eprintid: 710
rev_number: 16
eprint_status: archive
userid: 17
dir: disk0/00/00/07/10
datestamp: 2017-07-24 22:29:36
lastmod: 2017-10-07 15:51:58
status_changed: 2017-07-24 22:29:36
type: report
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Bootland, Niall
creators_name: Brosa Planella, Ferran
creators_name: Christmas, Jacqueline
creators_name: Lunz, Davin
creators_name: Dewynne, Jeff
creators_name: Fadai, Nabil
creators_name: Gower, Artur
creators_name: Hicks, Peter
creators_name: Kovalchuk, Vasyl
creators_name: Lacey, Andrew
creators_name: Lackner, Marie-Louise
creators_name: Lee, Sara
creators_name: Ockendon, John
creators_name: Pereira, Victoria
creators_name: Piette, Bernard
creators_name: Purvis, Richard
creators_name: Roy, Thomas
creators_name: Spelman, Tamsin
creators_name: Timms, Robert
corp_creators: David Fogg
title: Automatic Optimised Design of Umbilicals
ispublished: pub
subjects: utilities
studygroups: esgi116
companyname: Technip Umbilicals Ltd
full_text_status: public
problem_statement: (1.1) A subsea control umbilical is defined as an assemblage of electrical and fibre optic cables, and fluid conduits bound together for robustness and flexibility. In offshore oil- and gas-field developments, umbilicals are critical components for the production of hydrocarbons, providing electrical and hydraulic power, control and signals to and from the subsea components in the system, along with a means of supplying injection chemicals for flow assurance purposes or as a conduit for gas transportation.

(1.2) Technip Umbilicals designs and manufactures bespoke umbilicals to clients’ individual specifications. A design generally comprises a cross-section layout that shows the positions of the specified components within the construction, along with inert filler that provides mechanical protection and stability. The positioning of the components and filler affect the properties of the finished product and the ease and cost of manufacture. The process of cross-section design is currently performed manually, using AutoCAD. Figure 1 shows five different designs for the same set of components, where each design is optimal in some respect. There is no known solution that is optimal in all respects.

(1.3) A large amount of judgement is applied to the designs during preparation and review, based on calculated properties, experience, manufacturing con- siderations, knowledge of costs, etc., which makes judgement by non-experts difficult and the design process time-consuming.

Requirement
Based on the requested functional specification, produce an optimised um- bilical design automatically. The design will achieve required mechanical properties, primarily strength and linear weight targets, and minimise
• the finished diameter of the umbilical • manufactured cost
• manufacturing risk

(1.4) An evolution of the system might accommodate learning from feedback, or learning from previous successful designs, even where those designs did not have exactly the required properties or components. It is anticipated that an automated design tool might generate designs outside the usual rules of thumb applied by human designers, but which are more optimal in some sense.
date: 2016
citation:   Bootland, Niall and Brosa Planella, Ferran and Christmas, Jacqueline and Lunz, Davin and Dewynne, Jeff and Fadai, Nabil and Gower, Artur and Hicks, Peter and Kovalchuk, Vasyl and Lacey, Andrew and Lackner, Marie-Louise and Lee, Sara and Ockendon, John and Pereira, Victoria and Piette, Bernard and Purvis, Richard and Roy, Thomas and Spelman, Tamsin and Timms, Robert  (2016) Automatic Optimised Design of Umbilicals.  [Study Group Report]     
document_url: http://miis.maths.ox.ac.uk/miis/710/1/ESGI116%20-%20Automatic%20Optimised%20Design%20of%20Umbilicals%20-%20Technip%20Umbilicals%20Ltd.pdf