Composite risers for deep waters using a numerical modelling approach

Abstract

There has been an increase in the application of composite structures in the oil and gas industry over the past four decades. This is due to more technological advancement and an increase in demand for the oil and gas. This trend has led to offshore exploration to transit from shallow water to deep water operations. Thus the need for more lightweight composite structures to reduce the deck loads and enable ease of operation. Composite risers are important as the properties of composite materials can be harnessed to improve riser performance and weight. This will enhance the development of deep water hydrocarbon reservoirs. In this paper, numerical stress analysis of composite offshore risers for deep water applications is carried out. ANSYS ACP is used for the finite element modelling of the composite riser for six load cases. From the design, recommendations for the design of the composite riser are made.