ultra-deepwater floating production are primarily related to the higher

hang-off tensions caused by the integration of their weight over the water
depth, in combination with additional challenges from high-pressure, hightempera
ture
and sour service [14].
26.2.1. Design Data
26.2.1.1. General Sizing
In the preliminary stage, the diameter and wall thickness of the riser and
pipe must be determined to minimize the cost of the pipes. Factors that
influence riser diameter and wall thickness sizing include:
Operating philosophy: transportation strategy, pigging, corrosion,
inspection;
Well characteristics: pressure, temperature, flow rate, heat loss, slugging,
well fluids and associated chemistry;
Structural limitations: burst, collapse, buckling, postbuckling;
Installation issues: tensioning capacity of available vessels;
Construction issues: manufacturability, tolerances, weld procedures,
inspection;
Vessel offsets and motions;
Metocean conditions;
Deepwater environments.
26.2.1.2. Materials Selection
Factors to be considered in material selection include strength requirements,
adequate material toughness for fracture and fatigue performance, weld
defect acceptance criteria, and sweet/sour service requirements [15].
26.2.1.3. Deepwater Environmental Conditions
For deepwater environmental conditions, four parameters must be analyzed
for the design phase of SCRs [16]:
Hydrodynamic loads;
Material properties;
Soil interaction;
Extreme storm situations.
26.2.1.4. Metocean Data
The location of a riser may dictate critical design conditions; for example,
consider the loop currents in the GoM and the highly directional
Subsea Production Risers 861
Figure 26-8 Metocean Data for Some Geographical Regions
862 Y. Bai and Q. Bai
environments of West of Africa. Vessel motions and offsets have a major
influence on riser design. Figure 26-8 shows differentmetocean data for some
geographical regions. The following metocean data are used in riser analyses:
Water depth;
Waves;
Currents;
Tide and surge variations;
Marine growth.
26.2.1.5. Geotechnical Data
ROV footage from deepwater operating installations indicates significant and
complex riser interaction with the seabed in the SCR touchdown zone
(TDZ). Such behavior is largely influenced by the geotechnical properties of
the seabed the riser is interacting with. The nonlinear stress/strain behaviors
of soil, consolidation and remolding of soil (and associated changes in shear
strength), trenching and backfilling, hysteresis, strain rate, and suction effec
ts
affect the loads imparted on the riser. It is not possible or desirable to
reproduce complex interactions perfectly, but it is important to model those
characteristics that have the greatest effects on riser stresses and fatigue liv
es.
Deepwater Soils
SCRs are most commonly used as a part of deepwater floating systems. In

many deepwater locations (GoM,West Africa, Brazil), soil types found at or

close to the seabed are generally underconsolidated, normally consolidated,
or lightly overconsolidated clays. Much of the research to date has focused
on interaction with such seabeds. However, other soil conditions are also
possible. For instance, soils are generally very variable in glacial settings su
ch
as in northwestern Europe and Canada, and gravelly and bouldery stiffer
clays and sands are often encountered at the seabed.
26.2.1.6. Vessel Motion Characteristics
The host vessel s motions are defined by the global performance analysis
accounting for wave, wind, and current loads using either time-domain
analysis or frequency-domain analysis. The motion data are expressed as time
traces of vessel motions or RAOs defined at the center of gravity (CoG) for
the floater for predefined loading conditions. The motions at the riser hangoff
location will be transferred from the CoG via rigid body assumptions. The
riser system is considered to be a cable under current loads with a boundary
condition that is defined as the motions at the hang-off location.
Subsea Production Risers 863
Vessel RAOs are used throughout the whole design process and it is
important for them to be well defined. The following definitions should
always be provided with RAOs:
What the motion phase angle is relative to, whether it is a lag or a lead;
Vessel coordinate system;
Location of point for which RAOs are given;
Units;
Direction of wave propagation relative to vessel.
26.2.1.7. Wave Theories
As a general rule, Airy (linear) wave theory is suitable for most applications
and is applicable in both regular and random wave analysis. Other theories
such as Stokes V have advantages where only regular wave analysis is performed,
especially with regard to fluid particle kinematics. This theory
resembles those of real large-amplitude regular waves.
26.2.2. Steel Catenary Riser Design Analysis
In the pre-FEED phase, an initial design is carried out to define the
following:
Riser host layout (for interface with other disciplines);
Riser hang-off system (flexjoint, stress joint, pull-tube, etc.);
Riser hang-off location, spacing, and azimuth angle (hull layout, subsea
layout, total risers and interference consideration);
Riser hang-off angle for each riser;
Riser location elevation at hull (hull type, installation, and fatigue
consideration);
Global static configuration.
A static configuration may be determined based on catenary theory
accounting for hang-off angle, water depth, and riser unit weight. The SCR
design should meet basic functional requirements such as SCR internal
(and/or external) diameters, submerged tension on host vessel, design
pressure/temperature, and fluid contents.
Due considerations should be given to future tie-back porches to
accommodate the variations for a hang-off system, riser diameter, azimuth
angles, and the required extreme response and fatigue characteristics.
26.2.3. Strength and Fatigue Analysis
For the preparation of FEED documentation, a preliminary analysis is
carried out to confirm [17]:
864 Y. Bai and Q. Bai
Extreme response that meets the stress criteria per API 2RD [6] and
extreme rotation for flexjoints;
VIV fatigue life and the required length of strakes (or fairing);
Wave fatigue life;
Interference between risers and with floater hull.

In the detailed design phase, installation analyses and special analyses,

such as a VIM (Vortex Induced Motion)-induced fatigue analysis, semisubmersible
heave VIV(Vortex Induced Vibration) fatigue analysis, and
coupled system analysis, are conducted.
26.2.4. Construction, Installation, and Hook-Up Considerations
The effects of construction and installation operations may impose a permanent
deformation and residual loads/torques on the riser system while
consuming a proportion of the fatigue life [18]. In-service requirements
determineweld quality, acceptable levels of mismatch between pipe ends, and
out-of-roundness, whereas nondestructive testing (NDT) requirements are
determined from fatigue life and fracture analysis assessments.
26.2.4.1. Construction Considerations
Risers are to be constructed in accordance with related guides that are
consistent with specifications such as ABS Guide for Building and Classing
Subsea Pipeline Systems and Riser [2]. The pipe-laying methods and other
construction techniques are acceptable provided the riser meets all of the
criteria defined in these guides [19]. Guides and specifications are to be
prepared to describe alignment of the riser, its design water depth and
trenching depth, and other parameters, such as [20]:
Water depth during normal pipe-laying operations and contingency
situations;
Pipe tension;
Pipe departure angle;
Retrieval;
Termination activities.
26.2.4.2. Installation Considerations
The actual SCR installation philosophy may not be decided at the start of
a project. Therefore, the pipeline specifications may have to be drafted with
contingencies that consider all installation methods (S-lay, J-lay, and reel lay
)
[21]. In the case of a J-lay, the boring internal diameter is likely to be
Subsea Production Risers 865
changed. Therefore, 1 mm must be added to the pipe wall thickness to allow
for the change.
For smaller diameter SCRs, installation with the reel-lay procedure may
be possible. Substantial engineering effort should qualify the SCRs for
reeling:
Full-scale bending trials and testing of centralizers to maintain a constant
annulus for a pipe-in-pipe situation;
Full-scale fatigue testing of the reeling riser welds. It is important to
accurately calculate the bending strain in the welds during the reeling
operation, to assess crack propagation;
Careful monitoring of the allowable bending strain.
26.2.4.3. Hook-Up Consideration
The term hook-up is another expression for the hang-off system of a riser.
The hang-off system shown in Figure 26-9 is a system that connects SCRs
to the offshore platform via flexjoints or stress joints. To consider a hook-up
system, certain parameters have to be determined such as the hang-off
location, hang-off spacing, hang-off angle, azimuth angle, and the location
of elevation at the hull structure.
26.2.5. Pipe-in-Pipe (PIP) System
Thermal insulation is required for some production risers to avoid problems
with hydrate, wax, or paraffin accumulation. The use of external insulation,
in some cases, might impair the riser s dynamic performance by increasing
drag and reducing weight in water. However, PIP thermal insulation
technology can often be used to satisfy the insulation requirements of lower
Figure 26-9 Riser Hang-Off Location
866 Y. Bai and Q. Bai
U-values, while maintaining an acceptable global dynamic response with
the penalty of a heavier and perhaps more costly structure.

26.2.5.1. Structural Details

The inner and outer pipes of a PIP system, as shown in Figure 26-10,
may be connected via bulkheads at regular intervals. Bulkheads limit
relative expansion and can separate the annulus into individual
compartments, if required. Use of bulkheads can be a good solution for
pipelines, but for dynamic SCRs, one must consider the effects of high
stress concentrations, local fatigue damage, and a local increase in heat
loss. Alternatively, regular spacers (centralizers) can be used, which allow
the inner and outer pipes to slide relative to each other while maintaining
concentricity.
The items listed below are common effects for single-PIP SCRs:
Residual curvature, which may change along the SCR during
installation;
Residual stresses due to large curvature history;
Residual axial forces between the two pipes;
Connection between the inner and outer pipes, including length and
play of centralizers;
Boundary conditions and initial conditions at riser terminations;
Fatigue life consumed during installation;
Preloading of inner and outer pipes;
Axial forces and relative motions during operation, due to thermal
expansion and internal pressure;
Poisson s ratio effect on axial strains;
Local stresses in inner and outer pipes due to centralizer contact,