Session: 02-04-02 Extreme Loads and Response 2

Submission Number: 179800

Response of Rock Berm Subjected to Heavy Dropped Object 

During offshore oil and gas operations, many lifting operations are conducted on the platform. The risk of dropping the lifting objects can cause damage to subsea equipment and structures in the vicinity of the platforms. The dropped objects, especially those with a large weight, can pose significant threats to the integrity of the subsea pipelines. One such example is a blowout preventer (BOP), which is used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells to prevent the uncontrolled release of oil or natural gas, i.e., blowouts. BOPs are very large in dimension and heavy in weight, and thus will lead to a large contact area and impact energy on subsea pipelines. Rock berms have been widely used to cover the pipelines and provide protection from dropped objects. However, the impact response of dropped BOP on rock berms has not been well investigated. In this study, the dynamic behaviour of the rock berm under BOP drop impact will be assessed. The rock berm is modelled using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The model is first verified against a scaled drop test. A full-scale rock berm model is then developed and used for BOP drop impact analysis. Results show that the example BOP model with a total mass of 555 tons (including added mass) will lead to more than 2 m indentation in the rock berm.

Presenting Author: Yanyan Sha University of Stavanger

Presenting Author Biography: Yanyan Sha is an Associate Professor of structural engineering at the University of Stavanger, Norway. His research interests include ship collisions with bridge and offshore structures, structural response and material behavior under blast, impact and environmental loads.

Authors:

Yanyan Sha University of Stavanger
Zihao Wang University of Stavanger