Comparison between ASME Analytical Calculation and FEA Calculation for

the Design of Mid Water Arch Tank and Structure

Before I start my presentation, I would like to present to you the flow of my
presentation today. Firstly, I am going to give a brief introduction on MWA Tank and
Structure. After that, I will be focusing on each and every component of a typical
MWA system, which are buoyancy tank and structure such as gravity base, gutter
and bulkhead. Then, I will be explaining on the structural assessment methods use
to assess the structure integrity of a MWA system, which are ASME Analytical
Calculation and FEA Calculation. Then, I will be comparing the result obtained from
these two structural assessment methods. Last but not least, I will be concluding
this presentation by state the reason why we plan to go for FEA Calculation while
designing a MWA tank and structure.
Part 1: Overview of MWA System

Mid Water Arch system is a buoyant subsea structure that is tethered on the mean
sea level by certain amount of buoyancy force as shown in the diagram.
MWA system is designed to support an array of flexible riser and umbilical as shown
in the diagram. In normal cases, MWA is used to achieve S configuration, which
are lazy S and steep S configuration. MWA is also applied to protect the integrity of
the support flexible riser and umbilical.

MWA Description
Mid water arch is a system made of buoyancy tank, gutter, bulk head and gravity
base. As you can see from this diagram, a typical buoyancy tank of the MWA is
normally in cylindrical shape with two ellipsoidal heads. There are two types of
gutters designed in an arch system, which are horizontal gutter, which is designed
with certain radius in order to ensure that the bending radius of the riser when the
riser lay down on it is always greater than the minimum required bending radius.
Whereas, the vertical gutter is designed with certain spacing in order to allow the
riser to lay down on it in a fixed and correct position to avoid clashing happens
during operation. A gravity base is designed to be the foundation of the MWA and
allow it to stay at a fixed position. Lastly, the anodes applied on the MWA a system
is normally use for catholic protection to avoid corrosion happens on the MWA
system during the design life period.

MWA, Tether and Tether Base General Arrangement

A MWA system is normally tethered to the seabed by a gravity base as shown in this
diagram.
Structural Assessment of MWA tank and structure
Structural Assessment of the MWA tank and structure is normally performed during
the design stage in order to ensure that the MWA system design is able to well
perform throughout the design life. Therefore, analysis while various types of load
conditions applied on the tank have to be performed. In today presentation, there
are two types of structural assessment of MWA tank and structure are going to
discussed, which are ASME Analytical Calculation and FEA Calculation. ASME
Analytical Calculation is used commonly in Technip to assess the structural integrity
of the MWA tank and structure up to today. Whereas, FEA Calculation method is
commonly uses in other marine structure such as subsea clamp. Therefore, in this
study, FEA Calculation is chosen to assess the structural integrity of MWA tank and
structure. The pros and cons of each method will be discussed in the following slide.

Pros and Cons