NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF WATER ENTRY OF A SUBSEA MODULE WITH DEFLATED CAVITY SHELLS

In subsea installation operations, the hydrodynamic forces on the subsea module are important considerations when designing the structure and choosing slings. In this paper, the hydrodynamic forces and flow field of a subsea module with deflated cavity shells during forced water entry operation were investigated numerically. The numerical simulation was carried out based on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, with a constant lowering velocity of the module. The results of the numerical simulation were validated by experimental data and they showed good agreement. The relationship between hydrodynamic forces and draft was presented. Furthermore, the slamming positions, free surface variation, pressure variation in deflated cavity shells, slamming coefficient and the influence of holes were studied based on flow field scenes. It was found that the hydrodynamic forces varied with draft non-linearly. Moreover, the change of draft altered the form of the free surface due to the complex steel frame structure of deflated cavity shells. The present study can be further extended to assess the operating conditions of lifting operations and to advise on the design of the subsea module.