Turret location impact on global performance of a thruster-assisted turret-moored FPSO

Abstract

The change of the global performance of a turret-moored FPSO (Floating Production Storage Offloading) with DP (Dynamic Positioning) control is simulated, analyzed, and compared for two different internal turret location cases; bow and midship. Both collinear and non-collinear 100-yr GOM (Gulf of Mexico) storm environments and three cases (mooring-only, with DP position control, with DP position+heading control) are considered. The horizontal trajectory, 6DOF (degree of freedom) motions, fairlead mooring and riser tension, and fuel consumptions are compared. The PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) controller based on LQR (linear quadratic regulator) theory and the thrust-allocation algorithm which is based on the penalty optimization theory are implemented in the fully-coupled time-domain hull-mooring-riser-DP simulation program. Both in collinear and non-collinear 100-yr WWC (wind-wave-current) environments, the advantage of mid-ship turret is demonstrated by the significant reduction in heave at the turret location due to the minimal coupling with pitch mode, which is beneficial to mooring and riser design. However, in the non-collinear WWC environment, the mid-turret case exhibits unfavorable weathervaning characteristics, which can be reduced by employing DP position and heading controls as demonstrated in the present case studies. The present study also reveals the plausible cause of the failure of mid-turret Gryphon Alpha FPSO in milder environment than its survival condition.