Active Control System for Subsea Installations
Rafael Domenici Pereira Simões1; Eugenio Liborio Feitosa Fortaleza1
1 Universidade de Brasília
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-1748
Resumo
Nowadays the subsea factory is a main topic in the offshore oil industry. However, subsea equipment are still positioned and installed by an operator that displaces the platform considering the images produced by a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). This operation is totally dependent on the experience and skill of the operator. Another constraint is that this operation can only happen with good condition of sea waves and underwater visibility. The present article presents the development of an active control system in order to propose a trajectory control strategy to the subsea equipment positioning. This allows determining the precise platform motion that is required to obtain the desired position of the subsea equipment (displacement and stabilization). Thus, the subsea installation can be done without the direct intervention of the operator. This automated process increases efficiency and reliability of the operation, reducing the operating time and the risks of equipment damage. The governing equation of the physical model is obtained from the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation under external forces from the fluid in which it is submerged. An analytical solution is developed for the physical model. The accuracy of the proposed solution is verified through numerical simulations of the system with the finite difference method. An open-loop trajectory is calculated and a comparison is made between a prescribed trajectory of the subsea equipment and the response of the subsea equipment. As main result, this new technology proposes a faster and safer way to position and install subsea equipment, increasing the efficiency of the operation and the range of weather conditions in which the operation can be performed.
Palavras-chave: Subsea Installation; Motion Planning; Tracking Planning