Print Email Facebook Twitter Soil-foundation interaction for the Arctic S platform under ice loading Title Soil-foundation interaction for the Arctic S platform under ice loading Author Balkema, E. Contributor Metrikine, A.V. (mentor) Pisanò, F. (mentor) Hoving, J.S. (mentor) Faculty Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering Department Offshore Engineering Programme Bottom founded structures Date 2016-02-25 Abstract Drilling in the complex and rough conditions in the Arctic areas is challenging. The challenges include harsh environmental conditions, spill recovery, high operating cost, relatively high risk, limited choice of drilling units, international (environmental) laws/regulations etc. The existence of recoverable oil and gas resources have been known for decades, but only in recent years oil companies began drilling operations offshore in the Arctic areas. Existing drilling units for the Arctic region are not optimized for the year-round operation. Oil companies and operators are interested in developing a new concept for drilling operations in the Arctic areas. In shallow waters, an option is to drill with a gravity-based structure. Huisman Equipment has developed a mobile-gravity-based unit, called the "Arctic S". The Arctic S is a circular drilling unit which, in addition to the floating mode, can be positioned at the bottom of the sea in shallow waters. The unique shape of the hull makes Arctic operations in deep-water depths possible in combination with moorings and dynamic positioning. In gravity-based mode, the Arctic S will be positioned on the bottom of the sea. The Arctic S can operate from a draught of 12 till 29 meters. The oil companies are interested in a solution which would allow to operate at water depth up to 40 to 50m. The aim of this research is to investigate the possibilities for the Arctic S to operate in a water depth up to 40 to 50m. One of the most obvious options is to design a substructure with a footprint function, for example a pedestal or template. The soil-foundation capacity must be sufficient to resist the forces which are originated from ice-loadings and the gravity forces of the Arctic S. It is important that the structure is stable under typical ice loading conditions. To improve the stability of the structure, a subsea template could be used which would also increase the operating water depth. The project aims to provide a conceptual design of a new solution for the Arctic S unit and then to explore the interaction between ice loadings, gravity-based-template and foundation. This investigation consists of two parts. First part is to design a substructure for the Arctic S which makes it possible to increase the operational water depth. Different aspects are considered, including specific locations, mobility, safety, construction, installation and decommissioning, etc. Second part is the soil-foundation capacity analysis. According to FEM analysis the soil-foundation capacity and the maximum foundation capacity are determined. The FEM analysis were carried out using PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3D. Based on the results from the FEM analysis, the feasibility of the foundation for this concept can be assessed. Subject soil-foundation interactionplaxisice loadingGravity Based StructureFEM-analysesarcticdesignfoundation capacity To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:fbb6aee7-5929-46f2-96d2-d89c3aac5324 Embargo date 2021-02-25 Part of collection Student theses Document type master thesis Rights (c) 2016 Balkema, E. Files PDF Master_thesis_E._Balkema.pdf 33.89 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:fbb6aee7-5929-46f2-96d2-d89c3aac5324/datastream/OBJ/view