Development of ANN Model for the Prediction of VIV Fatigue Damage of Top-tensioned Riser

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
² Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia

Abstract

Marine riser experiences vortex-induced vibration (VIV) caused by current, leading to fatigue damage if VIV is not considered in design of riser. Estimation of VIV fatigue damage is essential in designing feasible and operable riser. A simplified approach for predicting fatigue damage is required to reduce the computation time to analyze the fatigue damage. This study aims to explore the applicability of artificial neural network (ANN) approach in developing top-tensioned riser fatigue damage prediction model. A total of 2100 riser model is generated with different combination of four main input parameters: riser outer diameter, wall thickness, top tension and uniform current velocity. The modal analysis is performed using OrcaFlex and VIV fatigue damage of the riser is computed using SHEAR7. The four input parameters and corresponding fatigue damage results make up the database for training a 2-layer neural network. Weight and bias values acquired from the training of ANN are used to develop the VIV fatigue damage prediction model of the riser. The results show ANN approach is suitable for prediction of the riser fatigue damage due to VIV. The proposed approach requires further refinements and extension to more input features to improve the accuracy and usefulness of the developed prediction model.