Current observation and analysis based on mooring systems in the Andaman Sea

The basic structure and intraseasonal evolution of currents in the southeastern Andaman Sea was analyzed based on data collected in 2017 from two subsurface moorings(C1 and C5).Periodic variation in the upper ocean currents of the Andaman Sea was investigated by combining observational and satellite data.Mooring observations show that rapid changes of current speed and direction occurred in May and June,with a significant increase in current velocity at the C1 mooring.In the second half of the year,southward flow dominated at the C1 mooring,and alternating northward and southward flows were evident at the C5 mooring during the same period but the northward flow prevailed in boreal winter.In addition,analysis of the power spectra of the upper currents revealed that the tidal period at both moorings is primarily semidiurnal with weaker energy than that of the low-frequency currents.The upper ocean currents at the C1 and C5 moorings exhibited intraseasonal variation of 30-60 d and 120 d,while the zonal current at the C1 mooring exhibited a notable period of approximately 180 d.Further analysis indicated that the variability of currents in the Andaman Sea is influenced primarily by equatorial Kelvin waves and Rossby wave packets.Moreover,our results suggest that equatorial Kelvin waves from the eastern Indian Ocean entered the Andaman Sea in the form of Wyrtki Jets and propagated primarily along two distinct pathways during the observation period.In addition to coastal boundary Kelvin waves,it was found that a branch of the Wyrtki Jet that directly enters the Andaman Sea and flows northward along the slope of the continental shelf,and reflected Rossby wave packets by topography.

Intraseasonal variability of the Kuroshio observed via mooring at 18°N

Insufficient observations near the origin of the Kuroshio have led to incomplete understanding of the intraseasonal variability(ISV)of the Kuroshio.Direct measurements of the Kuroshio velocity were performed with an array of three profiler moorings(122.7°E,123°E,and 123.3°E)along 18°N from January 2018 to February 2020.The ISV of the Kuroshio at 18°N was investigated based on a combination of mooring observations and global high-resolution HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model reanalysis data.The estimated time-averaged transport in the upper 350 m across the observation transect was 6.5±2.6 Sv(1.0 Sv=10^(6)m^(3)/s).Two significant ISV peaks at 50-60 and~100 d were recognized in the power spectra of the meridional velocity and transport.Further analysis indicated that the ISV at 50-60 d was caused by westward-propagating eddies at average propagation speed of~13 cm/s and wavelength of~635 km.Another ISV peak at~100 d was mainly caused by northward-propagating eddies generated in the North Equatorial Current region.Further investigation indicated that the ISV of the Kuroshio at 18°N is dominated by meridional transport,rather than by the zonal migration of the Kuroshio main axis.Our findings provide a better understanding of the ISV of the Kuroshio east of Luzon Island.

Coupling relationship and genetic mechanisms of shelf-edge delta and deep-water fan source-to-sink:A case study in Paleogene Zhuhai Formation in south subsag of Baiyun Sag,Pearl River Mouth Basin,China

The coupling relationship between shelf-edge deltas and deep-water fan sand bodies is a hot and cutting-edge field of international sedimentology and deep-water oil and gas exploration.Based on the newly acquired high-resolution 3D seismic,logging and core data of Pearl River Mouth Basin(PRMB),this paper dissected the shelf-edge delta to deep-water fan(SEDDF)depositional system in the Oligocene Zhuhai Formation of Paleogene in south subsag of Baiyun Sag,and revealed the complex coupling relationship from the continental shelf edge to deep-water fan sedimentation and its genetic mechanisms.The results show that during the deposition of the fourth to first members of the Zhuhai Formation,the scale of the SEDDF depositional system in the study area showed a pattern of first increasing and then decreasing,with deep-water fan developed in the third to first members and the largest plane distribution scale developed in the late stage of the second member.Based on the development of SEDDF depositional system along the source direction,three types of coupling relationships are divided,namely,deltas that are linked downdip to fans,deltas that lack downdip fans and fans that lack updip coeval deltas,with different depositional characteristics and genetic mechanisms.(1)Deltas that are linked downdip to fans:with the development of shelf-edge deltas in the shelf area and deep-water fans in the downdip slope area,and the strong source supply and relative sea level decline are the two key factors which control the development of this type of source-to-sink(S2S).The development of channels on the continental shelf edge is conducive to the formation of this type of S2S system even with weak source supply and high sea level.(2)Deltas that lack downdip fans:with the development of shelf edge deltas in shelf area,while deep water fans are not developed in the downdip slope area.The lack of“sources”and“channels”,and fluid transformation are the three main reasons for the formation of this type of S2S system.(3)Fans that lack updip coeval deltas:with the development of deep-water fans in continental slope area and the absence of updip coeval shelf edge deltas,which is jointly controlled by the coupling of fluid transformation at the shelf edge and the“channels”in the continental slope area.

Application of fluid modulus inversion to complex lithology reservoirs in deep-water areas

It has been a challenge to distinguish between seismic anomalies caused by complex lithology and hydrocarbon reservoirs using conventional fluid identification techniques,leading to difficulties in accurately predicting hydrocarbon-bearing properties and determining oil-water contacts in reservoirs.In this study,we built a petrophysical model tailored to the deep-water area of the Baiyun Sag in the eastern South China Sea based on seismic data and explored the feasibility of the tri-parameter direct inversion method in the fluid identification of complex lithology reservoirs,offering a more precise alternative to conventional techniques.Our research found that the fluid modulus can successfully eliminate seismic amplitude anomalies caused by lithological variations.Furthermore,the seismic databased direct inversion for fluid modulus can remove the cumulative errors caused by indirect inversion and the influence of porosity.We discovered that traditional methods using seismic amplitude anomalies were ineffective in detecting fluids,determining gas-water contacts,or delineating high-quality reservoirs.However,the fluid factor Kf,derived from solid-liquid decoupling,proved to be sensitive to the identification of hydrocarbon-bearing properties,distinguishing between high-quality and poor-quality gas zones.Our findings confirm the value of the fluid modulus in fluid identification and demonstrate that the tri-parameter direct inversion method can significantly enhance hydrocarbon exploration in deep-water areas,reducing associated risks.

Habitat evaluation for target species following deep-water channel project in the Yangtze River

In order to optimize the design of a 12.5 m deepwater channel project and protect the ecological environment, it is necessary to study the habitat evaluation of species in the engineered area. A coupled eco-hydrodynamic model, which combines a hydrodynamic model （ADCIRC） and a habitat suitability index （HSI） model is developed for target fish （Coilia nasus） and benthos （Corbicula fluminea） in the Yangtze River in order to predict the ecological changes and optimize the regulation scheme. Based on the existing research concerning the characteristics of Coilia nasus and Corbicula fluminea, the relationship between the target species and water environment factors is established. The verification results of tidal level, velocity and biological density show that the proposed coupling model performs well when predicting ecological suitability in the studied region. The results indicate a slight improvement in the potential habitat availability for the two species studied as the natural hydraulic conditions change after the deep-water channel regulation works.

Internal tides in the northern South China Sea from 20-day in-situ mooring observations in 1998

20-day in-situ ADCP current and CTD data are used to investigate the characteristics and energy of the internal tides in the northern South China Sea （NSCS）. The results show that the O1, K1, M2 and S2 constituents of internal tides are energetic and diurnal constituents （O1 and K1） are dominating. In the observational period, the current vectors of these four constituents all rotate clockwise and the maximum semi-major axe of internal tidal ellipses is more than 14 cm/s. The variation of ocean temperature shows that the internal tides present obvious quasi-diurnal oscillation and the average amplitude reaches 50 m. Furthermore, these internal tides carry high energy and appear to be intermittent. The maximum values of KE （PE） during the observational period are up to 2 （3.5） k J/m^2 for diurnal internal tides, and up to 1 （1.5） k J/m^2 for semidiurnal internal tides.

Deep-water Fan Systems and Petroleum Resources on the Northern Slope of the South China Sea

The shallow shelf delta/strand arenaceous-pelitic deposit region in the north of the Pearl River mouth basin, sitting on the northern continental shelf of the South China Sea, has already become an important oil production base in China. Recent researched has revealed that a great deal of deep-water fans of great petroleum potentiality exist on the Baiyun deep-water slope below the big paleo Pearl River and its large delta. Based on a mass of exploration wells and 2-D seismic data of the shallow shelf region, a interpretation of sequence stratigraphy confirmed the existence of deep-water fans. The cyclic falling of sea level, abundant detrital matter from the paleo Pearl River and the persistent geothermal subsidence in the Baiyun sag are the three prerequisites for the formation and development of deep-water fans. There are many in common between the deep-water shelf depositional system of the northern South China Sea and the exploration hotspots region on the two banks of the Atlantic. For example, both are located on passive continent margins, and persistent secular thermal subsidence and large paleo rivers have supplied abundant material sources and organic matter. More recently, the discovery of the big gas pool on the northern slope of the Baiyun sag confirms that the Lower Tertiary lacustrine facies in the Baiyun sag has a great potentiality of source rocks. The fans overlying the Lower Tertiary source rocks should become the main exploration areas for oil and gas resources.

Fully Coupled Effects of Hull,Mooring and Risers Model in Time Domain Based on An Innovative Deep Draft Multi-Spar

The coupled hull, mooring and riser analysis techniques in time domain are widely recognized as the unique approach to predict the accurate global motions. However, these complex issues have not been perfectly solved due to a large number of nonlinear factors, e.g. forces nonlinearity, mooring nonlinearity, motion nonlinearity and so on. This paper investigates the coupled effects through the numerical uncoupled model, mooring coupled model and fully coupled model accounting mooring and risers based on a novel deep draft multi-spar which is especially designed for deepwater in 2009. The numerical static-offset, free-decay, wind-action tests are executed, and finally three hours simulations are conducted under 100-year return period of GOM conditions involving wave, wind and current actions. The damping contributions, response characteristics and mooring line tensions are emphatically studied.

Static and Dynamic Analysis of Mooring Lines by Nonlinear Finite Element Method

This study has focused on developing numerical procedures for the static and dynamic nonlinear analysis of mooring lines. A geometrically nonlinear finite element method using isoparametric cable element with two nodes is briefly presented on the basis of the total Lagrangian formulation. The static and dynamic equilibrium equations of mooring lines are established. An incremental-iterative method is used to determine the initial static equilibrium state of cable systems under the action of self weights, buoyancy and current. Also the Newmark method is used for dynamic nonlinear analysis of ocean cables. Numerical examples are presented to validate the present numerical method, and examine the effect of various parameters.

Study on A New Mooring System Integrating Catenary with Taut Mooring

Analyzed are the merits and demerits of catenary mooring system and taut mooring system, which are commonly used nowadays. As falling somewhere between these two systems, a new mooring system integrating catenary with taut mooring is proposed. In order to expound and prove the advantages of this new system, the motion performance of a semi-submersible platform is simulated by employing full time domain coupled analysis method. A comparison of the result of new mooting system with that of taut mooring system shows that the movement of the platform using the new type mooting system is smaller than that using the taut mooring system, which ensures a better working condition. Furthermore, the new mooring system is also compatible with the characteristics of catenary mooting system, which eliminates the requirement of anti-uplift capacity of the anchors.

Fatigue Analysis of the Taut-Wire Mooring System Applied for Deep Waters

Precisely predicting the fatigue life of taut-wire mooring systems has become an interesting and important problem for scientists and engineers since there are still difficulties in the inspection and maintenance of mooring lines in a rough sea environment especially in deep waters. In this paper, a comprehensive fatigue analysis is performed for a polyester taut-wire mooring system of an FPSO based on the time domain dynamic theory, rainflow cycle counting method and linear damage accumulation rule of Palmgren-Miner. Three influential factors in the fatigue analysis including the pre-tension, dynamic stiffness and T-N curve are investigated in detail. Two polyester T-N curves, one is from the DNV- 0S-E301 and the other is from the API-RP-2SM, are adopted in the calculation. The fatigue analysis of the mooting system after one-line failure is also carried out. The calculation results indicate that the fatigue life is significantly affected by the T-N curve. The fatigue life decreases with increasing pre-tension, and is largely reduced if taking into account the dynamic stiffness caused by cyclic loading. The analysis also proves that one-line failure has remarkable effects on the fatigue lives of other mooting lines. The present parametric and comparative study is believed to be meaningful to further understanding of the taut-wire mooting system for deepwater applications.

Performance of Two Types of Mooring Systems in the Heave Motion of a Two-body Floating Wave Energy Converter

This work investigated the influence of two types of mooring systems on the hydrodynamic performance of a two-body floating wave energy converter(WEC). It also investigated the effects of the physical parameters of the mooring system on the amount of extractable power from incident waves in the frequency domain. The modeled converter comprised a floating body(a buoy), a submerged body with two mooring systems, and a coupling system for two bodies. The coupling system was a simplified power take-off system that was modeled by a linear spring-damper model. The tension leg mooring system could drastically affect the heave motion of the submerged body of the model and increase relative displacement between the two bodies. The effects of the stiffness parameter of the mooring system on power absorption exceeded those of the pretension tendon force.

Sensitivity Analysis of Air Gap Motion with Respect to Wind Load and Mooring System for Semi-Submersible Platform Design

A design of semi-submersible platform is mainly based on the extreme response analysis due to the forces experienced by the components during lifetime. The external loads can induce the extreme air gap response and potential deck impact to the semi-submersible platform. It is important to predict air gap response of platforms accurately in order to check the strength of local structures which withstand the wave slamming due to negative air gap. The wind load cannot be simulated easily by model test in towing tank whereas it can be simulated accurately in wind tunnel test. Furthermore, full scale simulation of the mooring system in model test is still a tuffwork especially the stiffness of the mooring system. Owing to the above mentioned problem, the model test results are not accurate enough for air gap evaluation. The aim of this paper is to present sensitivity analysis results of air gap motion with respect to the mooring system and wind load for the design of semi-submersible platform. Though the model test results are not suitable for the direct evaluation of air gap, they can be used as a good basis for tuning the radiation damping and viscous drag in numerical simulation. In the presented design example, a numerical model is tuned and validated by ANSYS AQWA based on the model test results with a simple 4 line symmetrical horizontal soft mooring system. According to the tuned numerical model, sensitivity analysis studies of air gap motion with respect to the mooring system and wind load are performed in time domain. Three mooring systems and five simulation cases about the presented platform are simulated based on the results of wind tunnel tests and sea-keeping tests. The sensitivity analysis results are valuable for the floating platform design.

Risk Assessment on A Pipeline Passing Through A Ship Mooring Area

It is very common that a submarine pipeline has to pass through a ship mooring area near a harbor zone in the Bohai Bay, China. The risk assessment of accidental events induced by the potential anchoring ships is carried out, which will lead to external interference with the pipeline. A procedure to calculate the probability for the anchoring activity in the ship mooring area to damage the underlying pipeline is proposed. The adopted methodology is based on the recommendations suggested by the DNV Codes. The same philosophy is also applied to estimate the damage probability that is concerned with sinking ships.

Analysis for the Deployment of Single-Point Mooring Buoy System Based on Multi-Body Dynamics Method

Deployment of buoy systems is one of the most important procedures for the operation of buoy system. In the present study, a single-point mooring buoy system which contains surface buoy, cable segments with components, anchor and so on is modeled by applying multi-body dynamics method. The motion equations are developed in discrete node description and fully Cartesian coordinates. Then numerical method is used to solve the ordinary differential equations and dynamics simulations are achieved while anchor is casting from board. The trajectories and velocities of different nodes without current and with current in buoy system are obtained. The transient tension force of each part of the cable is analyzed in the process of deployment. Numerical results indicate that the transient payload increases to a peak value when the anchor is touching the seabed and the maximum tension force will vary with different floating configuration. This work is helpful for design and deployment planning of buoy system.

Lateral Vibration Behavior Analysis and TLD Vibration Absorption Design of the Soft Yoke Single-Point Mooring System

Mooring system is the key equipment of FPSO safe operation. The soft yoke mooring system is regarded as one of the best shallow water mooring strategies and widely applied to the oil exploitation in the Bohai Bay in China and the Gulf of Mexico. Based on the analysis of numerous monitoring data obtained by the prototype monitoring system of one FPSO in the Bohai Bay, the on-site lateral vibration behaviors found on the site of the soft yoke subject to wave load were analyzed. ADAMS simulation and model experiment were utilized to analyze the soft yoke lateral vibration and it was determined that lateral vibration was resonance behaviors caused by wave excitation. On the basis of the soft yoke longitudinal restoring force being guaranteed, a TLD-based vibration damper system was constructed and the vibration reduction experiments with multi-tank space and multi-load conditions were developed. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed TLD vibration reduction system can effectively reduce lateral vibration of soft yoke structures.

Mooring System Optimisation and Effect of Different Line Design Variables on Motions of Truss Spar Platforms in Intact and Damaged Conditions

This paper presents the effect of mooring diameters, fairlead slopes and pretensions on the dynamic responses of a truss spar platform in intact and damaged line conditions. The platform is modelled as a rigid body with three degrees-of-freedom and its motions are analysed in time-domain using the implicit Newmark Beta technique. The mooring restoring force-excursion relationship is evaluated using quasi-static approach. MATLAB codes DATSpar and QSAML, are developed to compute the dynamic responses of truss spar platform and to determine the mooring system stiffness. To eliminate the conventional trial and error approach in the mooring system design, a numerical tool is also developed and described in this paper for optimising the mooring configuration. It has a graphical user interface and includes regrouping particle swarm optimisation technique combined with DATSpar and QSAML. A case study of truss spar platform with ten mooring lines is analysed using this numerical tool. The results show that optimum mooring system design benefits the oil and gas industry to economise the project cost in terms of material, weight, structural load onto the platform as well as manpower requirements. This tool is useful especially for the preliminary design of truss spar platforms and its mooring system.

Impact Analysis of Air Gap Motion with Respect to Parameters of Mooring System for Floating Platform

In this paper, the impact analysis of air gap concerning the parameters of mooring system for the semi-submersible platform is conducted. It is challenging to simulate the wave, current and wind loads of a platform based on a model test simultaneously. Furthermore, the dynamic equivalence between the truncated and full-depth mooring system is still a tuff work. However, the wind and current loads can be tested accurately in wind tunnel model. Furthermore, the wave can be simulated accurately in wave tank test. The full-scale mooring system and the all environment loads can be simulated accurately by using the numerical model based on the model tests simultaneously. In this paper, the air gap response of a floating platform is calculated based on the results of tunnel test and wave tank. Meanwhile, full-scale mooring system, the wind, wave and current load can be considered simultaneously. In addition, a numerical model of the platform is tuned and validated by ANSYS AQWA according to the model test results. With the support of the tuned numerical model, seventeen simulation cases about the presented platform are considered to study the wave, wind, and current loads simultaneously. Then, the impact analysis studies of air gap motion regarding the length, elasticity, and type of the mooring line are performed in the time domain under the beam wave, head wave, and oblique wave conditions.

Theoretical Model and Dynamic Analysis of Soft Yoke Mooring System

As a popular solution for mooring an FPSO （Floating Production, Storage and Offloading） permanently in shallow water, the soft yoke mooring system has been widely used in ocean oil production activities in the Bohai Bay of China. In order to simulate the interaction mechanism and conduct dynamic analysis of the soft yoke mooring system, a theoretical model with basic dynamic equations is established. A numerical iteration algorithm based on error estimation is developed to solve the equations and calculate the dynanfic response of the mooring system due to FPSO motions. Validation is conducted by wave basin experimentation. It is shown that the numerical simulation takes only a few iteration times and the final errors are small. Furthermore, the calculated results of both the static and dynamic responses agree well with those ones obtained by the model test. It indicates that the efficiency, the precision, the reliability and the validity of the developed numerical algorithm and program are rather good. It is proposed to develop a real-time monitoring system to further monitor the dynamic performance of the FPSO with a soft yoke mooring system under various real sea environments.

Numerical Modeling of a Spar Platform Tethered by a Mooring Cable

Virtual simulation is an economical and efficient method in mechanical system design. Numerical modeling of a spar platform, tethered by a mooring cable with a spherical joint is developed for the dynamic simulation of the floating structure in ocean. The geometry modeling of the spar is created using finite element methods. The submerged part of the spar bears the buoyancy, hydrodynamic drag force, and effect of the added mass and Froude-Krylov force. Strip theory is used to sum up the forces acting on the elements. The geometry modeling of the cable is established based on the lumped-mass-and-spring modeling through which the cable is divided into 10 elements. A new element-fixed local frame is used, which is created by the element orientation vector and relative velocity of the fluid, to express the loads acting on the cable. The bottom of the cable is fixed on the seabed by spring forces, while the top of the cable is connected to the bottom of the spar platform by a modified spherical joint. This system suffers the propagating wave and current in the X-direction and the linear wave theory is applied for setting of the propagating wave. Based on the numerical modeling, the displacement-load relationships are analyzed, and the simulation results of the numerical modeling are compared with those by the commercial simulation code, Proteus DS. The comparison indicates that the numerical modeling of the spar platform tethered by a mooring cable is well developed, which provides an instruction for the optimization of a floating structure tethered by a mooring cable system.