Dynamic Behaviour of a Free Hanging Vertical Pipe Forced to Oscillate at the Top

Abstract

Vertical pipe configuration happens in subsea well re-entry operations for wellbore drilling, subsea equipment installations, deepwater intake risers, among other scenarios, usually by hanging the marine riser at the top from a platform or ship. The simple operational configuration justifies its wide application; however, there are some drawbacks such as stress concentration, fatigue, among other issues. The purpose of this study is to contribute for the overcoming of those problems by improving the understanding of hanging risers through investigations of a vertical pipe forced to oscillate horizontally at the top. For this purpose, laboratory experiments with small diameter pipe model have been developed with oscillatory motions applied at the top termination through a mechanical device. Displacements over time and along the pipe length were measured by an optical measurement system. In the present study, a numerical scheme has been implemented for simulations to support evaluations of the experimental results. A vertical pipe response depends on several parameters, such as pipe overall length, frequency and amplitude of oscillation itself, among others. Due to existing relative velocity between the oscillating pipe and the water surrounding it, vortex shedding occurs along the pipe length which influences riser motion behaviour. The results from experiment and numerical simulations bring important insights for describing and understanding oscillatory vertical pipe behaviour, in the plane and the out of plane of the forced top oscillation. The obtained results provide a further step toward the modelling of Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) in marine risers, aiming to contribute to relevant technological advancements.