Pitch/Roll Static Stability of Tension Leg Platforms

Abstract

Severe hurricanes in recent years have raised concerns about the safety and the robustness of the Tension Leg Platform (TLP) concept in the deep water Gulf of Mexico. This study investigates the static stability of different types of TLPs representing those deployed in the Gulf of Mexico, under three different scenarios. That is, a TLP with an intact tendon system, a partially damaged tendon system, and a completely damaged tendon system. The two types of TLP chosen for this study are the conventional four-leg TLP (C-TLP) and the Mono-column TLP. To avoid buckling and yielding occurring in a tendon, the maximum righting moment provided by an intact or partially damaged tendon system is reached when the tension in one or more tendons on the down tension leg becomes zero or when the tension in one or more tendons on the up tension leg reach the yielding strength. This definition leads us to identify the most sensitive directions of met-ocean conditions to a TLP with an intact or partially damaged tendon system. Hence, our finding may also be used in the study on the dynamic simulations of a TLP. The righting moments of each TLP in the three different scenarios are respectively computed and compared with related wind-induce static upsetting moment at certain velocities. By comparing their ratios, the static stability of a TLP and the redundancy of its tendon system may be revealed, which has important implication to its design.