THE ANALYSIS OF FLEXIBLE RISER CONFIGURATIONS USING AN INITIAL-VALUE METHOD

An initial-value method is proposed for calculating the tension and geometrical profile of flexible risers by solving explicitly the governing differential equations. The technique can be applied without difficulty to large riser displacements. The main aim of the paper is to demonstrate the potential of this method. The results presented do not include the effects of riser stiffness or torsional loads, but in principle the method can be modified to take these into account.