Investigation on Vortex-Induced Vibration Experiment of a Standing Variable-Tension Deepsea Riser Based on BFBG Sensor Technology

Abstract

A vortex-induced vibration (VIV) experiment on a standing variable-tension deepsea riser was conducted to investigate the applicability and sensitivity of Bare Fiber Bragg Grating (BFBG) sensor technology for testing deepsea riser vibrations. The dominant frequencies, dimensionless displacements, in-line and cross-flow couplings of the riser VIV under different top tensions were observed through wavelet transform and modal decomposition. The result indicated that, excited by the same external flow velocities, the cross-flow and in-line dominant frequencies of the riser both decreased with increasing top tension. In terms of displacement responses, increasing top tension caused the root mean square (RMS) displacement to decrease and the vibration amplitude to reduce. In terms of cross-flow and in-line coupling, the closer a location is to the ends of the riser, the smaller the trajectory is and the more standard the “8” becomes. During top tension increases, there exists a “lag” in the time when the riser’s vibration trajectory becomes an “8”. The Slalom Surround Installation approach can effectively prevent the local breakage of the optical fiber string. BFBG sensor technology can give an accurate presentation of the displacement time history, vibration amplitude and frequency of the riser, provides a clear picture of how the riser’s mode and VIV evolve as a function of flow velocity.