Influence of Auxiliary Pipelines of the Deepwater Drilling Riser on the Dynamic Characteristics of the Subsea Wellhead

Abstract

During deepwater drilling, the subsea wellhead will be subjected to dynamic loads transmitted from the marine environment, floating drilling platform, riser, and blowout preventer (BOP). Therefore, complex dynamic responses will be induced, which will seriously affect the safety of the subsea wellhead. In this paper, considering the effect of auxiliary pipelines on the riser, a novel entire mechanical model of the floating platform–riser–BOP–subsea wellhead is established. By using the finite-difference method, the governing equations are solved. Finally, the dynamic bending moment and stress distribution of the subsea wellhead are obtained. Moreover, the model is verified by numerical simulation in Orcaflex. On this basis, the influence of the wave height, wave period, sludge height of the subsea wellhead, rotational stiffness of the lower flexible joint, and wall thickness of the conductor on the dynamic characteristics of the subsea wellhead is discussed. Analysis results show that the theoretical analysis results are in good agreement with the numerical simulation. The auxiliary pipelines have important influence on the dynamic characteristics of the subsea wellhead. Wave period is the most important factor affecting the mechanical behavior of the subsea wellhead. Wave height, wall thickness of the conductor, and sludge height are secondary factors affecting the mechanical behavior of the subsea wellhead. The rotational stiffness of the lower flexible joint has little influence on the mechanical behavior of the subsea wellhead. By solving the optimized mechanical model proposed in this paper, the dynamic characteristic of the subsea wellhead conforms more to the actual deepwater drilling conditions. This study has reference significance for the design and mechanical control of the subsea wellhead in deepwater drilling.