Implementation and Verification of Cable Bending Stiffness in MoorDyn

Author(s):  
Matthew Hall ◽  
Senu Sirnivas ◽  
Yi-Hsiang Yu

Abstract The relatively large motions experienced by floating wind turbines and wave energy converters pose a challenge for power cables, whose internal components provide significant bending resistance and are sensitive to deformation. The behavior and associated design considerations of power cables in these highly dynamic applications make coupled analysis relevant for design. Bending stiffness capabilities have recently been added to the lumped-mass mooring dynamics model MoorDyn to enable simulation of dynamic power cables. MoorDyn is a common modeling choice for floating wind energy simulation (often coupled with OpenFAST) and floating wave energy converter simulation (often coupled with WEC-Sim) but the model’s previous line elasticity formulation only considered axial stiffness. To properly capture the dynamics of power cables, a bending stiffness model has been added that approximates cable curvature based on the difference in tangent vectors of adjacent elements. The resulting bending moment is realized by applying forces on adjacent nodes, enabling cable modeling while leaving the underlying lumped-mass formulation unchanged. In this paper, the new bending stiffness implementation is verified in static conditions against analytical solutions and then in a dynamic power cable scenario in comparison with the commercial simulator OrcaFlex. The dynamic scenario uses prescribed motions and includes wave loadings on the cable. Results indicate correct implementation of bending stiffness and show close agreement with OrcaFlex.

Author(s):  
Magnus Komperød

Bitumen is commonly used as anticorrosion protection for armor wires in subsea power cables, umbilicals, and power umbilicals. Bitumen’s viscoelastic behavior influences the cable’s mechanical properties. The present paper derives a simple, analytical model of bitumen-coated armor wires. The model calculates the axial stresses of the armor wires and the armor wires’ contribution to the cable’s bending stiffness. The model shows that there is a phase shift between the sinusoidal curvature oscillations and the corresponding armor wire stresses and cable bending moment. Two examples show that the armor wire stresses and the cable’s bending stiffness are strongly temperature-dependent. The purpose of the novel model is to calculate bending stiffness, fatigue stresses, and capacity (allowed combinations of axial cable tension and cable bending curvature) more accurately and to study these variables’ sensitivity to temperature and frequency. The model may also be included in calculations of bitumen’s influence on VIV damping.


Author(s):  
Edvin Hanken ◽  
Evelyn R. Hollingsworth ◽  
Lars S. Fagerland

For fast track pipeline projects the need for costly installation vessels and sophisticated materials for rigid pipeline water injection systems, have made flexible pipelines a competitive alternative. They can be installed with less costly construction vessels, provide a competitive lead time and a corrosion resistant compliant material. Flexible pipelines have relative high axial stiffness and low non-linear bending stiffness which is a challenge to model correctly with FE for in-place analyses of pipelines. Whilst some FE programs can model the non-linear bending behaviour of a flexible pipeline at a given pressure, current FE tools do not include the effect of increased bending resistance as the system is pressurized. Therefore, a 3D FE model in ANSYS was developed to simulate the decoupled axial and nonlinear bending behaviour of a flexible, including the bend stiffening effect for increasing pressure. A description of the model is given in this paper. It will be demonstrated how the FE model can be used to simulate the 3D nonlinear catenary behaviour of an high pressure flexible pipeline tied into a manifold during pressurization. Due to high manifold hub loads during pressurization it is essential that such a model is capable of capturing all effects during pressurization to achieve an acceptable confidence level of the system integrity. It is also described how the FE model is used for upheaval buckling design, capturing non-linearities and load history effects that can reduce the conservatism in the design.


Polymers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilona Pleşa ◽  
Petru Noţingher ◽  
Cristina Stancu ◽  
Frank Wiesbrock ◽  
Sandra Schlögl

This review represents a comprehensive study of nanocomposites for power cables insulations based on thermoplastic polymers such as polyethylene congeners like LDPE, HDPE and XLPE, which is complemented by original results. Particular focus lies on the structure-property relationships of nanocomposites and the materials’ design with the corresponding electrical properties. The critical factors, which contribute to the degradation or improvement of the electrical performance of such cable insulations, are discussed in detail; in particular, properties such as electrical conductivity, relative permittivity, dielectric losses, partial discharges, space charge, electrical and water tree resistance behavior and electric breakdown of such nanocomposites based on thermoplastic polymers are described and referred to the composites’ structures. This review is motivated by the fact that the development of polymer nanocomposites for power cables insulation is based on understanding more closely the aging mechanisms and the behavior of nanocomposites under operating stresses.


Author(s):  
David McLaurin ◽  
Alan Aston ◽  
John Brand

Abstract It has been observed that, although submarine power cables have a critical role to wind power arrays and power export to shore, they are often overlooked at early stages of projects and oversimplified during late stages. This leads to lack of attention given during cable design and planning, as well as pressured schedules during manufacturing, testing and installation. The significant number of incidents attributed to offshore submarine cables during construction has increased overall project risk, lowered system average power availability and increased insurance costs. Lack of proper routing can also result in an inability to maintain asset integrity for the project design life. Despite the attention that submarine power cables have received over the past few years, the number and cost of incidents does not appear to be decreasing. A comparison can be made between offshore HVAC and HVDC cables used for wind power and offshore umbilicals and MV cables used in the oil and gas sector. These umbilicals are often similar in weight, size and bending stiffness, and have similar design, manufacturing, routing and installation challenges, but with a fraction of the incidents observed with offshore wind array and export cables. An additional caveat is that the offshore oil and gas sector has achieved a reliable track record while installing and maintaining these umbilicals and cables in fully dynamic conditions (ultra-deep water) as well static conditions. One primary difference between how the oil and gas sector executes these systems are design, planning and specification from an early stage of the project. Significant attention is given at an early stage to quality control, including offshore routing and umbilical testing specifically to avoid incidents resulting in umbilical damage due to the tension and crushing forces during installation as well as ambient seawater and seabed interaction. Management of these risks are documented, and optimal mitigation strategies are implemented early in the design phase. This paper will discuss the types of incidents which have been observed during construction and installation of submarine HVAC/HVDC cables in the wind power sector and how they could have been prevented by normal practices of the offshore oil/gas sector from early design and planning all the way to installation and commissioning.


Symmetry ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Duan ◽  
Hong Lu ◽  
Xinbao Zhang ◽  
Yongquan Zhang ◽  
Zhangjie Li ◽  
...  

It is of great significance to study the dynamic characteristics of twin ball screw (TBS) feed system to improve the precision of gantry-type dual-driven computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools. In this paper, an equivalent dynamic model of the TBS feed system is established utilizing lumped mass method considering the stiffness of joints. Equivalent axial stiffness of screw-nut joints and bearing joints are both calculated by Hertz contact theory. Furthermore, a friction model is proposed because the friction force of the screw nut affects the stiffness of the joints. Then, the friction parameters are obtained by using the nonlinear system identification method. Meanwhile, a finite element model (FEM) is developed to assess the dynamic characteristics of TBS feed system under the stiffness of joints. Finally, validation experiments are conducted, and the results show that the positions of the nut and the velocities of worktable greatly affect the dynamic characteristics of the TBS feed system. Compared with the theoretical calculation, FEM and experiments indicate that the dynamic modeling proposed in this article can reach a higher accuracy.


1999 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Ross ◽  
R. J. Greig ◽  
P. Convery

This paper compares the bending stiffness of 5 different colours of copolymer polypropylene (CCP) with that of natural copolymer polypropylene (NCP). Flesh coloured and natural sheets are supplied thicker than other pigmented sheet. The bending stiffness of a specimen may be defined as EI, i.e. the product of E, Young's modulus of elasticity and I, the 2nd moment of area. Strips of “as supplied” (AS) and “post-draped” (PD) specimen were clamped and subjected to bending to assess the effect of pigmentation on bending characteristics. The gradient of the graph of bending deflection δ versus bending moment enables EI to be estimated. The process of thermoforming polypropylene reduces EI, the bending stiffness. However, the manual draping and vacuum procedure introduces so many variables that it is difficult to quantify the effect of pigmentation. The E of a bent specimen may be estimated from the gradient of the graph of δI versus bending moment. In the case of AS sheet, the effect of pigmentation on E is inconclusive. PD specimens indicate a significant reduction in E due to thermoforming. This was verified by an electron-microscope study of AS and PD specimens. Draping an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) results in a non-uniform wall thickness. The results of this study with respect to the effects of pigmentation on the bending stiffness of AFOs are inconclusive. More detailed studies require to be completed in order to confirm which factors are responsible for this non-uniformity in wall thickness and consequent variation in bending stiffness.


2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (03) ◽  
pp. 171-177
Author(s):  
Leilei Dong ◽  
Yi Huang ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Gang Liu

Analytical formulations are presented to determine the bending moment-curvature relationship of a helical layer in unbonded flexible pipes. Explicit expressions describing the variation of both bending stiffness and moment as a function of the applied curvature are given. The approach takes into account the nonlinearity of the response caused by the interlayer slip. The contribution of local bending and torsion of individual helical elements to the bending behavior of helical layers is included. Theoretical results for a typical unbonded flexible pipe using the nonlinear formulation for helical layers are compared with experimental data from the available literature. Encouraging correlations are found and the importance of the initial interlayer pressures is seen. The influence of local bending and torsion of individual helical elements on the bending behavior of the entire pipe is also evaluated. The results show that the inclusion of this local behavior significantly influences the full-slip bending stiffness.


Author(s):  
S. Lukasiewicz ◽  
K. Palka

This paper presents an identification method to detect cracks and corroded members in vibrating structures. The mathematical identification procedure based on the least square technique uses the measured dynamic response of a structure as the source of information. The application of the Finite Element Method (FEM) for the representation of all constraints and model equations allows presentation of the identification process in a simple and very efficient mathematical form. Propagation of cracks and other failures of the members cause changes in the bending and axial stiffness of the members. One can detect the crack by observing the change in the bending stiffness caused by the closing and opening of the crack in two different configurations. The proposed identification method provides highly precise calculated results which allows detection of small changes in the bending stiffness of the members resulting from cracks and corrosion. The method was tested on simulated experimental data.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document