• Plant Journal
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.41-47
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• 2017

This paper is a study on validation model that can verify the arrangement of equipment constituting offshore plant using system engineering approach in offshore plant tender stage. In order to design offshore plant topside maintenance equipment, topside layout verification should be preceded. However, there are many errors in the bidding stage due to the FEED results that are not perfect, the verification can not be performed sufficiently due to the limitation of the bidding period and others reasons. Therefore, we propose a validation model that can effectively verify the equipment layout within a limited condition by simplifying the main process in the system engineering process, which is a multidisciplinary approach, and confirmed through the Functional Deployment Model. Also, we verified the validation model for topside equipment deployment through case studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.723-731
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• 2020

The design of offshore plants should reflect the various requirements of the owner and the classification society. For a topside module mounted on an of shore structure, the design process is very demanding because of the large spatial constraints and the many requirements related to marine environmental conditions and safety such as the movement of the structure. In this study, the load acting on the hydraulic power unit, which is one of the main equipment in the topside module, was calculated according to the DNVGL rule; the structural safety was evaluated according to each load condition and the structural reliability of the developed product was improved. For structural analysis, MSC software was used, and structural analysis was performed under five load conditions to review structural safety for various movements. The results show that the maximum stress occurred during pitching toward the stern (Load Case 5). The stress level was approximately 85 % of the allowable stress, and the maximum deformation was approximately 5 % of the allowable value. The structural safety was confirmed, and no intermember interference occurred.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.1-6
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• 2011

The installation of a topside structure can be categorized into the following stages: start, pre-lifting, lifting, lifted, rotating, positioning, lowering, mating, and end of installation. The transfer of the module onto the floating spar hull occurs in the last three stages, from lowering to the end. The coupled multi-body motions are calculated in both calm water and in irregular waves with a significant wave height (1.52m). The effects of the hydrodynamic interactions between the heavy lifting vessel and the spar hull during the lowering and mating stages are considered. The internal forces caused by the load transfer and ballasting are derived for the mating phases. The results of the internal forces for the calm water condition are compared with those in the irregular sea condition. Although the effect of the pitch motion on the relative vertical motion between the deck of the floating structure and the topside module is significant in the mating phases, the internal force induced pitch motion is too small to have this influence. However, the effect of the internal force on the wave-induced heave responses in the mating phases is noticeable in the irregular sea condition because transfer mass-induced draught changes for the floating structure are observed to have higher amplitudes than the external force induced responses. The impacts of the module on the spar hull in the mating phase are investigated.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.7-11
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• 2011

The installation phase for a topside module suggested can be divided into 9 stages, which include start, pre-lifting, lifting, lifted, rotating, positioning, lowering, mating, and end of installation. The transfer of the topside module from a transport barge to a crane vessel takes place in the first three stages, from start to lifting, while the transfer of the module onto a floating spar hull occurs in the last three stages, from lowering to the end. The coupled multi-body motions are calculated in both calm water and in irregular waves with significant wave height (1.52m), with suggested force equilibrium diagrams. The effects of the hydrodynamic interactions between the crane vessel and barge during the lifting stage have been considered. The internal forces caused by the load transfer and ballasting are derived for the lifting phases. The results of these internal forces for the calm water condition are compared with those in the irregular sea condition. Although the effect of pitch motion on the relative vertical motion between the deck of the floating structure and the topside module is significant in the lifting phases, the internal force induced pitch motion is too small to show its influence. However, the effect of the internal force on the wave-induced heave responses in the lifting phases is noticeable in the irregular sea condition because the transfer mass-induced draught changes in the floating structure are observed to have higher amplitudes than the external force induced responses.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2013

This paper calculates the mating dynamic forces of a semi-submersible offshore structure's topside module, where a hull moored in the sea is combined with a topside module carried by a heavy lift vessel, as a mating installation method. The environmental conditions include various wave directions and wave heights, with constant wind and current speeds. Appropriate ballast and de-ballast plans for the heavy lift vessel and hull of the semi-rig should be performed in order to safely obtain these forces, whereas a fixed platform or the GBS (Gravity based structure) type of offshore structure only needs a ballast plan for the heavy lift vessel. From this paper, the allowable wave height or wave direction for the mating procedure can be investigated based on the standard DAF (Dynamic amplitude factor) of the rules and regulations.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2015

The float over method is the most preferred method for installing heavy topside onto a jacket platform. A very complex platform with multiple jacket structures on a specific field requires multiple installation procedures. This study validated the installation of two topsides using a single installation barge to reduce the operation and installation cost. The hydrodynamic properties of the installation barge during the installation of two topsides were calculated. The tension and fender forces during docking were investigated to show the validity of the proposed dual topside installation method. In conclusion, the operational safety of the proposed procedure was validated through the calculation of the motion of the installation vessel and loads on the jacket legs.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.49-68
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• 2012

In this paper, an offshore process front end engineering design (FEED) method is systematically introduced and reviewed to enable efficient offshore oil and gas production plant engineering. An integrated process engineering environment is also presented for the topside systems of a liquefied natural gas floating production, storage, and offloading (LNG FPSO) unit, based on the concepts and procedures for the process FEED of general offshore production plants. Various activities of the general process FEED scheme are first summarized, and then the offshore process FEED method, which is applicable to all types of offshore oil and gas production plants, is presented. The integrated process engineering environment is presented according to the aforementioned FEED method. Finally, the offshore process FEED method is applied to the topside systems of an LNG FPSO in order to verify the validity and applicability of the FEED method.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.33-44
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• 2012

In this study, the optimal operating conditions for the dual mixed refrigerant(DMR) cycle were determined by considering the power efficiency. The DMR cycle consists of compressors, heat exchangers, seawater coolers, valves, phase separators, tees, and common headers, and the operating conditions include the equipment's flow rate, pressure, temperature, and refrigerant composition per flow. First, a mathematical model of the DMR cycle was formulated in this study by referring to the results of a past study that formulated a mathematical model of the single mixed refrigerant(SMR) cycle, which consists of compressors, heat exchangers, seawater coolers, and valves, and by considering as well the tees, phase separators, and common headers. Finally, in this study, the optimal operating conditions from the formulated mathematical model was obtained using a hybrid optimization method that consists of the genetic algorithm(GA) and sequential quadratic programming(SQP). Moreover, the required power at the obtained conditions was decreased by 1.4% compared with the corresponding value from the past relevant study of Venkatarathnam.

• Journal of Advanced Research in Ocean Engineering
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.239-251
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• 2015

In this study, a spectral fatigue analysis was performed for the topside structure of an offshore floating vessel. The topside structure was idealized using beam elements in the SACS program. The fatigue analysis was carried out considering the wave and wind loads separately. For the wave-induced fatigue damage calculation, motion RAOs calculated from a direct wave load analysis and regular waves with different periods and unit wave heights were utilized. Then, the member end force transfer functions were generated covering all the loading conditions. Stress response transfer functions at each joint were produced using the specified SCFs and member end force transfer functions. fatigue damages were calculated using the obtained stress ranges, S-N curve, wave spectrum, heading probability of each loading condition, and their corresponding occurrences in the wave scatter diagrams. For the wind induced fatigue damage calculation, a dynamic wind spectral fatigue analysis was performed. First, a dynamic natural frequency analysis was performed to generate the structural dynamic characteristics, including the eigenvalues (natural frequencies), eigenvectors (mode shapes), and mass matrix. To adequately represent the dynamic characteristic of the structure, the number of modes was appropriately determined in the lateral direction. Second, a wind spectral fatigue analysis was performed using the mode shapes and mass data obtained from the previous results. In this analysis, the Weibull distribution of the wind speed occurrence, occurrence probability in each direction, damping coefficient, S-N curves, and SCF of each joint were defined and used. In particular, the wind fatigue damages were calculated under the assumption that the stress ranges followed a Rayleigh distribution. The total fatigue damages were calculated from the combination with wind and wave fatigue damages according to the DNV rule.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.6 s.73
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• pp.88-92
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• 2006

Large-scale model tests of welded topside joints were carried out to observe the fatigue behavior of API 2W Gr.50 steel produced by POSCO. The fatigue crack behaviors for various loading conditions were measured and investigated around the critical joint sections. The experimental results have been verified with numerical approaches and also compared with the AWS D1.1 and DnV RP-C203 design curves. The large-scale experiment models were fabricated, based on the actual operating east area fixed platform. The dimensions of the models were slightly modified to accommodate the test facilities and capacities. The fatigue test was carried out having ${\Delta}Q$ of T1=705.6kN, T2=749.7kN and T3=793.8kN. The three specimens were statically loaded 20 times, with various loadings of about 50kN intervalsbetween the maximum and minimum loads required in the fatigue tests. This loading removed the residual stress in the specimen before the fatigue tests. The topside joint crack was initiated from the brace heel, where the maximum tensile stress occurred. The API 2W Gr.50 steel satisfied the AWS D1.1 detail category C and DnV RP-C203 detail category F ${\Delta}S-N$ curve.