Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
This P v r was presented at the 24th Annual On: in Houston, Texas, May 4-7, 1m2.
This paper was selected for presentation by the OTC Program Commlttee tollowlng revlew of information contained In an &tract submined by the author(s), Contents of the paper,
as presented, have not been revlswed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, doer not necessarily reflect
any posltlonof the Offshore Technolcgy Conferenm or its offlcors. Permissionto copy Is restflcted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrationsmay not be copled, The abstract
should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where ahd by whom the paper Is presented.
results of model tests. The model test series comprised dual crane SCOPE OF OFFSHORe MEASUREMENT PROGRAM
installations of a heavy topside and a large North Sea liftable jacket.
A heavy lift operation is basically a three body system, comprising
Particular assumptions and simpmcations are, however, inherent to the crane vessel, the load to be lifted and the cargo barge. Both
both computer models and model tests. The results of offshore crane vessel and cargo barge respond to waves, current and wind.
measurements obtained during actual heavy lift operations provide Although the cargo barge may be shielded by the crane vessel, or
data for ultimate validation and verification work. The offshore vice versa, hydrodynamic coupling between the two-bodies is
measurement program performed by MARIN and HeereMac v.0.f. normally small when compared to the mechanical coupling f7,8].
(a joint venture of Heerema and McDerrnott) comprisingtwo heavy The heavy lift system is not only subjected to environmental loads
lift operations is desmied in this paper. The offshore measurement but also to the lift operation itself. Hoisting actions, ballastkg
program is referred to as MOL91 which stands for Monitoring procedures, mooring and Dynamic Positioning @P) operations
Offshore W t s in 1991. introduce motions in the system. For practical reasons three major
ranges of periods in the response are distinguished. Since the
Two major characteristicdual crane lift operationswere selected for mechanically coupled system contains a large number of natural
the MOL91 project: periods, each frequency range is of particular interest:
- A liftable jacket for Gannet of about 8500 t (Figure l), which - High frequency response (2 to 12 S) which covers the wave
was installed for Shell Expro in June 1991. spectrum.
- A Production and Utility Deck (PUD)for Piper B of about - Medium frequency response (12 to 30 S) which covers the
10800 t (Figure 2), which was installed for Elf Enterprise resonant response of SSCVs exposed to long period swells and
Caledonia (EEC) in December 1991. second order wave effects.
- Low frequency response (30 to 200 S) which covers mainly the
The Gannet field is located in the central part of the North Sea and horizontal motions excited by wave drift forces and wind gusts,
the Piper field in the northern part. and responses due to operations on board the crane vessel,
The crane vessel, the load and the cargo barge were instntmented
su'J3Y CONSIDERATIONS to monitor the motion behaviour of the three bodies in all six
degrees of freedom. Further instrumentationwas applied to monitor
It is indispensable for all parties involved and for the installation the tensions in the slings of the hoisting arrangement. The tenszons
contractor in particular that heavy lift operations are performed with in the hoisting wires were recorded by means of the built-in load
an acceptable level of overall safety. This implies extensive and sensors of the cranes. For both lift operations, wave rider buoys
thorough job preparatory work, especially for very heavy and/or were deployed to measure the encountered wave condition.
complex lift operations. The job preparatory work should obviously Furthermore, video recordings were made to obtain a visual aid on
comprise, but is certainly not limited to, aspects related to lift the global dynamic motion behaviour of the lift system and to
dynanucs. monitor the clearances between the load and the crane vessel as
well as the clearances and contact behaviour between the load and
The key-persons on board the crane vessel who are responsible for the cargo barge during the lift-off phase, and between the load and
decision making whether or not to commence a lift operation, rely the jacket structure during the set-down stage of the deck
on experience, skitls, in-situ environmental conditions and the installation.
information achieved in the job preparatory phase of the project.
Data related to lift dynamics should be practical and should indicate The liftable jacket was lifted from the cargo barge, lowered in the
whether significant dynainic response characteristicsbecome evident water, upended and set on the seabed. The followkg lifting stages,
in progress of a lift operation when compared with the initial listed in chronological sequence and shown in Figure 3, were
condition of free floating crane vessel and cargo barge. In other recognized and were of importance for further analysis:
words, the data related to lift dynamics should ensure that the key-
persons are not taken by surprise in progress of the lift operation - Free floating SSCV without pretension in rigging arrangement.
due to resonant motions of, for instance, the suspended load. - Pretension of rigging arrangement.
- Lift-off jacket from cargo barge.
It is for these reasons that emphasis has been placed on the - Jacket horizontally suspended from the cranes bendufum
reliability and completeness of the advisory data presented to the condition).
offshore key-persons. Offshore measurement programs have been - Lowering of jacket into the water.
initiated and performed to further increase the understanding of - Upending of jacket to vertical orientation.
the phenomenon lift dynamics with all associated pertinent aspects. - Positioning of jacket above its location.
The present offshore monitoring program (MOL91) basically forms - Docking of jacket on seabed.
part of this development. - Jacket in final position with tension in rigging arrangement.
The deck structure was lifted from a cargo barge and set onto the
OTC 6948 WOUTS, COPPENS, Van den BOOM 3
platformjacket. The following lifting stages, shown in Figure 4, were were sirnilarily treated. Another wave rider buoy supplied on-line
of importance for further analysis: wave spectra.
- Free floating SSCV without pretension in rigging arrangement. Each measurement series started with DB102 motion recordings in
- Pretension of rigging arrangement. the free floating condition. These runs were made for assessment of
- Lift-off module from cargo barge. the Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs), both for correlation
- Module suspended from the cranes (pendulum condition). and quality control purposes. The actual lift operations (from cargo
- Set-down of module on jacket. barge alongside SSCV to set-down of the loads) lasted
- Module on jacket with tension in rigsing arrangement. approximately 20 hours for the jacket and 6 hours for the deck
installation. The measurements covered most of this time, with
separate recordings of 1 to 2 hours.
DATA ACQUISZTON AND PROCE!SING
Data pr-
The monitoring program on board DB102 was aimed at the Linear and angular motions were derived from the measured
assessment of the dynamic behaviour of the heavy lift system due to accelerations and angular velocities by means of integration.
waves and operational activities such as hoisting, ballasting and Inevitably this led to "drift" in the derived signals which was
moving in the anchoring system. To measure the dynamic behaviour removed by high pass filtering. This implied that low frequency
in each of the defined frequency ranges special purpose sensors, components had to be derived separately. The gravity acceleration
data acquisition and storage, as well as analysis procedures, have was present in the measured horizontal accelerationsdue to roll and
been adopted. pitch. A special procedure was developed to derive the high,
medium and low frequency components of each mode of motion,
Measurement equipment The end results of this post processing consisted of the motions of
Motions of the SSCV were measured by means of six linear servo each body at its centre of gravity or reference location.
accelerometers distniuted over the vessel. This set-up enabled an
accurate measurement of accelerations in all modes of motion over Material strains measured in the sling attachments were processed
the required frequency ranges. Similar sets were used to measure to derive the sling tensions. For this purpose an approximative
the motions of the cargo barge (Gannet) and deck (Piper). The strain-force relation was adopted based on the slenderness
liftable jacket and the transportation barge used at Piper were assumption of the attachments. Spectral analysis of the analogue
instrumented with a compact sensor box containing three linear tensions was carried out prior to sampling the analogue data to
accelerometers and three solid state angular rate sensors. The guarantee sufficient sample rate, especially for high frequency
compact sensor box containing vulnerable sensors was adapted to components in the signals.
offshore use and could be installed easily. All signals were
transferred to the measurement centre in the port crane tub by All defined motion and tension time traces were then plotted and
means of cables. The analogue accelerations and angular velocities subjected to statistical analysis. For comparisons with linear
were fed into a compact measurement computer, low pass filtered computational lift dynamics, stationarylift stages such aspretension
to prevent aliasing, and then converted into digital format at a and pendulum condition were selected to derive spectra and RAOs.
sample rate of 5 Hz.The digital signals were stored on hard disk.
Display, Logging and Simulation @LS) system
As no in-line components in the slings themselves were allowed, the The crane vessel DB102 is equipped with a so-called DLS system
measurement of the tensions required instrumentation of the sling The basic aim of this system is to assist the captain and ballast
attachments on the loads. For this purpose both spreader bars of operators in (1) preparing lift and ballast procedures, (2) taking
the liftable jacket were fitted with strain gauges on both ends. The adequate ballast actions during actual lift and ballast operations and
deck structure was instrumented similarly at the vertical sling (3) controlling the vessel's stability throughout the lift and ballast
supports. This instrumentation was camed out at the construction operation. Logging of pertinent variables(4) is permanently possible
yards. Tensions in the starboard and port side hoisting wires were in both on-line display and simulation mode of operation. The
measured by means of the existing load sensors in one of the ends logging facility of the DLS system has been used for the MOL91
of the hoisting wires. The signals were taped directly from the program to monitor the draft, heel and trim of the crane vessel, the
sensors, excluding corrective measures accounting for friction hoisting wire tensions and the ballast and crane operations. This
effects. To be able to identify high frequency components in the system has also been used to monitor other heavy lift operations, For
tension signals, these signals were taped on an analogue recorder. example the installation of Saga's concrete foundation templates for
The tension measurements were calibrated during the data post Snorre field [9].
processing stage by equalling the mean values and the weight of the
load.
RESULTS
The wave elevation during the lifts were recorded continuously by
a Datawell wave rider buoy located some 1000 m approximately Encountered wave climate
windward of the SSCV. The wave signal and the motion signals The waiting period, which had to be adopted prior to the
MONITORING OFFSHORE LIFT DYNAMICS
H o w wire tensions
The spectra of the hoisting wire tensions show contributions in the
high frequency range only. The tension variation was in pretension
condition about 25 % of the final hoisting wire tension, about 6 %
in pendulum condition, and about 15 % when the jacket was placed Available data
on the seabed. For correlation purposes, results of calculations and model tests
could be used which were generated in previous projects (LAS-I and
The Dynamic Amplification Factor (DAF) of the hoisting wire US-n). The large North Sea jacket used for the calculations and
tensions remained below 10 %, typically 5 %, throughout the heavy model tests was similar to the Gannet jacket. Data comprised time
lift operations. The DAF-value is defined with respect to the final traces, spectra, transfer functions and statistical quantities.
hoisting wire tension when the load is fully suspended from the Furthermore, lift dynamic calculations were carried out during the
OTC 6948 WOUTS, COPPENS, Van den BOOM
preparatory stages of the actual projects. spectra were very helpful in understanding the dynamic behaviour
of the heavy lift system. Furthermore, the response spectra could be
For selected cases, calculations were carried out after the offshore used to compare and correlate these with spectra obtained by means
measurements using the measured wave spectrum as input. of lift dynamic calculations and model tests.
correlation tecbniquea The observed wave spectra comprised distinct contniutions of wind
Initial correlation work presented in this paper is based on driven seas and swell seas. The motion behaviour of the SSCV and
comparison of motion and tension spectra. Comparison of statistical the suspended load was found to make a large contribution ro the
quantities was not yet performed, as the recorded data comprised medium frequency range, outside the wave frequency range, The
low, medium and high frequency components. Comparison of significant response at the natural periods of the dynamic system is
statistical quantities can be done realistically when these quantities expected to originate from wave drift forces, long period swell waves
are calculated for each of the defied frequency ranges. The (Tp > 12 S) and unforeseen aspects of lift dynamics. Tftis
ultimate comparison of time traces was not performed as, for contniution is underestimated by the lift dynamic calculations and
instance, the wave direction was not measured. may be due to incomplete modelling of aspects with signip~cant
effects.
Behaviour of SSCV in free floating condition
The correlation of pitch motions of DBlM in free floating condition Natural periods of free floating crane vessel and cargo barges, as
is presented in Figures 8 and 9. The model test results were well as of complex heavy lift systems, can be calculated suffessfully
obtained for a theoretical formulation of the (PM) wave spectrum and show a good correlation when compared with the actual natural
characterisedby a significant wave height of 1.5 m and a mean zero periods.
upcrossing period of 6.0 S.
The hoisting wire tensions show high frequency contributions only.
SigniF~cant discrepancies were found when comparing the The effect of swell waves and wave drift forces on the hoisting wire
calculations based on the theoretical formulation of the wave tensions was found to be marginal. The maximum hoisting wire
spectra with the measured data (Figure 8). The differences were tension observed throughout the heavy lift operations remained well
reduced to some extent when using the measured wave spectrum. below a margin of 10 % on the static hoisting wire tension. No
In the high (wave) frequency range, a marked conformitywas found wershoot was observed during lift-off of the loads from the cargo
between the calculations and measurements (Figure g), which was barge.
reported by others as well [10]. In the medium frequency range
however, the calculations underestimated the actual response. Although of particular concern during the design and job
preparatory stages of a heavy lift operation, the observed impacts
Behaviour during lift Operation between the loads and the cargo barges were hardly noticeable and
The observed motion response of the SSCV (heave, roll and pitch) certainly did not endanger the lift operation at any time. Based on
was very small throughout the lift operation, determined as well by offshore observations, it is expected that the global flexiiility of the
the calculations. The variations in the hoisting wires were cargo barge and the load may have a significant effect on the
siwcantly overestimated by the calculations which were based on magnitude of the impact forces.
the theoretical formulation of the wave spectrum.
Naturalperiods
The calculated and observed natural periods showed an excellent
correlation. The calculated and observed natural periods of the It is recommended to initiate research on how to account
SSCV in free floating condition are presented in Table 1. For all realistically for combinations of wind driven seas and swell seas in
stationarylifting stages throughout the heavy lift operation, resonant lift dynamic calculations to be performed in the preparatory phase
responses appeared at periods close to previously computed natural of a lift operation.
periods.
Enhanced post processing techniques have to be adopted to be able
to correlate realistically the statistical quantities of results of
CONCLUSIONS offshore measurements, model tests and lift dynamic calculations,as
the recorded data comprised low, medium and high frequency
The instrumentation applied for this offshoremeasurement program components.
functioned well and the sensitivities of the used sensors were
adequate to monitor the motions of relatively small magnitude. Research should be continued on the phenomenon lift dynamics by
means of extensive correlation studies in which the results of
It was possible to define stationary stages in the lift operation computer models will be compared with the observed data. If
duringwhich the characteristicsof the system remained more or less required, the computer models have to be adjusted and input data
constant. Spectral analyses were performed on the recorded signals defined differently. Efforts should be focused on the excitation and
to derive statistical quantities and response spectra. The response motion response in the medium frequency range.
6 MONITORING OFFSHORE LIFT DYNAMICS OTC 6948
It is recommended to adapt the computer modeh accounting for the 3. Clauss G., Riekert T. and Coppens A., "Limits for Operations of
flexibility of the cargo barge and the load for lift-off simulations. Large Crane Vessels", Jahrbuch der SchiMbautechnischen
Measurements offshore, focused on this topic, may also be valuable Gesellschaft (1990), Berlin.
in understanding this phenomenon.
4. Willemstein A.P., van den Boom H.J.J. and van Dijk A.W.,
The significance of offshore monitoring programs during heavy lift "Simulation of Offshore Heavy Lift Operations", Proceedings
operations has been demonstrated and offshore monitoring should CADMO Conference (1986), Washington.
be performed on a permanent basis for major heavy lift operations.
S. van den Boom W.J.J., Dekker J.N. and Dallinga R.P., 'Computer
Analysis of Heavy Lift Operations", paper OTC 5819,
Proceedings 20th OTC (1988), Houston.
The authors thank the oil companies Shell Expro and Elf Enterprise 6. Baar J.J.M., "Developments in the Analysis of Offshore Heavy
Caledonia (EEC) respectively for allowing this offshore monitoring Lift Operations", Proceedings 1st ISOPE Conference (1991),
program, carried out during the installation of their respective Edinburgh.
structures.
7. Baar J.J.M., Pijfers J.G.L. and van Santen JA.,
The assistance and cooperation of the offshore crew on board "Hydromechanically Coupled Motions of a Crane Vessel and a
DB102 were of vital importance for the success of the offshore Transport Barge", paper OTC 6949, Proceedings 24th OTC
monitoring programs. The offshore crew as well as the project teams (1992), Houston.
were obliged to perform additional work on top of their already
high workloads. The authors appreciate their attitude and their 8. Tong K.C. and Duncan P.E., 'Modelling the Dynamics of
contribution to MOL91. Offshore Jacket Lifts", Proceedings 1st ISOPE Conference
(1991), Edinburgh.
This offshore monitoring program was made possible via a subsidy
granted by the StichtingMaritiem Ondenoek (CMO; Coordination 9. Lange F.C., Hetland S. and Knudsen J.I., "Control and Dynamics
Maritime Research), Rotterdam. During Lift Installation of the Snorre TLP Concrete Foundation
Templates", paper OTC 6881, Proceedings 24th OTC (1992),
Houston.
REFERENCES
10.Standing R.G., Brendling WJ. and Jackson G.E.,"Full-scale
1. Michelsen F. and Coppens A., "On the Upgrading of SSCV Measured and Predicted Low-frequency Motions of the Semi-
Hermod to Increase its Lifting Capacity and the Dynamics of submersible Support Vessel Uncle John", Proceeding 1st ISOPE
Heavy Lift Operations",paper OTC 5820, Proceedings 20th OTC Conference (1991), Edinburgh.
(1988), Houston.
heave
pitch 19.6
I. , - . -.
--- Pendulum
--- Gannet
Model t e s t s
HI l : m'
- H:
~ T' = 4.2 r
= 1.5 m: T: = 6.9 s
Positioning
Jacket on bottom
ia l .5
WAVE FREQUENCYIN RADB
Fig. 5: Encountered wave spectra Fig. 6: Spectra of m 1 1 SSCV f o r various stages (Gannet)
I
0
. . . . I
m
. . . . 100, . . . . It0, . . . . two
, . .
3ECONDS