Predicting the foundation performance of offshore jack-up drilling rigs in intermediate soils. The research outcomes will be a major step forward in creating safer operations of mobile platforms in our challenging seabed conditions. The new models and guidelines will assist engineers in the efficient expansion of our offshore oil and gas industry, with significant increased investment projected over the next five years.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100195
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Using Sandwich Pipe for Pipeline Vibration Control. Pipelines are important structures but are vulnerable to different types of damage. This damage is often associated with pipeline vibration. It is important to control adverse vibrations to reduce the risk of catastrophic damage. This project proposes using sandwich pipe to suppress different sources of vibrations that may be experienced during the lifetime of the pipeline. Analytical, numerical and experimental investigations will be carried o ....Using Sandwich Pipe for Pipeline Vibration Control. Pipelines are important structures but are vulnerable to different types of damage. This damage is often associated with pipeline vibration. It is important to control adverse vibrations to reduce the risk of catastrophic damage. This project proposes using sandwich pipe to suppress different sources of vibrations that may be experienced during the lifetime of the pipeline. Analytical, numerical and experimental investigations will be carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method. The project aims to develop direct applications for designing pipelines to suppress different sources of vibration and to guarantee the safety of pipelines.Read moreRead less
Development of novel inerter-based damper for platform vibration control. This project aims to develop a novel inerter-based damper to mitigate the excessive vibrations of offshore floating platforms (OFP), which are widely used in the offshore industry for oil exploration. Harsh environmental loads such as wind and waves can induce excessive vibrations to OFPs and endanger their safety and stability. This project aims to develop a novel inerter-based damper that can produce a considerable appar ....Development of novel inerter-based damper for platform vibration control. This project aims to develop a novel inerter-based damper to mitigate the excessive vibrations of offshore floating platforms (OFP), which are widely used in the offshore industry for oil exploration. Harsh environmental loads such as wind and waves can induce excessive vibrations to OFPs and endanger their safety and stability. This project aims to develop a novel inerter-based damper that can produce a considerable apparent mass that is much larger than its physical mass through an amplifying mechanism by translating the linear motion into high-speed rotational motion, which can significantly reduce the mass and cost of the damper. Benefits of the project include more economical and safer OFP designs, which are expected to improve the competitiveness of Australian pillar oil and gas industries.Read moreRead less
Building Australia's Offshore Oil and Gas Industry on Solid Foundations: characterising multilayered soils for offshore foundation design. This project aims to characterise soils with multilayers for offshore foundation designs. The commonly used site investigation tools, cone, T-bar and ball penetrometers, will be studied using advanced large deformation finite element analysis and novel centrifuge technics. The outcome of this study will provide guidelines to interpret soil layer information a ....Building Australia's Offshore Oil and Gas Industry on Solid Foundations: characterising multilayered soils for offshore foundation design. This project aims to characterise soils with multilayers for offshore foundation designs. The commonly used site investigation tools, cone, T-bar and ball penetrometers, will be studied using advanced large deformation finite element analysis and novel centrifuge technics. The outcome of this study will provide guidelines to interpret soil layer information and soil design parameters from site investigation data, that is, penetrometers’ penetration resistance profiles. The guidelines will fill the knowledge gap in this area and will provide offshore design engineers with more reliable soil parameters for safer and more economical foundation designs.Read moreRead less
Deep Penetrating Anchors - a cost effective anchoring solution for mooring oil and gas facilities in deep water. The offshore oil and gas industry is currently directing considerable research efforts towards the development of cost-effective anchoring solutions suitable for mooring floating installations in deep water. This project aims to enhance the limited understanding of the Deep Penetrating Anchor (DPA), which has been identified as having the most potential to meet industry demands as it ....Deep Penetrating Anchors - a cost effective anchoring solution for mooring oil and gas facilities in deep water. The offshore oil and gas industry is currently directing considerable research efforts towards the development of cost-effective anchoring solutions suitable for mooring floating installations in deep water. This project aims to enhance the limited understanding of the Deep Penetrating Anchor (DPA), which has been identified as having the most potential to meet industry demands as it extends the current water depth limit of 2000 metres. Successful completion of this project will result in a DPA experimental database that will not only form the basis for predicting anchor performance, but will also serve as a means of validating robust and versatile design tools that can be used in offshore engineering practice.Read moreRead less
A novel foundation to extend the operation of mobile structures into deeper water. Oil and gas is a key industry in Australia, contributing A$17 billion to the economy. However, with the large accessible reserves in shallower waters becoming exhausted, Australian oil and gas companies require new technologies to extend their capabilities. The research in this proposal addresses this concern, providing an extension of the operational depth range of mobile jack-up platforms from 120 to 200 m. This ....A novel foundation to extend the operation of mobile structures into deeper water. Oil and gas is a key industry in Australia, contributing A$17 billion to the economy. However, with the large accessible reserves in shallower waters becoming exhausted, Australian oil and gas companies require new technologies to extend their capabilities. The research in this proposal addresses this concern, providing an extension of the operational depth range of mobile jack-up platforms from 120 to 200 m. This creates the opportunity to develop the significant number of Australia's smaller gas fields that are currently uneconomical to exploit. The proposed project will contribute to the future competitiveness of Australia's oil and gas industry and ensuring energy supply for the sustained growth of the Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Application of flow-round penetrometers for characterising soft sediments. Soft sediments present unique challenges in geotechnical engineering due to their sensitivity to disturbance during sampling. Strength measurement therefore relies on field tests, and novel penetrometers that force soil to flow around the probe have the potential for significantly improved accuracy compared with conventional cone penetrometers. The project aims to establish a definitive framework for interpreting result ....Application of flow-round penetrometers for characterising soft sediments. Soft sediments present unique challenges in geotechnical engineering due to their sensitivity to disturbance during sampling. Strength measurement therefore relies on field tests, and novel penetrometers that force soil to flow around the probe have the potential for significantly improved accuracy compared with conventional cone penetrometers. The project aims to establish a definitive framework for interpreting results of field tests using flow-round penetrometers, through careful comparison of laboratory and field strength measurements. Applications of the work range from characterising deepwater sediments for offshore developments, to monitoring the strength of pastes in the mining and materials handling industries.Read moreRead less
Physical modelling of on-bottom pipelines and offshore anchoring systems. The collaborative research programme will consist of physical modelling of suction caissons, piles and pipeline sections in order to advance the geotechnical design of deepwater facilities for offshore hydrocarbon production. The collaboration will underpin new technologies, such as steel catenary risers and suction caissons for deepwater anchoring, providing benchmark data for the validation of analysis tools. Benefits al ....Physical modelling of on-bottom pipelines and offshore anchoring systems. The collaborative research programme will consist of physical modelling of suction caissons, piles and pipeline sections in order to advance the geotechnical design of deepwater facilities for offshore hydrocarbon production. The collaboration will underpin new technologies, such as steel catenary risers and suction caissons for deepwater anchoring, providing benchmark data for the validation of analysis tools. Benefits also include the exchange of recent technical advances between geotechnical centrifuge facilities in Australia, France and the UK, all of whom are active in modelling offshore foundation systems, ensuring that Australian research remains at the forefront of world best-practice.Read moreRead less
Follower-embedded plate anchors to underpin economic development in ultra deep water. Oil and gas is a key Australian industry, worth over $15 billion annually. In order to maintain current hydrocarbon production levels, Australian offshore oil and gas companies are extending their capabilities beyond the 2000 metre water depth limit. The offshore industry has identified economic and geotechnical limitations of current anchoring technology to be the major challenge that must be overcome in order ....Follower-embedded plate anchors to underpin economic development in ultra deep water. Oil and gas is a key Australian industry, worth over $15 billion annually. In order to maintain current hydrocarbon production levels, Australian offshore oil and gas companies are extending their capabilities beyond the 2000 metre water depth limit. The offshore industry has identified economic and geotechnical limitations of current anchoring technology to be the major challenge that must be overcome in order to make this transition into deep and ultra-deep water. The research proposed in this project focuses directly on this critical issue, with potential for immediate application to the Australian offshore oil and gas industry, and ensuring the continued viability of the key oil and gas industry in Australia.Read moreRead less
Geotechnical engineering solutions for deep-water oil and gas developments. Offshore extraction of oil and gas lies at the heart of Australia's prosperity, but faces escalating challenges in water depths already in excess of 1 km and approaching 3 km. Safe and economic design of seabed systems and pipelines requires novel techniques for assessing the engineering properties of seabed sediments, and for foundation and anchoring systems that must withstand extreme loading conditions. This project c ....Geotechnical engineering solutions for deep-water oil and gas developments. Offshore extraction of oil and gas lies at the heart of Australia's prosperity, but faces escalating challenges in water depths already in excess of 1 km and approaching 3 km. Safe and economic design of seabed systems and pipelines requires novel techniques for assessing the engineering properties of seabed sediments, and for foundation and anchoring systems that must withstand extreme loading conditions. This project contributes to future exploitation of offshore hydrocarbon reserves, by developing new technology and improved reliability in offshore geotechnical design, with consequential benefits to our economy and in minimising impact on the marine environment. Read moreRead less