Novel Dynamic Design Tools for Deepwater Towers that Achieved Breakthrough Results

Abstract

The novel design tools described in this paper included the "Designer Wave" and the "Quickwave" methods. The "Designer Wave" is a practical short portion of random wave simulation that captures enough of the structural response -- and shear and moment envelopes -- for design purposes. The "Quickwave" method achieves reasonably accurate design forces and member sizes without using time consuming random wave runs and full 3-D structural models. The Designer Wave is essential for the occasional calibration of the Quickwave results. Many design iterations are relatively easy with the Quickwave -- so much so that it was extensively used to derive a new deepwater compliant tower concept. The new tower configuration resulted in breakthrough savings in weight and costs relative to existing solutions.