Hydrodynamics Study of Riser with Helical Strakes Oscillating in Flow

To reduce the vibration damage to the riser, hydrodynamic parameters of a smooth riser and a riser with triple symmetrically distributed helical strakes are evaluated in an experiment. The wave and current in natural environment are conceptualized to the experimental condition of the oscillatory flow and the uniform flow. Experiment cases are divided into the static flow and the uniform flow, while the risers oscillate along the in-line, the transverse, and the diagonal direction. The added mass coefficient Cm and the drag coefficient Cd are calculated from experimental data by using the Morison equation. The results of the riser with strakes indicate that Cm is independent of the Keulegan-Carpenter (KC) number and the oscillating direction. Cd is found to be in inverse proportion to the ratio of 1/3 power of the KC number and the maximum flow speed to oscillatory velocity. This finding is consistent with the format of Morison parameters of a flat plate in oscillatory flow, which endows the classical theory with novel validation and implication in the design of a riser. Under the same condition, the Cd of the helical strake riser is promoted over 273% than the bare riser, which indicates that the helical strakes efficiently reduce the influence of oscillation under complex conditions. The results provide a new solution for vibration reduction of offshore structures, which is of high value in ocean engineering.