An optimization method for the suppression device configuration of risers. (15th December 2019) - Liu, Xiuquan
Abstract: Vortex induced vibration (VIV) can cause fatigue damage of risers. Many devices, such as fairings, helical strakes are developed to suppress riser VIV. However, risers are long in a range from hundreds of meters to thousands of meters. Where to install a limited number of suppression devices, or in other words, how to design the suppression device configuration is still a challenge for riser engineering. Evolution theory is introduced to solve the optimization problem of the suppression device configuration of risers in this paper. Several optimization methods, including GA, EA and mGA are proposed for the optimization of the suppression device configuration of risers. Each riser element is firstly represented as a gene with two states, with suppression devices or not. Then the suppression device configuration of risers will evolve in the direction of decreasing riser VIV fatigue until reaching the optimal configuration. The proposed method is demonstrated by its application to an engineering case. It turns out that the proposed method can perform the optimization design of the suppression device configuration accurately and efficiently. The riser VIV fatigue can be reduced obviously through the optimization design. Highlights: Evolution theory is introduced to solve the optimization problem of risers. Several methods are proposed for the configuration optimization of risers. The proposed methods perform optimization design accurately and efficiently. The riser VIV fatigue is reduced obviously through the optimization design.