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The Journal of Technology

Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages: 458-570

Mechanics for Riser to the Petroleum Drilling Marine

Lazar AVRAM, Claudiu TANASA, Marius STAN


Lazar AVRAM, University of Petroleum - Gas Ploiesti
Claudiu TANASA, University of Petroleum - Gas Ploiesti
Marius STAN*, University of Petroleum - Gas Ploiesti
*Contact Author

Abstract. This article aims to provide a general overview from operational side with regards
to riser mechanics. It is utmost important to understand the movement of the riser string in the
view of taking the right decision in case of losing platforms position and therefore the
decision for emergency disconnect. Any company operating in deep and ultra-deep waters
needs to set up the decision tree in order to safely disconnect and secure the well. The
consequences of any miscommunication within an emergency situation can lead to
catastrophic consequences. In the next pages an attempt will be made in order to simulate the
riser string behavior given certain circumstances. Of course, this will vary from case to case
depending on particular situations such as: environmental conditions, technical specifications
of the vessel, the setup of riser system etc.
Keywords: Riser, impact, stress, API

1. DEFINITIONS
BOP Blow Out Preventer
EQD Emergency Quick Disconnect
LFJ Lower Flex Joint
LFJA Lower Flex Joint Angle
LMRP Lower Marine Riser Package
LRA Lower Riser Angle
RAO Response Amplitude Operator
TOE Tension Offset Envelope
UFJ Upper Flex Joint
URA Upper Riser Angle
WD Water Depth

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

2. RISER MECHANICS
The sketch in the next page shows schematically the external and internal forces regime
acting on the riser string namely:
Waves action.
Drag generated by the current and/or relative motion.
Linear weight of the riser in the water.
Differential pressure due to the sea water & mud gradients.
Top & bottom tensions.
The riser is schematically represented as a beam connected by means of spherical hinges to a
fixed point on the bottom (LFJ installed on top of LMRP) and to a moving one on the top
(UFJ installed on the bottom of the Diverter Housing).
The relative motions due to heave and offset is compensated at the top through the telescopic
joint stroke.
The hinges are meant to alleviate the stress in the string.
They are composed of flexible elements (flex joints) and, in reality, are not ideal hinges but
react with sensible values in terms of bending moment (68,000 and 9,500 ft-lbs/deg as for the
LFJ & the UFJ).
Torsional wise these are extremely stiff, [8,] [19], [20].
The LFJ & UFJ have different maximum cocking angles (10 deg for the LFJ, 15 deg for the
UFJ). The different design characteristics of the two joints are based on their different
function in the string (the UFJ is less stressed than the LFJ). The linear weight of the riser is
the difference between the linear weights of the joint in water minus the linear thrust applied
through the thrust collar by the buoyancy elements that are dressing it.
The internal pressure generated locally by the mud column is equal to the mud specific
gravity multiplied by the local column height.
The external pressure generated locally by the sea water is equal to the sea water specific
gravity multiplied by the local water depth.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

Figure. 1. Graphical modeling requests operating on Raiser

It has to be noted that what acts against the walls of the riser joints is the local difference in
between the above two terms.
In the usual case of a riser string full of mud, the higher the mud weight & the water depth,
the higher the differential pressure on the bottom that tends to inflate the joints generating
hoop stress, [7], [10].
Should the riser for any reason be partially empty (mud heavy losses due to weak down hole
formation), the riser wall would be subject to the external pressure only in the void zone, [13].
Possibility of crushing due to local instability is taken care of by means of a float valve (fill
up joint) that, placed in an adequate position (normally between 100 200 m WD) allows
automatically for the entrance of the sea water should the differential pressure exceed
allowable values.
The hydrodynamic force due to the wave actions in the exposed uppermost section is
evaluated through usual methodology (Morison equation).
The resistance generated by the riser due to its relative motion to the sea water (current in
static conditions and/or movement of the riser in dynamic conditions) is proportional to:
The square power of the relative velocity.
A drag coefficient (friction, wake and added mass).

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

The density of the sea water.


The cross section of the riser string.
The above approach is valid for currents up to about 2 knots.
Should this value be exceeded, a well-known phenomenon (bridges/ chimneys) of vortex
induced vibrations (VIV) could take place due to the alternate cadenced release of vortexes
downstream the riser and associated pulsating forces acting transversally to the relative
movement (vortex shedding).
The natural transversal vibrations frequency of the riser depends upon the tension level (hence
tends to vary along the string), the mass & the dampening of the medium, [1], [15].
If the above is close or identical to the forcing one, i.e. that relevant to the vortex shedding
phenomenon, resonance could take place with consequent sudden dramatic increase in drag.
As a consequence, the tensioners would suddenly stroke down.
The only possible remedial measures (helical strakes like those in the chimneys or fairings i.e.
aeronautical profiles) are of so heavy operational momentum that is still to be regarded as a
hypothetical solution.
A possible countermeasure could be to change the top tension or any other possible parameter
in order to avoid resonance that, for what stated above, should affect only a particular zone of
the string.
Current values above 2 knots are to be considered however as abnormal, such as to require a
dedicated approach.
The figure above shows schematically the configuration of the riser that can be considered as
an extremely slender beam connecting the Ship with the sea bottom, [6], [11].
The movement of the ship is compensated by the UFJ (roll and pitch), by the telescopic joint
(heave), by a combination of both (surge, sway) and by the support ring rotation (yaw).
The relative rotation between the riser itself and the BOP Stack is compensated by the LFJ.
The riser is sustained on the top by the tension generated by the tensioning system.
A force has been shown acting on the LFJ as residual part of the top tension, [3].
The Upper Riser Angle (URA) and Lower Riser Angle (LRA) have been indicated as the
angles between the riser string and the vertical.
The figure is intended also to show roughly the behavior of the system when, starting from a
theoretical vertical undisturbed configuration (zero current and zero offset), is subject to a
current having a typical profile.
The telescopic joint strokes down and the riser inflects (dotted line on the extreme right) to
generate horizontal components to counterbalance the horizontal force generated by the
current (the higher the tension the lower the angles and vice versa), [2], [5]
Just to give a rough idea, as much as 60/70 tones can easily be the resulting total horizontal
force generated by a 2 knots current with a standard profile in say 1500 m of water.
Supposing an initial top tension of 350 tones & a bottom one of 150 tones, we have to expect
angles around 7 deg to counterbalance the action of the current.
The above is valid if the position of the vessel and the top tension are not changed and
neglecting the increase in top tension associated with the stroking down of the tensioners.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

The angle would become about 3 deg if, continuing to maintain the position of the vessel, the
top tension is increased to 700 tones and, as a consequence, the bottom one to 500 tones.
The above practice has inherent evident disadvantages in terms of increasing riser and
wellhead stress.
Another possible way to counterbalance the action of the current, keeping in the same time
under control the LRA, is to vary the position of the ship (dotted line on the left).
The resulting offset should be such as to optimize all the influent parameters involved and this
is the main objective of the Riser Management System.
From the above it can be easily understood that the ancient oilfield practice to keep in any
case the unit on the vertical of the well head is at least questionable if not absolutely
detrimental.
This is much more valid if further considerations are made on the wellhead vertical angle. Its
setting will determine in fact the BOP vertical posture.
If the joining made by the BOP well head connector can be considered practically solid, the
BOP Stack inclination angle and plane will be identical to those of the wellhead whose
verticality cannot be controlled easily beyond a certain degree of accuracy.
The lower riser angle should be maintained within 0 and 2 deg in drilling connected mode in
order to avoid key seating in the LFJ area.
A BOP leaning 1.5 deg is not unusual and this would determine in 3000 m WD a theoretical
(riser considered as a straight line) initial offset of about 79 meters.
If the above is not taken into account in the initial riser string length determination, it would
cost a telescopic joint initial excursion of about 1 m (offset equal to WD x tan 1.5 and the
telescopic excursion equal to (WD / cos 1.5) WD).
Once the well head is set, the plane & the value of its inclination angle are defined. This will
have influence on the equilibrium vessel starting position in terms of offset.
Unless dramatic changes in the current regime will take place, the above offset has good
chances to be maintained throughout all the activity on the particular well.
The actual length of the riser string is affected by the necessary offset required to optimize the
LRA values and this will have influence on the optimization of the available telescopic joint
and tensioning system strokes.
Last but not least, an upstream position of the vessel with respect to the worst weather
conditions prevailing in the area is desirable in terms of optimization of drift off available
time.
Efforts should be made to minimize the wellhead angle and this should be achieved
controlling the position of the rig during landing of the conductor pipe and before the cement
is set.
Should not be possible to go below a certain value, the resulting offset direction should be
kept against the prevailing weather in the area.
Finally being already set through the cementing job the surface string, the resulting actual
well head vertical inclination angle has to be accounted for in determining its influence on the
riser system initial settings.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

A further reason against choosing the vertical of the well as wanted vessel initial position is
based on the fact that the riser tends to sag on the bottom due to the weight of the mud.
Small vessel movements around the wanted position and/or slight changes in the external
forces system could involve, especially in mild environmental conditions, a continuous
pendulum behavior of the lower part of the string.
Table 1 Maximum stress along the riser
LFJA

UFJA

Maximum stress along the


riser
Virtually
not
affected
>
proportionally

Note:
> increase,
Current Velocity
>
>
>
< decrease,
>> strong
Top Tension
>
<
<
increase
Insignificantly
This is not
Offset
>
>
<
affected
an easy task
(increases
and cannot
significantly for
be
SG
<
1.4 accomplishe
g/dm3;pratically d
without
Mud Density
>
>>
>
>
not affected for the aid of a
SG in the range
proper
of
1.4R1.8
computer
3
g/dm
based
advisory tool i.e. without a Riser Management System. The following table gives a good idea
of the inter-relationships of the most important variables involved:
This alternate jumping from one side to the other side of the BOP, and/or, what could be
worse, a spiraling up of the whole string as a consequence of small circular congruent
movements of the Ship, could pose undue stress on the LFJ and on the lower part of the
string.
Being the LFJ and the riser string stiff as for the torsion, a phenomenon like this would induce
a rotation of the tension ring forcing out of the vertical plane the tensioners cylinders.
The best way to manage a riser system is through a proper control, on line, of the vessel offset
and of the relevant top tension required.
All the above considerations refer to a static behavior of the riser and cover in any case most
of its underwater operational life, being they applicable whenever the riser is in equilibrium
under conditions that dont vary dramatically in the time.
The dynamic effects are not negligible during particular conditions/ events such as:

heavy weather (local consequences on the exposed upper part of the string)

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

emergency disconnect (global consequences with more critical impact on the upper and
lower parts of the string)
drive-drift off and/or fast movements of the ship in riser connected/ disconnected mode
(global consequences on the whole riser string)

Local dynamic effects due to the impact of strong waves during heavy weather conditions are
taken care off through strong, bare joints installed on the upper part of the string.
A proper distribution of the linear weight of the upper part and lower part of the riser plus the
intervention of the riser anti-recoiling system are the countermeasures taken to minimize the
effects of the sudden elastic energy release due to a quick disconnect event.
The riser string behavior could be in this case schematically re-conducted to that of a series of
interconnected springs and masses whose axial oscillating movements are dampened by the
seawater.
The axial oscillations could potentially lead to local crushing of the joints due to local
instability generated by compression.
Disregarding the case of voluntary fast movements of the ship that are in any case to be
avoided for obvious reasons, the most critical events are those following an unwanted loss of
position.
For sake of clarity, drive off is a loss of position event due to a faulty equipment/ system,
whilst drift off is a loss of position event due to insufficient power generated or insufficient
thrust to keep the vessel on station or a failure of the positioning system.
Typical drive off events are those due to a position reference fault, whilst a drift off event
could be caused e.g. by adverse weather conditions coupled with a temporary weather-vaning
impossibility.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

V0

S
V2

Figure. 2 The sketch aside is meant to show schematically the behavior of a riser string during a drift/drive off
event.

Being 0 the position on the bottom of the BOP and 0 V0 the theoretical vertical position of
the riser string, the curve A ( 0 1 ) can be assumed as a starting possible equilibrium riser
configuration as recommended by the Riser Management System in terms of offset ( V0 1 ),
top tension (not shown).
It can be observed that the plane in which the riser is laying could be anyone as it is mainly
determined by the BOP inclination and by the current regime.
A current from the right is supposed to act to inflect accordingly the string.
The curve B ( 0 2 ) is meant to represent a possible riser string configuration resulting from a
vessel sensible movement ( 1 2 ) as could be determined by a loss of position event.
For sake of simplicity the movement has been shown to occur against the existing current.
Different cases with movements upstream the current or in whatsoever plane, would not
modify the substance of the events.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

What happens in reality is that, depending upon the water depth and the velocity of the vessel,
the upper part of the string, firstly involved in the consequences of the event itself, tends to
transmit the perturbation to the lower parts.

Figure. 3 As a result the riser

This happens with a time delay that is function essentially of the water depth, of the linear
mass and rigidity of the string and of the dampening and resistance effects linked to the local
relative velocity of the seawater generated by the vessel movement.
A riser infinitely rigid and resistant, would move instantly as a whole (curve C), the real riser
will behave differently depending upon its linear mass, rigidity and drift/drive off speed.
The upper parts will tend in any case to move faster than the lower ones (there is a fixed point
on the bottom) and this will generate stronger current
forces on the top so obliging the riser to inflect to communicate by structural continuity the
movement messages to the lower parts in terms of acceleration and speed, [20], [5].
Should the telescopic joint and/or tensioner stroke down during the event, the following
phenomena would take place at short distance one from the others:
-

The tensioners down stream of the movement stroke down before the upstream ones due
to the high URA

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

The relevant lines tension increases due to the further movement and this generates a
heavy bending moment on the telescopic joint through the Tension Ring, the outer & the
inner barrel
Shortly afterwards, due to the further lines stretch, all the tensioners stroke down and,
from this moment on, the tensioner cylinders and the riser string became a stiff system
that can only count on its elasticity to compensate for further movement of the ship. It is
to be noted that the telescopic joint should not stroke down if a proper initial support ring
setting has been made. It is much safer in fact to rely upon six strong tensioners rated
1,630 mT than on the structural resistance of the inner barrel shoe
At this stage the tension in the riser and in the lines increases dramatically and rapidly (the
riser system is trying to stop a 60000 tones displacement moving semisubmersible unit.

Even if theoretically there is still possibility of further pay out in terms of difference in
length between the actual curve of the riser string and a straight line, the final result is that any
of the links in the system can break out at any moment.
The stroke out of the tensioning system is to be considered hence the last event, beyond which
a catastrophic failure will affect, in the higher probability order:
-

The tensioner cylinders.


The telescopic joint.
The uppermost joints of the riser string.
The support ring.
The wellhead.
The lowermost joints of the riser string.

The sketch on the side shows schematically the stroke down of the tensioners coupled with
the stroke out of the telescopic joint.
Between 1 and 2 the riser string tends to lean gradually involving into the movement larger
sections (dotted lines) till the moment in which also the LFJA is affected.
For what stated above it can be concluded that, during the initial part of a severe drive/drift
off event, the URA & telescopic/ tensioners stroke will be involved first.
The effect on the LRA is delayed of an amount of time of the order of magnitude of minutes
depending upon:
- The water depth
- The speed of the drilling unit
- The movement direction (if against or in direction of the existing current)
- The top tension value
A response delay of two/ three minutes between the URA and LRA variations can be easily
expected in 1200 m water depth at a drift off speed of about 25 cm/s.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

LFJ angles higher than 4 deg could be hence experienced only in case of a very slow speed
loss of position event coupled with the practical impossibility in operating the Emergency
Quick Disconnect function.
Whenever it is not any more possible to keep position a decision should be made within a
certain time frame to activate the EQD sequence.
As a matter of fact, in most of the cases, no more than few minutes will elapse between the
detection of a loss of position situation and its potential final catastrophic consequences.
In the worst, fortunately only hypothetical, scenario of a drive off down the weather at full
thrusters speed in the bow direction, some tenths of seconds will be sufficient to reach the
critical offset.
In a real case of a drift off event the time to go, time within which a decision is to be made
to disconnect or not, will depend essentially upon:
The weather conditions
-

The water depth


The drift off direction with respect to the initial offset
The time necessary to complete the EQD sequences

It is to be understood that the potential consequences of a lack in activating timely the EQD
sequence could be catastrophic (See Depp Water Horizon case).
All the efforts are to be made to keep all the system in full operational conditions and the
personnel involved constantly aware of what to do should the situation require a quick
decision.
This will reduce the involved risk in terms of probability level and associated possible
damage. The basic considerations on which to build sound operational countermeasures in
case of a drift/drive off event are to be based on the following facts:
- An emergency situation could happen at any time during the day or the night.
- The associated time to make a decision is relatively short (normally few minutes).
- The consequences of a stroke down of the tensioning system are catastrophic and for sure
much more severe than
those potentially connected to the activation of the EQD sequence in presence of tubulars
in the BOP area.

3. CONCLUSIONS
In order to be reasonably sure that the EQD sequence will succeed, the LRA is to be lower
than 6 deg and a certain tension is required at the LMRP connector. The value of the applied
top tension has to be higher than the weight of the string in the water plus the wet weight of
the LMRP since a certain acceleration is to be imposed in order to free fast enough the area.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

The moment in which the LMRP connector opens up constitutes a huge discontinuity point
for the riser system that passes from a configuration of a beam tensioned at both the ends to a
beam hanging on the top and free to move on the bottom.
The passage from one configuration to the other will happen after a certain time through axial
oscillations of decreasing amplitude during which it is important to avoid compression in the
riser joints.
A proper distribution of heavy slick joints in the bottom & top part of the string will take care
of the elastic energy freed by the event so avoiding unwanted compression instability
phenomena.
The riser anti recoiling system will accompany smoothly the string in its upward movement
offering afterwards a reliable hanging off system for the disconnected string.
As already said, the string axial dynamic behavior can be schematically re-conducted to a
system composed of masses interconnected by means of springs.
The action of the surrounding media (sea water externally and mud internally) will dampen
the phenomenon with an action proportional to the square power of the relative velocity.
The down forces generated by the sea water are in any case well directed since they try to
react in any case against the oscillation of the string (downwards if the string is going
upwards and vice versa).
Different is the behavior of the internal flow of the heavier mud that, not any more supported
by the bottom of the well and due to its higher specific gravity, will be forced to move down
so acquiring a certain velocity after an initial acceleration period.
The rubbing action of the mud flow against the inner walls of the string will slow down the
riser string motion when directed upwards whilst facilitating the same when directed
downwards.
The static equilibrium point is determined by the equalization of the string bottom pressure
(BP) with the ambient pressure (AP).
Being:
- BP = SGm x Hi = AP = SGsw x WD
- In case of SGm = 1.4 kg/dm3, WD = 2000 m, SGsw = 1.025 kg/dm3
- The equilibrium height of the mud column (Hi) would be 1464 m that means that the
content of more than 536 m of riser will be discharged to the ambient (say more than 100
m3 of mud).
In the real case, by inertia, the movement of the mud column will stop beyond the static
equilibrium point so emptying the upper part of the string more than what statically calculated
and forcing some sea water entering from the bottom.
The fill up valve most probably would open so avoiding possible crushing and after few
decreasing in amplitude oscillations an equilibrium will be reached since in any case at the
end of the transient the bottom pressure has to be identical to that of the ambient.
Environmental considerations are not applicable in this as in all the cases linked to emergency
situations.

The Journal of Technology


Volume 06, Oct. 2014, Pages:458-570

REFERENCES
1. E. B. Turner: Offshore Technology Report OTH 86 260 HM stationery Office, London 1986.
Well Control When Drilling with Oil-Based Mud Recent British Experiences n Deep
Offshore Wells

2. J. M. Prieur: SPE Paper 19245: 1989 SPE Offshore Europe Conference, Aberdeen - Drilling and
Control Aspects of High Pressure Deep Wells

3. E. Low and C. Jansen: JPT June 1993 pp 570-575 - A Method for Handling Gas Kiks Safely n
High Pressure Wells

4. Jaap Peetsold, ModuSpec Engineering (International) B.V. - Well Control Equipment Workshop
Floating Rigs - Marine Risers, 6th edition

5. Peter Aid - Dynamic positioning principles and theory


6. Thomas, Lea and Turek - Gas solubility in OBM (SPE 1115/1982)
7. ,,Formation of Hydrates During Deepwater Drilling Operations - J.W. Barker, R.K. Gomez,
Exxon Co. U.S.A., Journal of Petroleum Technology

8. NORSOK D-010,,Well integrity in drilling and well operations (Rev. 3, August 2004)
9. API 5L Specification for Line Pipe, Forty-fifth Edition
10. API 16A Specification for Drill Through Equipment, 2004
11. Moss Maritime document 3135-R015-03 Hydrodynamic Motion and Load Analysis, rev03,
22.03.2010

12. DNV RP C203: Fatigue Design of Offshore Steel Structures, April 2010
13. DNV RP F204 Riser Fatigue, Oct. 2010
14. Overview of Metocean Extremes at Bnna field, Storm Geo report series, volume 12, report
number 3

15. ISO 13637:1997 Petroleum and natural gas industries -- Mooring of mobile offshore drilling units
(MODUS) -- Design and analysis

16. IMO 2009 MODU CODE


17. API RP 2R Design, rating and testing of marine drilling risers couplings
18. ISO 13637:1997 Petroleum and natural gas industries - Mooring of mobile offshore drilling units
(MODUs) - Design and analysis

19. API RP.16Q 1st Edition 1st November 1993 American Petroleum Institute Recommended
Practice Design, Selection, Operation and Maintenance of Marine Drilling Riser Systems.

20. Fundamentals of Marine Riser Mechanics: Basic Principles and Simplified Analysis, Charles
Sparks

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