With the increasing weight of the topsides of the offshore platform in the developing offshore oil and gas resources, the installation cost and difficulty are greatly increased. It is necessary to reveal the dynamic response characteristics of the floatover operations and accurately estimate the response of the floatover system. However, predicting the dynamic response of the complex continuous floatover load transfer operations are of great difficulty. This study conducts model tests to explore the dynamic response characteristics of the continuous floatover installation of mega platform topsides. The continuous load transfer operations from 0%-100% stages are experimentally simulated in different environmental cases. The motions of the topsides and the barges, the LMU(Leg mating unit) loads, and the DSU(Deck support unit) loads are simultaneously measured and analyzed in detail. Results provide a reference benchmark for the application of the continuous floatover load transfer operations.
With the development of the offshore oil and gas industry, the installation technology and operational capabilities of large offshore platforms have rapidly improved. However, for mega topsides, the traditional lifting method is time-consuming and costly. On the contrary, the floatover method is becoming increasingly applicable (Li et al., 2003). When using the floatover method for installation, the topside is assembled in advance on land and quickly installed onto the jacket. Therefore, the floatover method has the advantages of less time consumption, low cost, and low risk (O'Neill et al., 2000).
Floatover installation is mainly divided into stages: transportation, docking, mating, and undocking. Mating, the process of gradually transferring the topside loads from the barge to the jacket, is undoubtedly crucial. During the mating process, there are many components that interact with each other, such as the impact forces between LMUs and the topside, and the impact forces between fenders and the barge. Therefore, the mating stage is the focus of floatover installation.
