application of Flywheel Energy Storage system on the power system of the offshore plants with dynamic positioning system with the following aims: improve fuel consumption on engines, prevent blackout and mitigate voltage sags due to pulsed load and fault. Fuel consumption has been analyzed for the generators of the typical drilling rigs compared with the power plant with Flywheel Storage Unit which has an important aid in avoiding power interruption during DP (Dynamic Positioning) operation. The FES (Fly wheel Energy storage System) releases energy very quickly and efficiently to ensure continuity of the power supply to essential consumers such as auxiliary machinery and thrusters upon main power failure. It will run until the standby diesel generator can start and supply the electric power to the facilities to keep the vessel in correct position under DP operation. The proposed backup method to utilize the quick and large energy storage Flywheel system can be optimized in any power system design on offshore plant.