Probabilistic Modeling of Roughness Effects Caused by Bio-Colonization on Hydrodynamic Coefficients: A Sensitivity Study for Jacket-Platforms in Gulf of Guinea

Abstract

Nowadays, challenge for requalification of existing offshore platforms through the reassessment process leads to consider the importance of updating new information (e.g. environmental data, new regulations, etc.). Regarding to this information and depending on offshore fields, data of marine growth colonization is shown to have a dominant effect. This is a real challenge in the Gulf of Guinea that this study focuses on. Marine growth is known to cause adverse effects on the performance of offshore structures. Its presence can change the roughness and the diameter of structural members and hence change the level of hydrodynamic coefficients. Moreover, modifying the added mass can change the natural period and hence dynamic responses of structures. Even platforms with the best protection schemes against marine organisms will after few weeks at least few months start to be covered by various types of marine growth. Generally, it was also recognized that the most important source of loading exerted on offshore structures comes from hydrodynamic actions which are influenced by hydrodynamic coefficient values. The colonization process is very complex and results are in a large diversity of marine growth type (animal, vegetal — hard, soft) and species. This study therefore proposes a stochastic modeling of marine growth and the roughness of hard species based on Response Surface Methodology. A geometrical description of nth order of Stokes model, formed by a random linear combination of deterministic vectors is employed. Finally, the complexity level of roughness modeling is analyzed and the results are discussed.