A coupled flow-structural analysis of OTEC bundle risers

Abstract

This study presents a coupled flow-structural analysis of bundle risers and an associated comparison with a simple riser, which has the same sectional area with the bundles. For the purpose, general purpose software packages, ANSYS-CFX and Mechanics, are used in a sequence. In other words, CFX is used for flow analysis and Mechanics is used for structural analysis hence, a coupled flow-structural analysis is realized. Consider the bundle types, it is shown that the number of risers in the bundle is important to decrease the structural response. It is found that bundle 1 (7 risers) is a better option than bundle 2 (19 risers) hence, it is not always better to increase the number of risers in the bundle type.Mechanics, are used in a sequence. In other words, CFX is used for flow analysis and Mechanics is used for structural analysis hence, a coupled flow-structural analysis is realized. Consider the bundle types, it is shown that the number of risers in the bundle is important to decrease the structural response. It is found that bundle 1 (7 risers) is a better option than bundle 2 (19 risers) hence, it is not always better to increase the number of risers in the bundle type.