Advances in the three-dimensional fluid-structure-soil interaction analysis of offshore jack-up structures

Abstract

The operation of mobile jack-up drilling rigs in harsher ocean environments requires enhanced understanding of their behaviour in storm loading conditions and suitable numerical simulation tools for the assessment of their suitability for a particular site. This paper introduces the numerical program SOS_3D, which incorporates appropriate models for the three components of the structure, the soil and the environmental loading of offshore structures like jack-ups. The program is formulated for three-dimensional (3D) analysis and provides an integrated approach to the inter-related aspects of fluid-structure-soil interaction analysis. In applying the program, results of an example jack-up subj..