Floating Platforms, Risers, and Moorings
DRT’s associates and partner companies are well respected in the offshore industry, particularly in the design, analysis and model testing of deepwater floating production systems, risers and moorings. For example through its association with John Halkyard & Associates (JHA), DRT has access to unique software for floater and mooring sizing and optimization. FLOATERSIZE is being used by major operators and contractors worldwide.
DRT has served its offshore clients in numerous projects, e.g. floater sizing and concept design (spars, semi-submersibles, tension leg platforms and FPSOs), mooring design, hydrodynamics and seakeeping analysis, planning and supervising model tests, interpretation of full scale data, fatigue and fracture mechanics analysis
Dr. Halkyard is an international lecturer on floating structure and riser design, and has authored a major monograph on Design and Analysis of Floating Structures published in the Handbook of Offshore Engineering (Elsevier, S Chakrabarti ed. 2005). He also authored the Chapter on Seakeeping of Offshore Platforms in the latest issue of the Principles of Naval Architecture (Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers). He has been involved at a high level in many pioneering offshore projects including the first floating production system in the Gulf of Mexico (Placid GC 29), the first production spar platform (Oryx Neptune) and the first float-over deck operation on a spar platform (Kikeh)
John Montague, a founder of Offshore Kinematics, Inc., is a leader in design and fabrication of offshore elastomeric components for fendering and float-over deck mating units.
Figure 1 World’s First Floatover Deck on the Kikeh Spar (Photo: Halkyard)
Dr. Robert Blevins is a widely published and recognized expert on fluid mechanics and flow induced vibration. He has collaborated with DRT on several programs involving riser and platform vortex induced motions.
Dr. Shan Shi is the chief architect, together with Prof. M H Kim of Texas A&M University, of the program HARP (www.harponline.com) which is used widely in the offshore industry from global analysis of the motions and responses of floating structures, risers and moorings. Dr. Shi also lectures together with Dr. Halkyard on deep water riser and mooring systems. He has participated with DRT over the past several years in the development of a large diameter cold water pipe for ocean thermal energy conversion.
Figure 2 Platform and Riser Tests - Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (DOE/Lockheed Project – LabOceano Brazil)
References
Halkyard J E, et al (1988) “A Summary of a Multi-Faceted Physical Model Test Program of a Floating Drilling and Production System”, Offshore Technology Conference Paper 5674, Houston
Halkyard, John, Atluri, Sampath and Sirnivas, Senu, (2006) “Truss Spar Vortex Induced Motions: Benchmarking of CFD and Model Tests”, The 25th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics And Artic Engineering, OMAE-2006-92673, Hamburg, Germany, 4 – 9 June
Halkyard, J E. (2012) “Spar Floating Drilling, Production, and Storage System: History and Evolution”, American Society of Civil Engineers, Spar Platforms: Technology and Analysis, M H Kim (ed)
Halkyard, J. E. (1989) “Structural Analysis of Tension Leg Platforms”, monograph included in Tension Leg Platforms – A State of the Art Review, Z Demirbilek (ed) American Society of Civil Engineers, 1990