Author(s)

C. Bridge, H. Howells, N. Toy, G.A.R. Parke & R. Woods

Abstract

Steel catenary risers (SCRs) are an enabling technology for deepwater oil and gas production. Tools to analyse and design SCRs are available which show that the point where the riser first touches the soil, termed the touchdown point (TDP) is critical. However our understanding of fluid/riserlsoil interaction is limited, hence the oil and gas industry has concerns regarding the levels of conservatism in SCR design, and margins of safety. The purpose of this study is to examine the interaction between a pipe (representing a section of the SCR), a clay seabed, and the surrounding seawater. This paper documents some of the results and observations from the full scale harbour test riser experiments which examined the 3D effect of fluid/riser/soil interaction around t

Keywords