Abstract

Umbilicals are widely used today in various manners by the offshore industry. The design of umbilicals incorporates the mechanical strength to withstand crushing and tensile loads during handling, installation, and service. Some of the technological challenges can be categorised into three items: ultra-deepwater umbilical installation, high-voltage power cables, and integrated production umbilicals (IPUs). At present, no efficient, well-defined design methods provide accurate predictions of the effects of the ultra-deepwater environmental and operational conditions with varying design parameters in the initial design stages of an IPU system. This study developed a practical procedure for IPUs systems under extreme environmental conditions. For an understanding of the thermal characteristics for the crosssectional design of IPU systems, a numerical analysis (finite-element-model)-based parametric study was carried out with the aim of developing design procedures and making recommendations for an optimal IPU umbilical system. The design procedure and the thermal characteristics presented in this paper will provide assistance to the industry in the design and analysis of subsea IPU systems.