This paper presents a bivariate regional frequency analysis applied to data of extreme significant wave heights and concurrent wave period over an area in the North Atlantic Ocean. It extends previous regional frequency analysis on significant wave height to the bivariate case where the joint distribution of significant wave height and zero up-crossing wave period are analysed. This is believed to be an important extension, as the joint distribution is typically needed for marine design and other ocean engineering applications. The analysis presented in this paper is based on a bivariate index-wave/period approach and assumes a common regional growth curve within homogeneous regions of the overall area. One of the main benefits of performing a regional frequency analysis as opposed to at-site analysis based on data from one location only is that more accurate predictions of extreme conditions can be obtained, due to the increased number of observations that will effectively be available. Moreover, results for locations within the regions where no observations are available can be obtained by interpolation of the index wave/period and utilizing the regional growth curve. This paper outlines the various steps and modelling choices involved in a bivariate regional frequency analysis and presents the results of such an analysis applied to 30 years of data covering the North Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, it is shown how environmental contours can be constructed based on the outcome of the bivariate RFA, corresponding to one particular definition of a bivariate return period.

For Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis, Radial Basis Functions (RBF) interpolation is very effective for data transfer between fluids and structures because it can avoid interface mesh mismatches that make it difficult to transfer data. However, one of the main drawbacks of conventional RBF interpolation is the computational cost associated with solving linear equations, as well as the corresponding running times. In this paper, a scheme of RBF interpolation based on the Partition of Unity Method (RBF-PUM) is proposed to handle a large amount of FSI boundary data with the aim of striking a balance between computational accuracy and efficiency. And a cross-validation technique is coupled with RBF-PUM, for the purpose of searching for the optimal value of shape parameter related to RBF interpolation. The scheme basically focuses on two parts, one of which is how to partition the fluid domain of node points into a number of subdomains or patches, and the other is how to efficiently exploit the techniques that are applied to reduce the interpolation error locally and globally. Numerical experiments show that compared to the CSRBF method and the greedy algorithm-based RBF method, RBF-PUM significantly improves the computational efficiency of the interpolation and the computational accuracy is relatively competitive.

In view of deterministic ocean wave prediction, we introduce and investigate a new method to reconstruct ocean surfaces based on randomly distributed wave measurements. Instead of looking for the optimal parameters of a wave model through the minimization of a cost function, our approach directly solves the free surface dynamics — coupled with an interpolation operator — for the quantities of interest (i.e., surface elevation and velocity potential) at grid points that are used to compute the relevant operators. This method allows a high flexibility in terms of desired accuracy and ensures the physical consistency of the solution. Using the linear wave theory and unidirectional wave fields, we validate the applicability of the proposed method. In particular, we show that our grid-based method is able to reach similar accuracy than the wave-model parameterization method at a reasonable cost.

Reliable sea ice concentration (SIC) information assists the safe and energy-efficient ship navigation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). In particular, the accurate SIC forecast is a top priority. This study proposes a statistical interpolation method to reduce the errors induced by the traditional interpolation method. An auto-regressive integrated moving average (AR/MA) model is developed based on reanalysis data. The AR/MA model can be used for short-term SIC forecasts along the NSR. Model validation has been conducted through a specially designed cross-validation. The route availability is estimated according to the SIC forecast. The results indicate that the specified NSR will be open for shipping from 2021 to 2024. The work also indicates the feasibility of the proposed statistical models to assist NSR shipping management.

The use of Belleville springs has been proven to be beneficial in tackling the problems related to elastic interaction, creep, differential thermal expansion or in the isolation of seismic vibrations in bolted joints. Because of its high and easily variable spring rates, the use of these springs can also be observed in passive vibration assisted rotary drilling (VARD) tools. Because of relative movement of spring with respect to supporting surfaces and the mating spring surfaces, frictional losses in the spring take place during each compression and relaxation cycle leading to a slightly different load-deflection curve from what has been defined in the literature. The geometry of the spring combined with different stacking configurations complicate the study of frictional losses in these kinds of springs. This work presents a new method to calculate the displacement of different points of Belleville springs during its loading and unloading using geometrical interpolation method. The results of spring displacement are then used to develop a model to calculate frictional load as a function of spring deflection, which is used to analyse load-deflection curves of springs with different dimensional and frictional parameters. The developed methodology is used to plot and understand characteristics curves of four different kind of Belleville springs; High Load, Standard, Force Limiting and Force Adjusting Belleville springs by plotting the graphs for different free-height to thickness and diameter ratios. In the later section of the paper, the proposed methodology has been used to visualize the load-deflection characteristics of Belleville springs used in the p-VARD tool of the Large Drilling Simulator, one of the state-of-the-art drilling simulators at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Results show that understanding of the characteristic curves of different spring configuration helps to plan to drill with desired WOB using a p-VARD tool.

Offshore site investigation is time-consuming and relatively expensive compared to onshore site investigation, because it is affected by severe weather conditions and has low accessibility from the land. Due to these economic and spatial-temporal constraints, it is essential to integrate the available site investigation information for the planning and design of offshore infrastructures. In this study, a GIS-based system was developed to manage and utilize the offshore site investigation data using opensource software. The system mainly performs the function of modeling the geo-information in three dimensions based on the offshore site investigation database. Through the input module, borehole data, geophysical survey data and numerical terrain information are standardized and stored in the database. The three-dimensional spatial modeling module performs outlier analysis of borehole data, subsurface geo-layer stratification, and interpolation of geotechnical properties. For the geo-layer stratification, the geostatistical integration method of borehole and geophysical datasets is adopted as well as conventional geostatistical methods. The optimization method of the results from geostatistical conditional simulation can be used for three-dimensional modeling of geotechnical property. The geoinformation predicted by the analysis module is inserted back into the database. Although this system is designed for offshore site investigation information, it can be used to manage inland and onshore site investigation information. Three-dimensional spatial modeling of site investigation information of an expressway construction site in South Korea was carried out using the developed system and its applicability was verified.

A passive yaw implementation is developed, validated, and explored for the WEC-Sim, an open-source wave energy converter modeling tool that works within MATLAB/Simulink. The Reference Model 5 (RM5) is selected for this investigation, and a WEC-Sim model of the device is modified to allow yaw motion. A boundary element method (BEM) code was used to calculate the excitation force coefficients for a range of wave headings. An algorithm was implemented in WEC-Sim to determine the equivalent wave heading from a body’s instantaneous yaw angle and interpolate the appropriate excitation coefficients to ensure the correct time-domain excitation force. This approach is able to determine excitation force for a body undergoing large yaw displacement. For the mathematically simple case of regular wave excitation, the dynamic equation was integrated numerically and found to closely approximate the results from this implementation in WEC-Sim. A case study is presented for the same device in irregular waves. In this case, computation time is increased by 32x when this interpolation is performed at every time step. To reduce this expense, a threshold yaw displacement can be set to reduce the number of interpolations performed. A threshold of 0.01° was found to increase computation time by only 22x without significantly affecting time domain results. Similar amplitude spectra for yaw force and displacements are observed for all threshold values less than 1°, for which computation time is only increased by 2.2x.

In this study, a new higher-order Euler-Bernoulli beam element of Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation (ANCF) is developed for geometrically nonlinear analysis of planar structures. The strain energy of the beam element is derived by applying the definition of the Green–Lagrange strain tensor in continuum mechanics. The first contribution of this research is to realize the accurate calculation of curvature on the beam element node by additionally considering the second derivative of the position vector obtained by quintic Hermite interpolation function. Furthermore, in traditional theory, the independent variable of finite formulation is arc-length coordinate s, while in this work, a correction is come up with and proven that it is actually an equivalent parameter. Some benchmark problems of straight beams are solved by the proposed element and accurate results are obtained by just fewer elements when compared with the other works including the traditional ANCF element and B23 element of ABAQUS. What leads to this accuracy result is that the precise calculation of nodal curvature is obtained from higher order interpolation scheme. The correctness and accuracy of the proposed element are validated in this work and it can be further developed for tackling large deformation and large rotation problems of spatial curved beams.

The study on flow around a hydrofoil has been performed using various methods experimentally and numerically. Here we use a purely data-driven model using deep neural networks (DNNs) to reconstruct the flow fields. Its results are also compared with that obtained by traditional methods. The datasets of flow fields around a static hydrofoil obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are used for training the DNNs and then the trained data-driven model is utilized to make reconstructions and predictions. 9 different physics informed loss functions, which contain the prediction error and the error measuring the violation of the conservation law, are proposed to train the parameters of DNNs. Effects of the proposed loss functions on reconstruction of velocity field and pressure field are analyzed. Lift and drag forces predicted during the training time are also analyzed. However, the data-driven model based on DNNs with the optimum loss function works well in the interpolation but fails in the extrapolation. The reasons causing the errors are discussed.

In recent years CFD developments have shown a trend to combine RANS CFD simulation with other methods such as wave theories or velocity potential based numerical wave tanks, in order to reduce to computation costs. This is however not a new approach, and there exists a large amount of literature about domain decomposition techniques describing a two way coupling between the RANS CFD models and other methods. One can also observe an increasing popularity in the use of a less sophisticated technique where different fluid solvers are combined with one-way coupling. In these methods a predefined solution is provided in the far-field (ignoring the structure), while a three-dimensional (3D) CFD simulation is applied in a limited zone near the structure. The predefined solution is used to specify the background far-field solution. The governing equations are extended by the addition of a source term. The published solutions use wave theory or a numerical wave tank where the predefined solution is calculated parallel to the RANS solver. In this way it is possible to reduce the interpolation inaccuracy and the amount of transferred data to the CFD simulation. The disadvantage of this technique is that the far field solver has to be prepared in order to run in parallel with the CFD solver. Due to the one way coupling it is possible to predefine this information in tables before the CFD simulation. This technique makes it possible to define a general interface between difference solvers without modifying existing codes. This paper presents such a technique where the predefined solution is stored into files. An interpolation function delivers all data to the far-field solution for the CFD simulation. The paper analyses the necessary accuracy of the interpolation and the costs of the input/output operation of the CFD simulation through several verification cases.

Flow control is an attractive topic in consideration of its significance associated with drag reduction or vibration suppression in fluid-structure interaction (FSI) system. A circular cylinder with a flexible plate in the wake region has been investigated numerically. An immersed smoothed point interpolation method (IS-PIM) has been employed to solve this FSI system. The splitter plate with the same length as the cylinder diameter is placed horizontally in the wake region. The drag variation of the circular cylinder and the behavior of the vorticities have been studied with regard to different locations of the detached plate. A comparative study of the rigid plate control has been presented. It shows that the effect of the flexible plate control is inferior to the rigid plate control because the flow field of the former is more complicated than the latter. When the flexible plate is far from the cylinder relatively, it would produce an opposite effect.

Generally, numerous marine and offshore structures are composed of a number of modules which introduce narrow gaps between the multi-modules arranged side by side. The interaction between water waves and floating structures excites complex wave runup in the gaps and wave forces on the adjacent modules. In this study, free surface oscillations in twin narrow gaps between identical floating rectangular boxes are investigated by establishing a 2D viscous flow numerical wave tank based on a Constrained Interpolation Profile (CIP) method. The Tangent of Hyperbola for INterface Capturing (THINC) method is employed to capture the free surface. The rigid floating bodies are treated by a Virtual Particle Method (VPM). The incident waves are generated by an internal wave maker. For the fixed module cases, the computational results of wave height in narrow gaps are found in good coincidence with the available experimental measurements, especially for the resonant frequencies. The wave forces on the floating bodies are calculated numerically. The characteristic response of wave forces on the leading and rear bodies are consistent with the free surface elevations in the corresponding narrow gaps. With shallow draft, the gap resonance occurs at higher wave number.

In offshore jacket design, it has long been recognized that an accurate global structural model requires implementation of the effects of local joint flexibility (LJF). However, there is still no general method for implementing these effects accurately and efficiently without complicating the application of loads. The literature describes several techniques for determining LJFs using parametric formulas and implementing these in global models of a jacket structure. These techniques are simple but associated with uncertainties and a risk of compromising the accuracy of the global model. Alternative methods, such as the use of superelements, provide very accurate results but complicate the consistent application of external loads as well as postprocessing. This paper introduces a new methodology which is called the Correction Matrix Methodology. This allows the effects of LJF from detailed three-dimensional (3D) finite-element (FE) shell or solid models to be incorporated in a global beam FE model via a simple correction matrix. The effectiveness of the methodology is improved by using interpolation between a limited number of correction matrices. The new methodology provides exact results when correction matrices associated with the actual geometry are applied. When using the interpolation procedure, the methodology provides accurate results and computational efficiency when the database has been established. The Correction Matrix Methodology is a significant improvement of the conventional methods for modelling LJF and is currently being implemented in a general form for arbitrary joints in Rambolls Offshore Structural Analysis Program (ROSAP).

Vertically driven plate anchors offer an attractive anchoring solution for floating offshore structures, as they are both highly efficient and suitable for a wide range of soil conditions. Since they are oriented vertically after installation, keying is required to orient the anchor into the direction of applied loading. Simulation of the keying process has not been extensively investigated by previous research, especially for cohesionless soil. Reliable prediction of irrecoverable embedment loss during keying is needed, since such loss can lead to significant reduction in the uplift capacity of the plate anchors. Large deformation finite element analyses LDFE method using RITSS (Remeshing and Interpolation Technique with Small Strain) were used to simulate the keying process of strip plate anchor embedded in uniform cohesionless soil. LDFE showed that the loss in embedment depth of plate anchor during rotation is inversely proportional to the loading eccentricity e/B. It was also found that the maximum pullout capacity occurs before the end of keying process at orientations between 60° to 85° degrees for vertical loading. Also, the LDFE study showed that reduced elastic soil stiffness leading to increased levels of displacement at which the peak load is approached.

Response-based green water analysis is carried out on an FPSO model with complicated effects of appendages and attachments. An efficient numerical approach developed and validated in our previous work is adopted in this study to evaluate the green water on FPSO, considering effects from bilge keel, spread mooring and portside risers in frequency domain. To accelerate the numerical study, an artificial neural network (ANN) is developed for nonlinear interpolation. Comparisons are made between relative wave elevation results from response-based analysis and traditional contour line approach using DNV and HDC methods. The response-based analysis using nonlinear model and simplified linear model are also compared to examine if nonlinear effect due to appendages and attachments on FPSO would affect the accuracy of response based analysis.

Today’s industry practice assumes wave drift forces on floating structures can be computed from zero current wave drift force coefficients for the stationary floater, while simplified correction models introduce current effects and slow drift velocity effects. The paper presents an alternative approach which overcomes some of the limitations of today’s procedures. The method, to be applied together with a time domain solution of the low frequency motions, is based on pre-calculation of mean wave drift force coefficients for a range of current velocities. During the low frequency motions simulation, the wave drift forces induced by the irregular waves are computed from the mean drift coefficients corresponding to instantaneous relative velocity resulting from the current and the low frequency velocities. A simple interpolation model, based on a quasi-steady assumption, is applied to obtain the drift forces in time-domain. Since calculation of the wave drift forces on Semi-submersibles in severe sea states with fully consistent methods is out of reach, a semi-empirical model is applied to correct the potential flow wave drift force coefficients. This model takes into account viscous effects, that are important in high seastates, and wave-current interaction effects. The paper compares the wave drift forces and the related low frequency motions computed by the proposed method, with results applying “standard” methods and with model test data. The test data was obtained in the scope of the EXWAVE JIP, with model tests designed to investigate wave drift forces in severe seastates and assess the wave-current interaction effects.

The method of using residual curvature during pipeline installation, primarily for the purpose of lateral buckling control, has caught an increasing amount of attention over the past few years [1], [9]. The use of residual curvature sparked a particular interest after positive experiences from a 26 km long pipeline on Statoil’s Skuld project (2012) in the Norwegian Sea [7]. As such, a range of technical papers elaborating on the topic have recently been published [6], [7], [9]. Some of this work has identified some particularly novel applications for the residual curvature method including freespan mitigation to reduce the requirement for seabed intervention, allowing for direct pipeline tie-ins, use with s-lay installation and even for steel catenary risers [10], [11]. However, these applications are currently only identified and not yet proven successful in any published work. This technical paper focusses on validating the use of residual curvature for the purpose of lateral buckling control in subsea pipelines installed by reel-lay. The residual curvature method demonstrates high buckling reliability without the use of subsea structures or additional installation equipment, with a controlled buckle response and favourable operational bending moments [1]. The residual curvature method has been shown less sensitive to some design parameters than other lateral buckling control methods [6]. However, published work also show that high strains will develop for short residual curvature lengths, high pipe-seabed frictions and for certain levels of residual strains [6]. Previous research has predicted the behaviour of residual curvature as a means of controlling lateral buckling in a deterministic approach [6], [7], [9]. However, performing a lateral buckling design with a probabilistic approach can offer a more realistic design and demonstrate higher reliability. There is a range of research on probabilistic approaches for lateral buckling design of subsea pipelines, but there is little published work on the same approach for residual curvature in particular. For this reason, this paper suggests a method for determining the likelihood of buckling and the associated bending moments via structural reliability analysis (SRA). A numerical model combining Finite Element (FE) Analysis and a Monte Carlo simulation is applied. A similar approach has already been presented by others for a different lateral buckling control method, and involves forming a database of finite element solutions followed by multivariate interpolation for the stochastic variables [16]. The multivariate interpolation necessitates a permutation of the cases in an FE result database. In order to keep the simulation efficient, only a limited number of variables are treated as stochastic. The variables that are considered as stochastic are those that have been determined that the lateral buckling response due to residual curvature is sensitive to. The variations of the remaining parameters are also accounted for but in a simpler way. The suggested SRA is used to assess the reliability of a pipeline that resembles the Skuld pipeline. The proposed SRA validates that residual curvature is a reliable lateral buckling control method irrespective of great variations in the design parameters that cannot be quantified easily, such as target residual strain. The proposed SRA also serves as a cost attractive solution in the qualification testing, by potentially relieving the installation contractor from the expensive exercise of performing an additional straightening trial.

Wellbore irregularities can cause excessive mechanical friction forces while attempting to land casing strings, and unfavorable conditions for primary cementing of casing strings. In an eccentric annulus, the fluid velocity is largest in the wide section of the annulus. The drilling fluid on the narrow side of the annulus may be immobilized due to the lower wall shear stress in this section of the annulus. A direct consequence for the primary cementing operation is the potential for having residual drilling fluid between casing and formation, and thereby failing to achieve zonal isolation and adequate mechanical support for the casing. Casing strings are usually fitted with centralizers at predetermined intervals in order to achieve a minimum degree of centralization in the wellbore and efficient fluid displacement during primary cementing. Centralizer distribution and design are based on assumptions of regular wellbore geometries and often analytical models for estimating lateral casing string displacement in the well. The latter assumption implies that bending moments are not transmitted across centralizers, and may lead to nonconservative centralizer designs. To investigate the effect of irregularity and casing string stiffness, we consider a stiff string model that approximates the casing string as finite beam elements with bending and axial degrees of freedom at each end, thereby accounting for transmission of both axial and bending stresses between elements. In this work, we evaluate wellbore irregularity by inspecting a six-arm caliper log and estimate the cross-sectional shape of the wellbore by cubic spline interpolation between the arms of the caliper tool. Analyses of the caliper logs indicate that long, continuous strecthes conform to the nominal wellbore size, and that local hole enlargements may be significant. Irregularities are found to be largely symmetric about the wellbore axis, although some examples exhibit elliptic or oval shapes that may conform with local in-situ stress directions. We detail the stiff string model assumptions and implementation for evaluating casing centralization, and demonstrate the approach on model irregularities and on selected caliper log sections. Calculations suggest that bow spring centralizers result in better casing centralization in vertical parts of the wellbore, while large bow spring compression favour rigid centralizers in more inclined parts of the well. Axial compression close to the bottom of the wellbore section leads to a geometric softening effect of the casing, which affects transverse displacement and centralization between centralizers. Higher in the well where the casing is in tension, a geometric stiffening effect reduces transverse displacement. In proximity of washed out and irregular sections, centralization is affected both by placement of the centralizers and a reduction in the restoring capability of bow spring centralizers.

In order to properly design the mooring and offloading equipment, and assess the availability of Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) units during the engineering phase, TechnipFMC has paid a particular attention to the operability prediction of LNG offloading operations. For the FLNG projects currently under construction, the chosen offloading solution is the Marine Loading Arms (MLA) technology with the LNG carrier (LNGC) moored in side-by-side (SBS) configuration. In this paper, an improved methodology using Monte Carlo simulations is proposed to create a representative sample of a typical hindcast for North West Australia, assuming the case of a 147,000 m3 LNGC moored side-by-side to a TechnipFMC in-house design FLNG. It is shown that the random sampling is very well suited for large number of dimensions implied by the driving parameters (e.g. significant height, peak period, relative heading) of multiple wave partitions. In a second step, different multidimensional scattered data interpolation techniques are evaluated in order to further improve the accuracy. Since this would not be practical in time-domain and because the objective for this study is to compare the sampling and interpolation techniques to a benchmark on the whole hindcast, the vessels’ motions and SBS offloading operability are calculated in frequency-domain. The conclusions could also be applied to time-domain simulations. The paper also presents the sensitivity studies to the different interpolation methods and their key parameters and discusses the suitability of the proposed solutions.

Aiming at simulating the preloading process of jack-up rig at drilling locations with typical stratum combination near the Yellow River estuary, FE models of interaction between spudcan and sub-soil are set up based on a large deformation finite element method known as Remeshing and Interpolation Technique with Small Strain (RITSS). The ABAQUS finite element package is used to calculate small strain solutions following each step. The seabed can be simplified as a three-layer deposits with soft clay layer, sand layer and soft clay layer from surface to bottom according to geological data. The backfill phenomenon during preloading is described. The results show that the surface soft clay falls onto the upper surface of spudcan very soon after the preloading process begins, afterwards the backfill tendency occurs in the middle sand layer. SNAME recommends two sets of formulas for calculating penetration resistance respectively for backfill penetration and penetration with no backfill. In this study the model with no backfill is realized by condition control in program codes and the penetration resistance is compared with the results of practical backfill model. The variance proves the shortcomings of the method given by SNAME.