Numerical Simulation of Subsea Cluster Manifold Installation by the Sheave Method
The sheave installation method (SIM) is an effective and non-conventional method to solve the installation of subsea equipment in deep water (>1000m), which has been developed to deploy the 175t Roncador Manifold I into 1,885 meters water depth in 2002. With the weight increment of subsea cluster manifold, how to solve its installation with the high reliability in the deep sea is still a great challenge. In this paper, the installation of the 300t subsea cluster manifold using the SIM is studied in the two-dimensional coordinate system. The mathematical model is established and the lumped mass method is used to calculate the hydrodynamic forces of the wireropes. Taking into account the complex environment loads, the numerical simulation of the lowering process is carried out by OrcaFlex. The displacement and vibration of the subsea cluster manifold in the z-axis direction and the effective tension at the top of the wireropes can be gotten, which can provide guidance for the installation of the cluster manifold in the South China Sea.