Marine risers: experimental damage detection, monitoring and numerical modelling using digital twins

Marine risers are critical components of any offshore oil and gas production operations linking subsea field developments with production and drilling equipment atop fixed or floating facilities. These systems operate under significant loads from waves, currents, internal overpressure or depressurisation, accidental impacts from vessels or ice, and in harsh environments often in contact with corrosive fluids. They therefore often suffer from various types of damage including fatigue cracking, external and internal corrosion, wear, erosion, sheath collapse and ovalisation, armour unlocking, wire rupture or birdcaging, and damage to clamps and hold-downs. Utilizing global structural vibrations resulting from ambient excitations can be efficiently used for detecting damage, since vibrational responses are affected by changes in stiffness, mass or energy dissipation of the system, which are altered by damage. However, their potential for riser monitoring has been poorly explored so far, and this project will address the gap in knowledge, with the practical aim of reducing inspection and maintenance costs while increasing reliability and integrity of risers. The main objectives of this study are to develop, explore and validate new methods that use dynamic signals, such as accelerations and strains, recorded on risers by a monitoring system to detect damage early and assess structural condition and health. The study will start with numerical simulations of damaged riser response to evaluate and find the most promising data analysis concepts. It will then move to experimental work utilising hydrodynamic laboratory equipment. Alongside vibration signal analysis, advanced, multiscale computer models (‘digital twins’) will be formulated, and calibrated using experimental data and then used to predict damage.

This highly industry-relevant research will be supervised, amongst others, by academics associated with the University of Aberdeen Lloyd’s Register Foundation Centre for Safety and Reliability Engineering and will pave the way for industry uptake of the automated damage monitoring technologies.

The successful candidate should have, or expect to have, an Honours Degree at 2.1 or above (or equivalent) in Mechanical, Civil (Structural), Aerospace Engineering, Applied Physics, Mathematical Physics, Applied Mathematics.

Essential Background: As indicated below by their first-degree specialty. Emphasis is on mathematical-based components of the degree.

Knowledge of: Candidates must have a strong academic background in engineering, applied physics or applied mathematics. Enthusiasm, can-do attitude and strong skills in structural mechanics, materials mechanics, dynamics and mathematical and computer modelling (or strong motivation and clear potential to learn these), as well as willingness to engage in experimental work are all must-haves. Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate both a clear potential for research excellence and their suitability for the research project described below.