A global-local approach for dynamic stress evaluation of lazy wave flexible risers subjected to random wave and vessel motion

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the increasingly severe marine environment, the safety reliability of unbonded flexible risers under service conditions is closely related to its dynamic stress response. In this paper, a systematic approach for riser dynamic stress evaluation subjected to random wave and vessel motion is developed to explore the influencing factors. This methodology proposes a global model to acquire the riser global dynamic response under random wave and vessel motion, considering the effects of nonlinear bend stiffener (BS) constraint and nonlinear bending behaviour of flexible pipes. Then, an axisymmetric load model and bending load model are employed to convert the forces and curvatures obtained from the global model into the dynamic stresses of the tensile armour layers. The findings show that BS and riser top angle can affect the dynamic curvature for the riser top-end region, however, has little influence on the effective tension and bending curvature for the other regions.