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PREFACE
Due to the rapid growth of the offshore field, particularly in the exploration and develop-
ment of offshore oil and gas fields in deep waters of the oceans, the science and engineering
in this area is seeing a phenomenal advancement. This advanced knowledge is not readily
available for use by the practitioners in the field in a single reference.
Tremendous strides have been made in the last decades in the advancement of offshore
exploration and production of minerals. This has given rise to developments of new
concepts and structures and material for application in the deep oceans. This has generated
an obvious need of a reference book providing the state-of-the art in offshore engineering.
This handbook is an attempt to fill this gap. It covers the important aspects of offshore
structure design, installation and operation. The book covers the basic background
material and its application in offshore engineering. Particular emphasis is placed in the
application of the theory to practical problems. It includes the practical aspects of the
offshore structures with handy design guides, simple description of the various components
of the offshore engineering and their functions.
One of the unique strengths of the book is the impressive and encompassing presen-
tation of current functional and operational offshore development for all those involved
with offshore structures. It is tailored as a reference book for the practicing engineers,
and should serve as a handy reference book for the design engineers and consultant
involved with offshore engineering and the design of offshore structures. This book
emphasizes the practical aspects rather than the theoretical treatments needed in the
research in the field of offshore engineering. In particular, it describes the dos and donts
of all aspects of offshore structures. Much hands-on experience has been incorporated in
the write up and contents of the book. Simple formulas and guidelines are provided
throughout the book. Detailed design calculations, discussion of software development,
and the background mathematics has been purposely left out. The book is not intended
to provide detailed design methods, which should be used in conjunction with the
knowledge and guidelines included in the book. This does not mean that they are not
necessary for the design of offshore structures. Typically, the advanced formulations are
handled by specialized software. The primary purpose of the book is to provide the
important practical aspects of offshore engineering without going into the nitty gritty of
the actual detailed design. Long derivations or mathematical treatments are avoided.
Where necessary, formulas are stated in simple terms for easy calculations. Illustrations
are provided in these cases. Information is provided in handy reference tables and design
charts. Examples are provided to show how the theory outlined in the book is applied in
the design of structures. Many examples are borrowed from the deep-water offshore
structures of interest today including their components, and material that completes the
system.
vi
small-scale model. The physical modeling involves design and construction of scale model,
generation of environment in an appropriate facility, measuring responses of the model
subjected to the scaled environment and scaling up of the measured responses to the design
values. These aspects are discussed here.
Installation, foundation, load-out and transportation are covered in Chapter 14. Installa-
tion methods of the following sub-structures are covered: Jackets; Jack-ups; Compliant
towers and Gravity base structures. Different types of foundations and their unique methods
of installation are discussed. The phase of transferring the completed structure onto
the deck of a cargo vessel and its journey to the site, referred to as the load-out and
transportation operation, and their types are described.
Chapter 15 reviews the important materials for offshore application and their corrosion
issues. It discusses the key factors that affect materials selection and design. The chapter
includes performance data and specifications for materials commonly used for offshore
developments. These materials include carbon steel, corrosion resistant alloys, elastomers
and composites. In addition the chapter discusses key design issues such as fracture,
fatigue, corrosion control and welding.
Chapter 16 provides an overview of the geophysical and geotechnical techniques and
solutions available for investigating the soils and rocks that lay beneath the seabed.
A projects successful outcome depends on securing the services of highly competent
contractors and technical advisors. What is achievable is governed by a combination of
factors, such as geology, water depth, environment and vessel capabilities. The discussions
are transcribed without recourse to complex science, mathematics or lengthy descriptions
of complicated procedures.
Because of the practical nature of the examples used in the handbook, many of which came
from past experiences in different offshore locations of the world, it was not possible to
use a consistent set of engineering units. Therefore, the English and metric units are
interchangeably used throughout the book. Dual units are included as far as practical,
especially in the beginning chapters. A conversion table is included in the handbook for
those who are more familiar with and prefer to use one or the other unit system.
This handbook should have wide applications in offshore engineering. People in the follow-
ing disciplines will be benefited from this book: Offshore Structure designers and
fabricators; Offshore Field Engineers; Operators of rigs and offshore structures; Consulting
Engineers; Undergraduate & Graduate Students; Faculty Members in Ocean/Offshore
Eng. & Naval Architectural Depts.; University libraries; Offshore industry personnel;
Design firm personnel.
Subrata Chakrabarti
Technical Editor