A novel position control strategy for flexible robot arms based on wave propagation and absorption techniques is presented. The arm is modeled by a lumped-parameter mass-spring system with an actuator at one end and a load mass at the other. The actuator is required to position the remote load and, simultaneously, to provide active vibration damping. It does so by propagating mechanical waves through the system and absorbing reflected waves. Only the first two masses and springs need to be characterized and observed to determine the required actuator movement. The control algorithm is robust and compares very favorably with the time-optimal performance of bang-bang control. It is also inherently adaptive.

With exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources moving into ever deeper waters, there is significantly increased demand for drilling vessels capable of drilling in water depths of up to 10,000 ft and beyond. One of the main challenges associated with drilling in these water depths is control of the recoil behavior of the drilling riser after an emergency disconnect. This is required from time to time in the event of loss of the vessel’s station-keeping capability, either in extreme weather or through a failure of the dynamic positioning system. In these scenarios, the riser must be quickly disconnected below the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) to avoid damage to the riser or well structure. Once disconnected, the LMRP should lift sufficiently clear of the Blow-Out Preventer (BOP) to avoid subsequent contact between the LMRP and the BOP, while at the same time the upward movement of the riser must be arrested in time to prevent collapse of the telescopic joint (which could cause impact loads on the drillfloor) or compression in the tensioning lines. These conflicting requirements become more severe in deepwater, where the ratio between the wet weight and inertia of the riser is reduced. This highlights the requirement for an accurate recoil analysis capability in order to determine the optimum riser stack-up and operability limits for deepwater operations. This paper describes the development of a disconnect and recoil analysis software tool that for the first time has been integrated with a 3D finite element (FE) structural model of the drilling riser system. The tool incorporates a detailed model of the riser tensioning system, including the ability to model the behavior of each tensioning cylinder independently and the ability to model the behavior of the anti-recoil control system. The tool also incorporates an advanced fluid flow model, implemented by means of a finite volume numerical model, that models the flow of drilling mud out of the riser immediately after disconnect. The details of the tensioner system and fluid flow models are discussed, along with the approach taken to integrate these into the existing FE structural analysis code. A number of case studies are presented to illustrate the application of the tool to deepwater riser recoil analysis and to examine the effect of key parameters (including vessel offset) on the recoil behavior of the riser system.

As the pace of deepwater oil and gas exploration continues to grow, so too does demand for modern drilling vessels with equipment capable of operating in water depths of 10,000ft or greater. These greater water depths place significant demands on the drilling riser and the riser tensioning system. Modern riser tensioners are complex hydro-pneumatic systems and far from applying a constant top tension, the stiffness and damping characteristics associated with the tensioner mean that the applied tension can vary substantially as the tensioner strokes in response to vessel heave. As a result it is critical that the riser tensioner system response be captured in sufficient detail when evaluating the loads on the drilling riser. Riser tensioner systems for deepwater drilling must be capable of supplying the required tension to satisfy the minimum stability tension requirement, as per API RP 16Q; however this recommended practice does not adequately account for dynamic tensioner load variation, which can be up to 50% of the nominal tension. For deepwater drilling riser systems, where riser load limits are being approached, accurate modeling of the tensioner system load variation is required to ensure that the riser does not experience compression or excessive stresses. Furthermore, as the dynamic tension variations are largely velocity dependent, they can be relatively independent of water depth. Thus larger percentage variations in tension are experienced at low tensions when compared to higher tensions. This is an important consideration when calculating minimum top tensions for deepwater drilling rigs in shallower water depths. This paper presents a comparison of the response of a direct-acting riser tensioner (DAT) system for a range of environments. The comparison is based on results from detailed tensioner models that include the individual hydraulic and pneumatic components of the tensioner system and that are fully integrated with a non-linear 3D structural FE analysis tool [1]. The FE model is based on a widely-validated-non-linear software tool [3]. The detailed tensioner model has been validated against manufacturer performance data for existing in-service tensioner systems. The detailed tensioner model has also been used as part of a drilling riser recoil analysis study [1] which provided a good comparison of recoil analysis results against a published recoil test case. The impact on the global riser response of accurately modeling the tensioner system behavior is demonstrated, while the implications for the calculation of minimum top tension are also discussed.

With the move to the development of remote, deepwater fields, increasing use is being made of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities from which oil is intermittently offloaded to a shuttle tanker via offloading lines and an anchor leg mooring buoy. The response of the individual components of these systems is significantly influenced by hydrodynamic and mechanical coupling between adjacent components, precluding the use of traditional analysis techniques such as displacement RAOs derived from tank model tests or diffraction/radiation analyses of the independent components. Consequently, the reliable and accurate design of these complex systems requires an analysis tool capable of determining the fully coupled response of each of the individual components of the system. A recently-developed time domain coupled analysis tool has been extended to incorporate a frequency domain coupled analysis capability. This tool combines radiation/diffraction theory with a non-linear finite element (FE) structural analysis technique used for the analysis of slender offshore structures. This paper describes the application of frequency domain analysis to the coupled FE/floating structure problem, with particular consideration given to the linearisation of viscous drag loads on floating structures and the treatment of low-frequency second-order loads in the frequency domain. Results from frequency domain and time domain coupled analyses of a typical West of Africa type offloading system are compared, highlighting areas of application where frequency domain coupled analysis can offer significant benefits when used in conjunction with time domain analysis. Based on this, recommendations are made for the appropriate use of frequency and time domain coupled analysis for this type of system.

Properly designed and installed gravel pack completions have proven to be the most effective method of controlling sand production. The advent of slurry pack techniques, clean fluids and NODAL* analysis have been responsible for improving gravel packed well productivity. Further improvement in gravel placement is needed in long deviated completions. Although quantitative evaluations of perforation packing cannot be precisely measured, there is good field and laboratory model evidence that the effectiveness declines rapidly in intervals longer than about 10 ft -- even in vertical wells. Both field treatment reports and laboratory data indicates that bridging may occur in the screen/casing annulus before there is adequate leakoff into the formation to pack the perforations. Premature bridging is not always obvious in vertical wells because the bridge usually collapses after the differential pressure across the bridge dissipates. However, in wells deviated more than about ≈ 55° the gravel does not settle after collapse of the bridge. The result is a void in the annulus pack. Full-scale model studies of screen/casing annulus and perforation packing by numerous researchers have made important contributions in understanding the packing process1-12.Development of a mathematical model by Wahlmeier provided a method to scientifically apply the knowledge provided by these researchers to real wells.13 Factors studied by these researchers and described mathematically by Wahlmeier are: 1) gravel transport, 2) friction pressure and its influence on slurry flow in the screen/casing annulus, and 3) carrier fluid leakoff and its influence on perforation packing. This paper discusses rheological properties of particulate slurries and geometrical conditions encountered that affect these factors. Simple, but relevant mathematical relationships are used to demonstrate the importance of particle settling, slurry flow velocity, shear rate in the screen/casing annulus, shear rate entering the formation and downhole placement pressures.