Weiping Huang

A nonlinear vortex induced vibration model of marine risers

With the exploitation of oil and gas in deep water, the traditional vortex induced vibration (VIV) theory is challenged by the unprecedented flexibility of risers. A nonlinear time-dependent VIV model is developed in this paper based on a VIV lift force model and the Morison equation. Both the inline vibration induced by the flow due to vortex shedding and the fluid-structure interaction in the transverse direction are included in the model. One of the characteristics of the model is the response-dependent lift force with nonlinear damping, which is different from other VIV models. The calculations show that the model can well describe the VIV of deepwater risers with the results agreeing with those calculated by other models.

Vortex-induced vibration of two parallel risers: Experimental test and numerical simulation

The vortex-induced vibration of two identical rigidly mounted risers in a parallel arrangement was studied using Ansys- CFX and model tests. The vortex shedding and force were recorded to determine the effect of spacing on the two-degree-of-freedom oscillation of the risers. CFX was used to study the single riser and two parallel risers in 2–8D spacing considering the coupling effect. Because of the limited width of water channel, only three different riser spacings, 2D, 3D, and 4D, were tested to validate the characteristics of the two parallel risers by comparing to the numerical simulation. The results indicate that the lift force changes significantly with the increase in spacing, and in the case of 3D spacing, the lift force of the two parallel risers reaches the maximum. The vortex shedding of the risers in 3D spacing shows that a variable velocity field with the same frequency as the vortex shedding is generated in the overlapped area, thus equalizing the period of drag force to that of lift force. It can be concluded that the interaction between the two parallel risers is significant when the risers are brought to a small distance between them because the trajectory of riser changes from oval to curve 8 as the spacing is increased. The phase difference of lift force between the two risers is also different as the spacing changes.

The coupling VIV analysis of SCRs with rigid swing

With the development of deepwater oil and gas exploration, Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) become preferred risers for resource production, import and export. Vortex induced vibration (VIV) is the key problem encountered in the design of SCRs. In this study, a new model, the rigid swing model, is proposed based on the consideration of large curvature of SCRs. The sag bend of SCRs is assumed as a rigid swing system around the axis from the hanging point to the touch down point (TDP) in the model. The torque, produced by the lift force and the swing vector, provides the driving torque for the swing system, and the weight of SCRs provides the restoring torque. The simulated response of rigid swing is coupled with bending vibration, and then the coupling VIV model of SCRs is studied in consideration of bending vibration and rigid motion. The calculated results indicate that the rigid swing has a magnitude equal to that of bending vibration, and the rigid motion affects the dynamic response of SCRs and can not be neglected in the VIV analysis.

Combined action of uniform flow and oscillating flow around marine riser at low Keulegan-Carpenter number

With the increase of petroleum and gas production in deep ocean, marine risers of circular cylinder shape are widely used in the offshore oil and gas platform. In order to research the hydrodynamic performance of marine risers, the dynamic mesh technique and User-Defined Function (UDF) are used to simulate the circular cylinder motion. The motion of a transversely oscillating circular cylinder in combination of uniform flow and oscillating flow is simulated. The uniform flow and oscillating flow both are in x direction. SIMPLE algorithm is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. The User-Defined Function is used to control the cylinder transverse vibration and the inlet flow. The lift and drag coefficient changing with time and the map of vorticity isolines at different phase angle are obtained. Force time histories are shown for uniform flow at Reynolds number (Re) of 200 and for the combination of uniform and oscillating flows. With the increase of amplitude of oscillating flow in combined flow, the change of lift amplitude is not sensitive to the the change of cylinder oscillating frequency. Lift amplitude increases with the increase of oscillating flow amplitude in the combined flow, but there is no definite periodicity of the lift coefficient. The drag and inertia force coefficients change when the maximum velocity of the oscillating flow increases in the combined flow. The vortex shedding near the circular cylinder shows different characteristics.

CFD-based numerical analysis of a variable cross-section cylinder

Using ANSYS-CFX, a general purpose fluid dynamics program, the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a variable cross-section cylinder is simulated under uniform current with high Reynolds numbers. Large eddy simulation (LES) is conducted for studying the fluid-structure interaction. The vortex shedding in the wake, the motion trajectories of a cylinder, the variation of drag and lift forces on the cylinder are analyzed. The results show that the vortices of variable cross-section cylinder are chaotic and are varying along the cylinder. In places where cross-sections are changing significantly, the vortices are more irregular. The motion trail of the cylinder is almost the same but irregular. The drag and lift coefficients of the cylinder are varying with the changes of diameters.