Numerical Simulation of Large-Scale Structural Systems - Research Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2019, Vol. 11(1) 1–11
Ó The Author(s) 2019
Investigation of the mechanical DOI: 10.1177/1687814018818334
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
response of a deep-water drilling riser
to ocean currents and waves

Liping Tang1,2 , Zemin Huang1, Xiaohua Zhu1, Yunlai Zhou2 and Bo Li1

Abstract
The drilling riser is an important piece of equipment used to link the subsea wellhead with the drilling platform. Its oper-
ating environment is extremely complex because of the effects of ocean currents, which can cause riser overload, fati-
gue, leading to economic loss. Therefore, in order to improve design and prevent premature failure of drilling riser, it is
important to research the mechanical response to ocean currents. The effects of tension ratio and platform deflection
on the lateral displacement, bending moment, and the stress of the drilling riser are analyzed, under actual working con-
ditions and shear flow. The results show that the bending moment and lateral displacement of the drilling riser decrease
significantly and the stress of the riser increases with increasing tension ratio. There is an increase in the lateral displace-
ment of the drilling riser and the bending moment at the lower end of the drilling riser, with an increase in the initial off-
set of the offshore drilling platform. However, the initial offset of the offshore drilling platform has little effect on the
stress of the riser. Under shear flow conditions, the lateral displacement, bending moment, and stress initially increase,
then decrease, and finally stabilize. These results can be used to improve the design of drilling riser.

Keywords
Drilling riser, shear flow, tension ratio, platform offset, bending moment

Date received: 9 August 2018; accepted: 14 November 2018

Handling Editor: MA Hariri-Ardebili

Introduction undesirable phenomena can occur during the operation

The drilling industry has gradually shifted marine oil
and gas development from the continental shelf to deep
water and ultra-deep water (sea depth ø 500 m). The
marine drilling riser, which connects the seafloor well-
head to the offshore drilling platform, is a key piece of
equipment in marine exploration and development. Its
main role is isolating seawater, guiding drilling tools,
and recycling drilling fluid.1 The loads on the drilling
riser are very complex because of the influence of ocean
currents and drilling platform drift. Under these condi-
tions, the deformation, stress, and bending moment are
often large.2 During operation, if the deformation,
stress, or bending moment of the riser exceeds the
design value, the result may be riser failure, interrup-
tion of the operation, and economic loss.3 Many
of a drilling riser.4,5 Therefore, research into the
dynamic response of the drilling riser is vital.
A great deal of research has been done on mechani-
cal characteristics of deep-water risers. The majority of
articles have focused on the static and dynamic
mechanical properties of drilling risers. In an analysis
1
School of Mechatronic Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University,
Chengdu, China
2
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University
of Singapore, Singapore
Corresponding author:
Xiaohua Zhu, School of Mechatronic Engineering, Southwest Petroleum
University, Chengdu 610500, China.
Email: zxhth113@163.com

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2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
of the static mechanical properties of marine risers,
Chucheepsakul et al.6 developed a large strain analysis
formula for flexible marine pipelines, in Cartesian and
natural coordinate systems, based on virtual work
methods and vector methods. Pereira et al.7 simulated
the influence of buoyancy on the mechanical behavior
of a drilling riser and showed that the subsurface buoy-
ancy significantly influenced the riser dynamics. How
et al.8 used the boundary control method to actively
control the angle and reduce the forced vibration of a
flexible marine riser, under a distributed load that var-
ied with time. Athisakul et al.9 conducted a two-dimen-
sional, large strain static analysis of marine risers, using
a variational approach. Passano and Maincon10 pro-
posed an efficient and high-precision method to esti-
mate the extreme corresponding distribution rules of
risers, including selective nonlinear finite element (FE)
simulations of relevant sea states. Wang and Xiao11
investigated the vortex-induced vibration of a vertical
riser, subjected to linear and uniform shear currents,
and compared their results with tests done by Exxon
Mobil at the Norwegian Marine Technology Research
Institute (MARINTEK). To control the nonlinear
dynamics, a riser with uniform cross flow and geo-
metric nonlinearities was studied by Yang et al.12
Despite the fact that real ocean currents are shear
flows, the majority of these studies approximated ocean
currents as uniform flow. The loads used in these mod-
els are inconsistent with actual conditions, leading to a
distortion of the mechanical response of the drilling
riser and loss of practical significance.
Using a mechanical model with drilling platform dis-
placement and riser lift height included, Liu et al.13
analyzed the bending moment and stress of a deep-
water drilling riser. Wang et al.14 created a dynamic
model to analyze the lateral vibration of a marine riser
during installation and investigated the maximum lat-
eral vibration displacement variations with wave height
and wave period. Yang and Xiao15 studied the non-
linear dynamics of a top-tensioned riser under multi-
frequency parametric excitations, where the current
velocity is assumed to be uniform from the bottom to
the surface. Connaire et al.16 proposed a method that
could improve how existing risers are analyzed, based
on the convection coordinates method and Euler–
Bernoulli theory. Major et al.17 proposed a control
equation for the riser bending response based on the
drill string rotation effect and studied the effect of drill
string rotation on the response of the riser. Thorsen
et al.18,19 performed a nonlinear time domain analysis
of cross-flow vortex-induced vibrations with a FE
model in which stationary uniform flow and periodic
oscillation at the top riser end were included.
In most studies, the drilling riser is assumed to be a
linearly elastic structure. Also, the upper end is some-
times considered to be fixed, without displacement.
Actual ocean currents are shear flows, but in most
studies, the current load is considered uniform.20 In
many models, the loads acting on the simulated riser
are inconsistent with the actual conditions, leading to
distorted results and loss of real-world applicability.
Therefore, understanding the mechanical response of
the risers under shear flow conditions is important in
practical engineering. In this work, a mechanical model
of a riser was developed for a combination of wave and
shear flow current loads, where the upper and lower
ends were assumed to be hinged and the effect of drill-
ing fluid was neglected. The FE simulation method was
used to analyze the mechanical response to riser tension
and the effect of the initial displacement of the plat-
form on the transverse vibration of the riser. In addi-
tion, the distribution laws of the bending moment,
stress, and lateral displacement of the riser and the
related response variation during the process of loading
were also analyzed. These results will be useful in the
engineering application of marine riser.
Lateral vibration model of the riser
Deep-water drilling systems consist mainly of deep-water
drilling platforms, tensioners, riser systems, bottom riser
assemblies, blowout preventer units (BOP), wellheads, and
conduits. The bottom end of the riser is connected to the
BOP stack through the riser assembly and the lower ball
joint. The top end of the riser is connected to the drilling
platform through the top ball joint. During normal opera-
tion, the main riser system loads include the following:21,22
(a) weight of the riser, (b) buoyancy generated by the vol-
ume of water drained by the riser and the buoyancy block
installed on the riser, (c) top tension generated by the ten-
sioning system connected to the platform, and (d) sea cur-
rents and wave forces.
In the numerical investigation, the following assump-
tions were made: (a) the upper and lower ends of the
riser are simplified as hinged constraints, (b) the influ-
ence of the drilling fluid and drill pipe on the lateral
movement of the riser is neglected, and (c) the buoyancy
block has no effect on the stiffness of the riser system or
the magnitude of the current force. The deep-water drill-
ing platform riser model is illustrated in Figure 1. The
primary reasons for the lateral displacement of the riser
system are initial displacement of the drilling platform,
horizontal forces, and wave forces. In the model, the
origin of the coordinates is set at the bottom of the sea.
The x-axis is in the same direction as the wave propaga-
tion, and the z-axis is perpendicular to the sea floor.
Mechanical model of the riser system
For a drilling riser under the action of ocean currents,
a quasi-static state and an acceleration of zero are
assumed. Treating the riser as a single-span beam under
Tang et al. 3

 
∂2 x ∂x
xjz = l = S, EI = K =0 ð3Þ
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the drilling riser system.
axial force, the fourth-order ordinary differential equa-
tion of the riser can be formulated as23,24
4  
∂ xðz, tÞ ∂ ∂xðz, tÞ ∂xðz, tÞ
EI  Tz +C
∂z4 ∂z ∂z ∂t
ð1Þ
∂2 xðz, tÞ
+W = F ðz, tÞ
∂t2
where EI is the bending stiffness of the riser, x(z, t) is
the lateral displacement of the riser, z is the depth coor-
dinate of the riser, Tz is the arbitrary axial force of the
riser, C is the viscous damping coefficient, W is the
weight of the unit length riser, and F(z, t) is the hori-
zontal force acting on the unit length of the riser.
The bottom end of the riser is connected to the ball
joint on the blowout preventer. Assuming no deforma-
tion occurs on the blowout preventer and the compo-
nents below, the displacement of the lower end equals
zero and the bending moment at the ball joint also
equals zero. The top end of the riser is connected to the
rig through the top ball joint, and the x-axis moves as
the rig moves. The boundary conditions at the bottom
and top ends of the riser are specified as follows:
1. The lower boundary condition can be written as
∂z2 z = l ∂z z = l
b
where l is the distance from the top of the riser to the
bottom of the sea, S is the lateral displacement of the
platform, and Kb is the rotational stiffness of the upper
joint of the riser.
Equation (4) is a typical control equation for a drill-
ing riser, which can be solved by the FE method.25
Using coordinate transformation and matrix assembly,
equation (1) can be transformed to equation (4) and
written as
½ M fu99g + ½C fu9g + ½ K fug = ff ðtÞg ð4Þ
where [M] denotes the mass, [C] is the viscous damping,
[K] is the stiffness, {u$} is the acceleration vector of the
element, {u#} is the velocity of the element, {u} is
the element displacement, {f(t)} is the external load of
the element, and t is the time.
Calculation of the ocean current loads
Seawater velocity distribution. The velocity of the ocean cur-
rent is similar to a shear flow that decreases approximately
linearly with increasing depth of water. Therefore, the cur-
rents are approximated as shear flows. Seawater shear flow
profiles can be expressed as26
U z = v0 + B  z ð5Þ
where Uz is the speed of the ocean current at a certain
depth, v0 is the velocity of the ocean current at the bot-
tom end of the riser, B is the slope of the flow profile,
and z is the distance between a certain element and the
bottom ball hinge
Uzmax  Uzmin
B= ð6Þ
L
where Uzmax is the maximum flow rate of seawater,
Uzmin is the minimum flow rate of seawater
(Uzmin = v0), and L is the riser length.
Wave flow calculation. The horizontal flow force applied
on the per unit length riser is equal to
 
∂2 x ∂x F(z, t) = f1 + f2 ð7Þ
xjz = 0 = 0, EI 2  = Ka  =0 ð2Þ
∂z z = 0 ∂z z = 0
where f1 is the lateral force caused by the current and f2
where Ka is the rotational stiffness of the lower flexible is the lateral force caused by waves
joint.
1
f1 = rCD Uz2 D ð8Þ
2. The upper boundary condition can be written as 2
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

where r is the seawater density, CD is the coefficient of

resistance with values of 0.4–1.6, and D is the outer dia-
meter of the riser.
From Morison’s formula

1 p dvz
f2 = rCD Dv2z + rCM D2 ð9Þ
2 4 dt
pH ch(kz)
vz = cos (kx  vt) ð10Þ
T sh(kd)
where vz is the wave velocity, CM is the coefficient
of inertia force with the values of 0.93–2.30, H is
the wave height, T is the wave period, L is the wave-
length, k is the wave number with k = 2p/L, d is
the depth of water, and v is the wave circle frequency
with v = 2p/T.

FE model of the riser

Calibration of the model
The drilling riser dynamics were studied by conducting
FE simulations with the ABAQUS program27 to vali-
date the FE model of the riser, and results were com-
pared with a vibration test of a riser made of polyvinyl
(PVC) pipe performed by Mao et al.25 at Shanghai
Jiaotong University. The parameters used in the numer-
ical model were consistent with those used in the experi-
ments conducted by Mao et al.25 The FE simulation
model of the riser is shown in Figure 2. The riser was
presented as a simple beam with hinged branches at the
top and bottom ends, and the load acting on the riser
was applied according to the reference data. The riser Figure 2. Numerical model of the drilling riser: (a) schematic
diagram and (b) FE model.
length in the FE model was 8 m because this was the
pipe length used in the test. The flow chart of the model
solution process is presented in Figure 3. A comparison
of the results of the numerical model with the experi- and waves. The surface velocity of seawater, under nor-
mental and analytical results of Mao et al.25 is shown in mal drilling conditions in the South China Sea area, is
Figure 4. The results are in good agreement. about 0.93 m/s. The relevant parameters for waves in
the South China Sea are shown in Table 1.28

Model parameters for the case study

Once the FE model was verified, a new model with a
riser length of 1000 m was formulated to study the
dynamic response of the drilling riser in an area of the
South China Sea. The parameters of the riser used in
the study are shown in Table 1. In the field, the size of
the riser varies with the depth of the water. However,
to simplify the calculation, the riser was assumed to be
uniform in size. The upper and lower ends of the riser
were simplified as hinged constraints. A dynamic expli-
cit solver was used, and the elements of the drilling riser
are the beam element B31. The damping coefficient of
the riser wave system was taken as 5.8 The main com-
ponents of the ocean load on the riser were currents
Results and discussions
Previous research has demonstrated that the top ten-
sion and initial displacement of the platform signifi-
cantly influence the lateral vibration of a riser. In this
work, the distribution of the lateral displacement, bend-
ing moment, and stress were investigated for a drilling
riser, from the upper flex joint to the seabed. In the
analysis, the top tension of the riser was 1.1F, 1.3F,
1.5F, and 1.7 F, where F denotes the buoyancy of the
riser, and the initial offset of the platform was 0, 15, 30,
and 45 m. The riser was subjected to dynamic instabil-
ity under the combined action of wind, wave, and
ocean current loads, so the mechanical properties of the
Tang et al. 5

Table 1. Parameters of the deep-water drilling riser.

Item Value Item Value

Riser length (m) 1000 Inertia factor 2

Outer 533.4 Sea surface 0.93
diameter (mm) velocity (m/s)
Thickness (mm) 25.4 Submarine flow 0.5
velocity(m/s)
Density of riser 7850 Wave length (m) 10.2
material (kg/m3)
Modulus of 206 Wave height (m) 6
elasticity (GPa)
Density of 1030 Wave period (s) 11.2
seawater in
riser (kg/m3)
Resistance 1 Acceleration due 9.8
factor to gravity (m/s2)

20

Riser lateral displacement (m)

15

10

1.1F

5 1.3F
1.5F
1.7F

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Distance from bottom end of the drilling riser (m)

Figure 5. Lateral displacement of the riser for different top

Figure 3. Flow chart of the model solution process. tensions (1.1F, 1.3F, 1.5F, and 1.7 F).

riser varied over time.29 The time history of the riser

dynamic response, in the ocean loading process, is ana-
lyzed and discussed.

Effect of top tension on the mechanical response of

Figure 4. Comparison of simulation and experimental results
for drilling riser dynamics.
the riser
Figure 5 shows the distribution of lateral displacement
of the riser for different top tensions (1.1F, 1.3F, 1.5F,
and 1.7 F) when the initial displacement of the drilling
platform is 0 m. The lateral displacement of the riser
decreases as the top tension increases: the maximum lat-
eral displacement of the riser gradually decreases from
20.0 to 11.6 m. It may seem that, to control the lateral
displacement of a riser, higher top tension is better.
However, excessive top tension can cause high stress at
the joint between the riser and the tensioner, which
could lead to equipment failure. Drilling platforms are
engineered so that the top tension of the riser can be
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

60 50
0m

Riser lateral displacement (m)

50 15m
40
Riser bending moment (kN·m)

30m
40
45m
30

30

1.1F 20
20 1.3F
1.5F 10
10
1.7F

0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Distance from bottom end of the drilling riser (m) Distance from bottom end of the drilling riser (m)

Figure 6. Bending moment of the riser for different top Figure 8. Lateral displacement of the riser for different initial
tensions (1.1F, 1.3F, 1.5F, and 1.7F). platform displacements (0, 15, 30, and 45 m).

Figure 7 shows the distribution of the stress of the

riser for different top tensions (1.1F, 1.3F, 1.5F, and
200
1.7F). The equivalent stress of the riser reaches its max-
imum at a distance of about 30 m from the top joint,
160 where the riser’s degree of bending is at a maximum.
With an increase in the top tension, the maximum value
Riser stress (Mpa)

120
80
40
0
0 200
Distance from bottom end of the drilling riser (m)
Figure 7. Stress of the riser for different top tensions (1.1F,
1.3F, 1.5F, and 1.7F).
adjusted, to reduce the lateral displacement amplitude
of the riser.
Figure 6 shows the distribution of the bending
moment of the riser for different top tensions (1.1F,
1.3F, 1.5F, and 1.7F). In each case, the bending
moment of the riser has two maximum points. The first
extreme point is about 40 m away from the top ball
hinge and the second is about 30 m away from the bot-
tom ball hinge. As the top tension increases, the bend-
ing moment of the riser gradually decreases, and the
reduction in amplitude at the second extreme point is
larger than at that of the first extreme point. A possible
reason for this may be that the degree of bending on
the lower part of the riser decreases more than on the
upper part of the riser, as the top tension increases.
of the stress of the riser increases linearly from about
130 to 190 MPa, because the axial force of the cross-
sectional area increases with increasing top tension.
1.1F These results demonstrate that it is possible to
1.3F reduce the maximum lateral displacement and bending
1.5F moment of the riser by increasing the tension of the
1.7F riser, within a certain range. However, if the top tension
is too large, the riser may be damaged due to excessive
400 600 800 1000 stress. Therefore, it is necessary to select a top tension
that satisfies the practical operational requirements.
Effect of initial platform displacement on the
mechanical response of the riser
A working drilling platform is affected by the com-
bined action of currents, waves, and wind. In addition,
offset from the original position will affect the normal
operation of the riser. The lateral displacement, bend-
ing moment, and stress of the riser, with respect to the
initial offset of the platform (0, 15, 30, and 45 m), were
investigated, where the top tension was set at 1.3F.
Figure 8 shows the distribution of lateral displace-
ment of the riser, for different initial platform displace-
ments (0, 15, 30, and 45 m). As the initial offset of the
platform increases, the maximum lateral displacement
of the riser increases from 16.0 to 49.5 m. With an
increase in the platform offset, the position where the
maximum lateral displacement occurs shifts from a dis-
tance of about 480 to 200 m from the sea surface.
Tang et al. 7

60

50
Riser bending moment (kN·m)

40

30
0m

15m
20
30m

10 45m

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Distance from bottom end of the drilling riser (m)

Figure 11. Time history of lateral displacement of the riser, for

Figure 9. Bending moment of the riser for different initial
the maximum lateral displacement point.
platform displacements (0, 15, 30, and 45 m).

the riser increases as the initial offset of the platform

160 increases, so the increase in the lower curvature of the
riser is much greater than the increase in the upper
140
curvature.
Figure 10 shows the distribution of the stress of the
riser for different initial displacements of the riser plat-
Riser stress (MPa)

120
form (0, 15, 30, and 45m). These results indicate that
0m
the initial offset of the platform has little effect on the
100 stress of the riser.
15m
This demonstrates that some initial deflection of the
30m
drilling platform, within a certain range, is acceptable.
80
45m If the initial offset of the platform is too large, however,
the riser may be damaged because of a significant
60 increase in the value of the lower bending moment.
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Distance from bottom end of the drilling riser (m)

Figure 10. Stress of the riser for different initial platform

Time history analysis of the riser dynamics
displacements (0, 15, 30, and 45 m). Determination of the time history response. We have
demonstrated that the riser is in a dynamic and unstable
state under the combined action of wind, wave, and
Figure 9 illustrates the distribution of bending ocean current loads. Next, the distribution of lateral
moment of the riser for different initial platform displa- displacement, bending moment, and stress of the riser
cements (0, 15, 30, and 45 m). There are two bending with respect to time were studied. In this analysis, the
moment danger points in the riser: the first danger top tension of the riser was set to 1.3F and the initial
point is 40 m away from the sea surface and the second offset of the drilling platform was set to 0 m.
is 30 m away from the ball joint at the bottom of the The results show that the lateral displacement, bend-
sea. With an increase in the initial offset of the plat- ing moment, and stress at any point on the riser gradu-
form, the bending moment of the riser tends to increase, ally increase to the maximum value, then decrease, and
but the increment at the bottom of the riser is clearly finally stabilize during the ocean current loading pro-
larger than that at the upper end. As shown in Figure 9, cess. Figures 11–13 illustrate the variation with time of
the bending moment at the first danger point increases the lateral displacement, bending moment, and stress of
from 50 to 55 kNm, an increase of about 10%. The the riser for the maximum lateral displacement point,
bending moment at the second danger point increases under the action of ocean currents.
from 24 to 43 kNm, an increase of about 79%. The Figure 11 shows that the lateral displacement of the
reason for this behavior is that the degree of bending of riser reaches its maximum at 9.8 s, with a value of 22.6
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

70 25

60
Riser bending moment (KN·m)

20

Riser lateral displacement (m)

50

40 15

30
10 1.1F
20 1.3F
5 1.5F
10
1.7F
0
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (s) Time (s)

Figure 12. Time history of maximum bending moment of the Figure 14. Time history of the maximum lateral displacement
riser, for the maximum lateral displacement point. of the riser, for different top tensions (1.1F, 1.3F, 1.5F, and 1.7F).

180 70

150 60
Riser bending moment (kN·m)

50
Riser stress (Mpa)

120

40
90
1.1F
30
60 1.3F
20 1.5F
30
1.7F
10

0
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (s) Time (s)

Figure 13. Time history of stress of the riser, for the Figure 15. Time history of the maximum bending moment of
maximum lateral displacement point. the riser, for different top tensions (1.1F, 1.3F, 1.5F, and 1.7F).

m. Next, the maximum lateral displacement decreases
and then finally stabilizes at 28 s, with a value of 19.6 m.
The fluctuation in the lateral displacement of the riser is
approximately 15.3% of the final stable value. Figure 12
shows that the maximum value of the bending moment
of the riser is 61 kNm at 12 s, and it stabilizes at 27.6 s,
with a value of 49 kNm. The fluctuation in the bending
moment of the riser is approximately 24% of the final
stable value. Figure 13 shows that the stress of the riser
reaches its maximum of 171.2 MPa at 10.7 s and then
stabilizes at a value of 137.5 MPa at 26.9 s. The fluctua-
tion in the stress of the riser is approximately 24.5% of
the final value.
Effect of top tension on time history response of riser
dynamics. Riser dynamics vary during the ocean current
loading process. We demonstrated that the maximum
lateral displacement, bending moment, and stress of
the riser vary under different top tensions. Therefore, it
was also important to investigate how the riser
dynamics varied over time, under different top ten-
sions. Figures 14–16 illustrate the time history of the
riser dynamics, for different top tensions (1.1F, 1.3F,
1.5F, and 1.7F).
Figure 14 shows how the maximum lateral displace-
ment of the riser varies with time, for different top ten-
sions. The maximum lateral displacement initially
increases and then decreases to a stable value. As
demonstrated in the previous analysis, both the maxi-
mum lateral displacement and the final stable value of
the riser gradually decrease, with increasing top ten-
sion. As the top tension increases, the fluctuation in the
maximum lateral displacement of the riser decreases.
Tang et al. 9

250 70

60

Riser bending moment (kN·m)

200
50
Riser stress (MPa)

150
40

0m
1.1F 30
100
15m
1.3F
20 30m
1.5F
50 45m
1.7F 10

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (s) Time (s)

Figure 16. Time history of the maximum stress of the riser, Figure 18. Time history of the maximum bending moment of
for different top tensions (1.1F, 1.3F, 1.5F, and 1.7F). the riser, for different top tensions (0, 15, 30, and 45 m).

60 200

50
Riser lateral displacement (m)

150
Riser stress (MPa)

40

30 100
0m

15m
20
30m
50
45m
10 0m 15m 30m 45m

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (s) Time (s)

Figure 17. Time history of the maximum lateral displacement Figure 19. Time history of the maximum stress of the riser,
of the riser, for different top tensions (0, 15, 30, and 45 m). for different top tensions (0, 15, 30, and 45 m).

This change is largely due to the variation of the ocean
current along the axial direction.
Figure 15 shows how the maximum bending moment
of the riser varies with time, for different top tensions.
The maximum bending moment initially increases, then
decreases, and finally stabilizes. As the top tension
increases, both the maximum value of the bending
moment and the final value decrease. The fluctuation in
the value of the maximum bending moment of the riser
decreases slightly, as the top tension increases.
Figure 16 shows how the maximum stress of the
riser varies with time, for different top tensions. The
maximum stress initially increases, then decreases, and
finally stabilizes. As the top tension increases, both the
maximum stress and the final stress decrease gradually.
As the top tension increases, the fluctuation in the max-
imum stress of the riser increases slightly.
Effect of initial platform displacement on time history response
of riser dynamics. We have demonstrated that the riser
dynamics vary during the current loading process.
Figures 17–19 illustrate the effect of initial platform
displacement (0, 15, 30, and 45 m) on riser dynamics
over time.
Figure 17 shows how the maximum lateral displace-
ment varies with time, for different platform offsets.
The maximum lateral displacement initially increases,
then decreases, and finally stabilizes. As the offset
increases, both the maximum lateral displacement and
the final stable value increase gradually. As the offset
10
increases, the amplitude of the maximum lateral displa-
cement increases slightly.
Figure 18 shows how the maximum bending moment
varies with time, for different platform offsets. The
bending moment at each offset initially increases, then
decreases, and finally stabilizes. As the offset increases,
both the maximum bending moment of the riser and
the final stable value increase slightly. As the offset
increases, the amplitude of the maximum bending
moment increases slightly.
Figure 19 shows how the maximum stress varies
with time, for different platform offsets. The maximum
stress at each platform offset initially increases, then
decreases, and finally stabilizes. As the platform offset
increases, the maximum stress and the final value are
almost constant.
Conclusion
A numerical model of a drilling riser, with a length of
1000 m, was developed to analyze the mechanical
response of a riser, under the combined action of cur-
rents and waves. The mechanical response of the riser
was obtained through analysis of the lateral displace-
ment, stress, and bending moment. Several conclusions
can be drawn from the results of these simulations:
1. The tension ratio is an important indicator for
measuring the performance of deep-water drill-
ing risers. As the tension ratio increases, the lat-
eral displacement and the bending moment of
the riser decrease significantly. When the ten-
sion ratio increases, the decrease in the bending
moment of the riser is greatest near the bottom.
However, the stress level of the riser increases
significantly when the tension ratio increases,
displaying a trend opposite to that of the lateral
displacement and bending moment.
2. The initial offset of the platform has a signifi-
cant effect on the lateral displacement and the
bending moment at the bottom. As the initial
offset of the platform increases, the lateral dis-
placement and the bending moment of the riser
increase significantly. The increase in the bend-
ing moment of the riser is greatest near the
bottom.
3. With time, lateral displacement, bending
moment, and stress of the riser, for different top
tensions and initial platform offsets, initially
increase, then decrease, and finally stabilize.
In ocean drilling engineering, it is important to con-
sider the behavior of lateral displacement, bending
moment, and stress of the riser with respect to the top
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
tension, for both safety and economic reasons. In drill-
ing operations, the initial offset of the platform should
be minimized, to prevent the riser from failing as a
result of an excessive bending moment at the bottom.
The lateral displacement, bending moment, and stress
of marine risers fluctuate under the action of shear
flow. Therefore, the influence of ocean currents and
waves on riser dynamics should be carefully considered
in the design process. In general, the results obtained
are in good agreement with existing work.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial
support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article: This research was supported by the Open Fund
of State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir
and Exploitation (Southwest Petroleum University, no.
PLN 201619), Scientific Research Starting Project of
SWPU (no. 2015QHZ011), National Natural Foundation of
China (no. 51674214), and Key Research Project of Sichuan
Project (no. 2017GZ0365).
ORCID iD
Liping Tang https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0981-2120
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