DNV & JIP launches Ice design framework

DNV and key industry players have developed an enhanced design framework for floating structures operating in harsh icy conditions, adapted from existing and established design practices used for open waters in other harsh areas. The approach represents a shift in Arctic design philosophy.

In order to ensure a common, transparent and documented approach to achieving acceptable safety levels for offshore structures in cold-climate regions, a DNV-led joint industry project (JIP), ICESTRUCT, has since 2009 worked to develop a designer-friendly and reliable framework based on the ISO 19906 Arctic Offshore Structure standard.

Per Olav Moslet, Arctic technology research programme director at DNV explains that  “The governing design loads for offshore structures in Arctic areas are usually based on interaction with ice, and it is very important that these loads and their effects are treated consistently. Due to the lack of a common industry approach for floating structures in ice, it has previously been difficult for designers to establish the appropriate design loads effects.”

The JIP has developed a methodology for determining ice load effects. Rather than having a specific custom-made Arctic design practice for ice loads, the methodology developed in the JIP is consistent with existing methods for determining other environmental load effects. Consequently, the existing offshore design practice that has been used for several decades in the North Sea and elsewhere can be used for the design of offshore floating structures in ice.

“The advantage of the new DNV framework is that the same design practice can be used irrespective of the type of structure and environment – Arctic or open sea.  That said, the nature and variability of the ice and its complex interaction with structures need to be taken into account,” Moslet said.

Adapted from press release by Peter Farrell.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/05122012/dnv-and-jip-launches-ice-design-framework_472/