Design and Analysis of Riser Tower for TBTLP in GoM Environment

Kaushik P NA08B018

TBTLP
Tension base Tension leg platform

Why TLP
TLPs are well proven and established concept. This eliminates the potential uncertainty and risk factor.

TLP design provides very low heave, pitch and roll motions which is favorable for the usage of dry tree support on the deck.
Recent storms in the Gulf of Mexico area has increased the requirement of the minimum freeboard to 100ft. This can be better offered by TLPs rather than SPAR and Semi Submersibles.

Design Challenges for tlp in deep waters

Tendon and riser systems are significant cost components in the use of tlp for ultra deep water.

Riser tension and tether tension increases with increase in water depth.

Increase in riser and tendon tensions results in the increase of buoyancy requirements. Therefore hull size has to be increased which increases cost. To maintain the hull size constant with increasing depths we use the idea of artificial sea bed.

Tension Base
Tension base is the closed box structure with inlet and outlet for water to flow which helps in positioning the box at desired height.

The purpose of this tension base is to provide horizontal and vertical resistances to the tendons.
A lateral resisting mooring system is used to the submerged base to increase the efficiency. Appropriate design of mooring system and tension of the tlp makes artificial seabed behave like natural one.

Riser Tower
Welded steel frame structure with circular pipes. Self buoyant Two keels tanks are added at bottom- solid ballast and water ballast It can be moored to artificial seabed for additional lateral stability

Riser Tower
Isolates the riser tensions from hull vertical loading. The riser support-tower is allowed to move independently with respect to the TLP hull in the vertical direction.

Risers are supported horizontally along the length of the tower with bracings. This reduces risers viv fatigue problem

Future Work
Modelling of the riser tower in Ansys Workbench Motion behavior of tbtlp is imposed on riser tower Study of riser behavior with and without tension base. Riser tower and tbtlp are combined to study the fully integrated model.