Subsea Mud Mat Drop Test Rig
Overview
A subsea mud mat, also referred to as an offshore mud mat, serves as a foundational element for subsea equipment, providing stability and security on the seabed. Custom-engineered to meet specific requirements, mud mats vary in size and skirt depth depending on factors such as soil shear strength and equipment loading conditions. Their design emphasizes critical capabilities including bearing capacity to support equipment weight, resistance to tipping or overturning forces, and prevention of lateral movement and twisting. Manufactured to industry standards like those established by the American Petroleum Institute (API), mud mats undergo inspection by both first-party and third-party inspectors to ensure compliance before deployment. These essential structures find diverse applications across industries, serving as foundational elements crucial for stabilizing and supporting various subsea installations. Primarily utilized in offshore oil and gas production, they anchor structures such as wellheads, manifolds, and pipelines, ensuring their stability and integrity on the seabed. Additionally, mud mats are integral components in offshore wind farms, providing stable foundations for wind turbine structures and substations. In marine research and exploration endeavors, mud mats anchor equipment and research platforms, facilitating data collection and analysis in marine environments. Deploying pre-installed mud mats through the splash zone, transitioning from an incline to a horizontal orientation, requires careful study of shock loading for structural integrity and effectiveness in soft seabed conditions. Pre-installed mud mats are susceptible to wave slamming through splash deployment. Techniques like inclined positioning and sacrificial slings are utilized to manage shock loadings and to ensure a smooth transition to the horizontal orientation. To address this, the objective is to design and orchestrate an experiment in which measuring shock tensions within the lifting wire during offshore mud mat orienting.
Community Benefit
As we move further into ocean occupation, equipment such as Mud Mats are necessary for subsea anchoring and equipment deployment. Further analysis of these structures will better equip the personnel using them. The main objective of the Mud Mat Drop Test Rig is to employ offshore personnel with greater knowledge on the shock loadings experienced by lift equipment and consumables during mud mat transition to horizontal orientation.
Team Members
Sponsored By
Subsea7
OURI