Sleeved Stress Joint for Steel Catenary Riser Application

Abstract

Steel catenary risers (SCRs) have been widely used for oil/gas/water transport on floating platforms for the last fifteen years. Flex joints and tapered stress joints are often used for interface between the SCR and platform. Flex joints and tapered stress joints need to be designed to meet both the stiffness and flexibility requirements. A stress joint requires high stiffness to withstand the bending moment induced by the SCR and at the same time needs to be sufficiently flexible so as not to overstress the SCR. To achieve these complex requirements, a sleeved stress joint (SSJ) provides a sound technical and economical alternative for the interface between the SCR and platform. A sleeved stress joint utilizes multiple pipes to provide variable stiffness and to meet the strength and flexibility requirements. In the design of a SSJ, the number of sleeves, and the outer diameters and wall thicknesses of the sleeved pipes can be adjusted to achieve the design requirements. In addition, the locations of welds in the sleeved pipes can be placed to achieve the high fatigue performance that is important in stress joint design. Feasibility of the SSJ design is verified through state-of-the-art computer modeling. Generic cases of SSJ design applied to the porch and pull tube of a floating platform are presented. The design concept is compared with traditional flex joint and tapered stress joint designs. The technical and economic advantages of such a design are discussed.