The optimum control of thruster system for dynamically positioned vessels

An offshore vessel with a dynamic positioning system (DP system) needs fast response to produce thrust to counteract the environmental forces acting on it for the purpose of maintaining its position and heading as close as possible to the working position. Therefore, quick and effective modulation of the thrust is the problem to determine the thrust and the rotation angle of the thruster devices of the ship. This paper presents an effective optimum control for a thruster system, using the sequential quadratic method to achieve economical and effective modulation of the thrust and the direction of the thruster. An optimum control study of a 2280 tons DP coring vessel with five rotary azimuth thruster marine positioning is studied in detail, which can quickly and exactly estimate the thrusts and angles of direction of all the thrusters. The results can provide a valuable thruster system for a dynamically positioned vessel.     

On the use of the capability polar plots program for dynamic positioning systems for marine vessels

As the capability of polar plots becomes better understood, improved dynamic positioning (DP) systems are possible since the control algorithms greatly depend on the accuracy of the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic models. The measurements and estimation of the environmental disturbances have an important role in the optimal design and selection of a DP system for a marine vessel. The main objective of this work is to present a new software program capable of estimating the environmental forces, thrusters capability calculations, and capability polar plots for marine vessels. A flowchart illustrating the logic and data flow of a developed software program, the Capability Polar Plot Program (CPPP), and the estimated results for two case studies for a scientific drilling vessel and a survey vessel are presented. It is obvious from the obtained results that the developed program has a future potential for the estimation of the Capability Polar Plots for marine vessels. Moreover, the developed software program would be considered as a marine tool for the thrusters' selection and their configuration for marine vessels and floating production units for the Oil and Gas industries.     

An Effective Control System of Thrust and Moment Modulation for a Dynamically Positioned Vessel

Dynamic positioning (DP) is an operation method whereby the position of a surface vessel is maintained in close proximity to a required position in the horizontal plane through the controlled application of forces and moments generated by purposely installed thrusters. When estimating thrust, this kind of conventional control system often uses many acceleration sensors, velocity sensors, environment sensors, and filters. Usually, these sensors have measured electrical errors. To reduce the number of sensors used and to decrease the measurement errors, this article presents an effective control system for estimating thrust and moment commands, which is based on energy and impulsemomentum principles. Donha and Brinati's example is followed to verify the feasibility of the present control system, which performs semisubmersible platform positioning using an LQG controller, and the results are feasible and economical. A simulated coring vessel marine positioning in southern Taiwan is presented, which can estimate the counterthrust and moment commands, and the complex environmental forces and moments are described. The results can provide a valuable control system for dynamically positioned vessels.     

An Effective Control System of Thrust and Moment Modulation for a Dynamically Positioned Vessel

Dynamic positioning (DP) is an operation method whereby the position of a surface vessel is maintained in close proximity to a required position in the horizontal plane through the controlled application of forces and moments generated by purposely installed thrusters. When estimating thrust, this kind of conventional control system often uses many acceleration sensors, velocity sensors, environment sensors, and filters. Usually, these sensors have measured electrical errors. To reduce the number of sensors used and to decrease the measurement errors, this article presents an effective control system for estimating thrust and moment commands, which is based on energy and impulsemomentum principles. Donha and Brinati's example is followed to verify the feasibility of the present control system, which performs semisubmersible platform positioning using an LQG controller, and the results are feasible and economical. A simulated coring vessel marine positioning in southern Taiwan is presented, which can estimate the counterthrust and moment commands, and the complex environmental forces and moments are described. The results can provide a valuable control system for dynamically positioned vessels.     

Dynamic consequence analysis of marine electric power plant in dynamic positioning

Diesel-electric power and propulsion systems with electric thrusters are the industry standard for vessels with dynamic positioning (DP) systems. Diesel engines are paired with generators in generator sets and are used to produce electric power used by thrusters and main propellers during stationkeeping and transit, and other consumers such as hotel load, drilling drives, cranes, and heave compensators. Consequence analysis is used to verify the safety of a DP operation. It is used to check whether there is sufficient running power and thruster capacity available to retain sufficient thrust to maintain vessel position after a worst single failure. Recently, extensions of class rules enable standby generators to be considered in this analysis. This provides a more efficient configuration as relatively fewer generator sets may be running. However, DP performance is degraded during the transition from the fault occurrence until the plant is completely recovered. It is important to determine if this degradation leads to a loss of position during the transition. This study presents a simulation-based dynamic consequence analysis method that can be used to dynamically simulate fault scenarios such that the dynamics of the transient recovery can be analyzed. This analysis can be used for decision-support to configure marine electric power plants in DP. Results from the simulation study show that the currently used static consequence analysis method may provide non-conservative results under certain configurations.     

半潜式平台动力定位系统推进器失效时域模拟

针对某最新的深水半潜平台,应用PID控制策略和卡尔曼滤波技术相结合的方法对其动力定位能力进行了研究,重点关注在两台推进器于不同时刻分别失效后的平台运动和推进器功率消耗信息。在平台的运动时域分析中,通过采用数值模拟与实验验证相结合的方法来获得平台的水动力数据;而在推力分配过程中,以最小功率消耗为优化目标,并考虑了推进器的机械物理特性及水动力干扰造成的推力损失对推进器的推力进行了分配。结果表明编制的模拟软件具有理想的模拟效果,该平台在指定海况下动力定位能力良好。     

Development, comparison, and preliminary experimental validation ofnonlinear dynamic thruster models

This paper examines dynamical models for bladed-propeller-type marine thrusters. Previously reported thruster dynamics models are reviewed, and a simplified model is proposed. Experimental testing of both the transient and steady-state performance of a marine thruster corroborates previously reported data, validates the simplified thruster model, and raises new questions. A companion paper reports preliminary experiments in the design and testing of thrust controllers which incorporate the dynamical thruster models described in the present paper     

码头-缆绳-动力定位船舶耦合系统的时频特性分析

为研究系泊状态下动力定位船舶与码头及缆绳间的耦合作用,采取凝集质量法计算系泊缆索有效张力,设置弹簧阻尼单元用以计算码头碰垫间的非线性反力,应用比例-积分-微分控制系统(PID)进行推力控制。在系泊状态下,以动力定位船舶和无动力定位船舶为研究对象,分析了耦合系统中侧推器对消除因一阶波浪载荷而引起的船舶运动影响的作用;针对动力定位船舶,讨论了码头-缆绳及目标位置两个因素对动力定位船舶的定位能力及侧推器性能的影响。结果表明,在选取合理目标位置的情况下,耦合系统中的侧推器性能及动力定位船舶的定位能力均得到了有效提高。     

Preliminary experiments in model-based thruster control forunderwater vehicle positioning

This paper reports comparative experiments with two novel and one conventional thrust control algorithms for the unsteady (transient) control of thrust generated by conventional bladed-propeller marine thrusters. First, comparative experiments with three different thrust control algorithms over a wide range of unsteady operating conditions suggest that model-based control algorithms offer transient thrust-control performance superior to that of their nonmodel-based counterpart. Second, hybrid simulations combining actual real-time experimental thruster responses with simulated one-dimensional real-time vehicle dynamics suggest that model-based thrust control algorithms offer vehicle position control superior to that of its nonmodel-based counterpart     

Coupled dynamic analysis of deep-sea mining support vessel with dynamic positioning

Deep-sea mining (DSM) is an advanced concept. A simulation method of coupled vessel/riser/body system in DSM combined with dynamic positioning (DP) is proposed. Based on the three-dimensional potential flow theory, lumped mass method, and Morison’s equations the dynamic models of the production support vessel, riser and slurry pump are established. A proportion integration differentiation (PID) controller with a nonlinear observer and a thrust allocation unit are used to simulate the DP system. Coupled time domain simulation is implemented with the vessel operated in two DP modes. Results of the vessel and pump motions, riser tension, and thruster forces are obtained. It shows that the pump will be lifted by the riser when the vessel is chasing the next set point. Riser tension is influenced by the wave frequency motions of the vessel in positioning mode and low-frequency motions in tracking mode. The proposed simulation scheme is practical to study the DSM operation.     

单体喷水推进船舶动力定位控制方法研究

面向一型喷水推进器为动力定位执行机构的单体喷水推进船舶,开展了船舶仿真模型建立、推力分配及进一步动力定位相关控制算法设计与仿真模拟。针对传统的定步长Kalman滤波提出了改进方案,同时考虑到单体喷水推进船舶的特殊性,对推力分配算法进行了优化,并基于荷载前馈的PD控制算法开展了不同工况下的仿真试验。试验结果表明,所提出的喷水推进推力分配算法能够有效控制一型单体喷水推进船舶实现定点、定艏向、移位、转艏等动力定位典型功能,并具备一定抗外部干扰能力。     

An experimental study on an auxiliary towing system for an FPSO using active thrusters

It is ideal to design the best hull shape for a floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) that meets all performance criteria from an engineering point of view. However, in reality, it is difficult to satisfy all the criteria at the same time. If one of the performances cannot meet the criteria, then additional equipment or systems are installed to improve that performance. In this paper, when an FPSO cannot meet the towing stability inherently, we attempt to establish a procedure for determining an auxiliary towing system. Firstly, various systems that can be applied to the FPSO are compared and reviewed to improve the towing stability of the FPSO. Among them, using three active thrusters was chosen as the auxiliary towing system. Improvement of towing stability was verified from a towing model test conducted at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN). However, thruster cavitation was raised as a key problem when using thrusters for a purpose for which they were not intended. A thruster cavitation model test was additionally performed to check the safety of the thrusters. Based on these results, a safe operating range under extreme condition was confirmed by observing the occurrence of thruster cavitation. The predicted maximum unit total thrust of each thruster was compared with the observed safe operating range. Finally, the effectiveness and safety of the auxiliary towing system was verified.     

深水钻井船动力定位能力分析方法研究

在风载荷估算的传统模块法基础上,引入了形状修正系数、方向修正系数和遮蔽系数,提出了适合于钻井船风载荷估算的改进模块法,可为钻井船动力定位能力分析提供更准确的环境载荷。同时,针对深水钻井船配置有数量众多推力器的特点,采用序列二次规划法进行推力器的推力分配优化求解,形成了适用于深水钻井船的动力定位能力分析方法,并编制了相关分析软件。实例分析表明,本方法计算结果可靠,可以用于深水钻井船的动力定位能力评估。     

Setpoint Chasing for Thruster-Assisted Position Mooring

In the present industrial thruster-assisted position mooring (PM) systems, thrusters are used to damp the vessel's dynamical motions and to provide compensation of any line breakage. To increase robustness and extend the weather window for PM systems, this paper proposes a new concept of setpoint (SP) chasing for moderate and extreme conditions. The SP in moderate conditions is the vessel's equilibrium position where the environmental loads are balanced by the mooring forces to avoid the conflict between the control action of thruster assistance and the mooring system. To chase this SP, the thruster assistance provides additional damping and restoring forces to compensate the dynamic environmental loads while the mooring system compensates the mean environmental loads. The simulations and experiments suggested that the proposed SP chasing for moderate conditions improved the vessel performance while the utilization of the mooring system was maximized. Due to risk for mooring line breakage, the SP in extreme conditions is the position closer to the field zero point than the equilibrium position. To chase this SP, the thruster assistance provides damping, restoring force and mean force controls to compensate both the dynamic and a part of the mean environmental loads while the mooring system compensates the rest of the mean environmental loads. The simulations indicated that the proposed SP chasing for extreme conditions reduced the vessel's drift and tension in the most loaded line.      

Formation Control of Marine Surface Craft: A Lagrangian Approach

This paper presents a method for formation control of marine surface craft inspired by Lagrangian mechanics. The desired formation configuration and response of the marine surface craft are given as a set of constraint functions. The functions are treated according to constraints in analytical mechanics. Thus, constraint forces arise and feedback from the constraint functions keeps the formation assembled. Since the constraint functions are designed for a desired effect, the forces can be interpreted as control laws. Examples of constraint functions that maintain a formation are presented. Furthermore, the same approach has been applied with no major modification to position control purposes for a single vessel. An extension to underactuated vessels is given. Simulations with nonlinear models of tugboats illustrate the proposed method versatility and its robustness with respect to environmental disturbances and time delays     

Dynamic Positioning Control of Surge-Pitch Coupled Motion for SmallWaterplane-Area Marine Structures

For general dynamic positioning systems, controllers are mainly based on the feedback of motions only in the horizontal plane. However, for marine structures with a small water plane area and low metacentric height,undesirable surge and pitch oscillations may be induced by the thruster actions. In this paper, three control laws are investigated to suppress the induced pitch motion by adding pitch rate, pitch angle or pitch acceleration into the feedback control loop. Extensive numerical simulations are conducted with a semi-submersible platform for each control law. The influences of additional terms on surge-pitch coupled motions are analyzed in both frequency and time domain. The mechanical constraints of the thrust allocation and the frequency characters of external forces are simultaneously considered. It is concluded that adding pitch angle or pitch acceleration into the feedback loop changes the natural frequency in pitch, and its performance is highly dependent on the frequency distribution of external forces, while adding pitch rate into the feedback loop is always effective in mitigating surge-pitch coupled motions.     

海上浮体动力定位外力计算

动力定位系统（dynamic positioning system）是一种闭环自动控制系统,采用推力器来抵抗风、浪、流等作用在浮体上的境力,使其保持在所要求的位置上。船舶的风和流作用力由经验公式求得,波浪力主要考虑二阶漂移力,由三维势流理论的直接积分法求得。通过模拟仿真,表明其结果能够用于船舶动力定位系统研究。     

Adaptive fuzzy controller design for dynamic positioning system of vessels

This paper develops an adaptive fuzzy controller for the dynamic positioning (DP) system of vessels with unknown dynamic model parameters and unknown time-varying environmental disturbances. The controller is designed by combining the adaptive fuzzy system with the vectorial backstepping method. An adaptive fuzzy system is employed to approximate the uncertain term induced by unknown dynamic model parameters and unknown time-varying environmental disturbances. It is theoretically proved that the proposed adaptive fuzzy DP controller can make the vessel be maintained at the desired values of its position and heading with arbitrary accuracy, while guaranteeing the uniform ultimate boundedness of all signals in the closed-loop DP control system of vessels. Simulation studies with comparisons on a supply vessel are carried out, and the results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Toward an improved understanding of thruster dynamics forunderwater vehicles

This paper proposes a novel approach to modeling the four quadrant dynamic response of thrusters as used for the motion control of ROV and AUV underwater vehicles. The significance is that these vehicles are small in size and respond quickly to commands. Precision in motion control will require further understanding of thruster performance than is currently available. The model includes a four quadrant mapping of the propeller blades lift and drag forces and is coupled with motor and fluid system dynamics. A series of experiments is described for both long and short period triangular, as well as square wave inputs. The model is compared favorably with experimental data for a variety of differing conditions and predicts that force overshoots are observed under conditions of rapid command changes. Use of the model will improve the control of dynamic thrust on these vehicles     

Dynamic analysis of vessel/riser/equipment system for deep-sea mining with RBF neural network approximations

Abstract

Deep-sea mining (DSM) is an advanced technology. This article is focused on the dynamic analysis of a coupled vessel/riser/equipment system of a DSM based on radial basis function (RBF) neural network approximations while considering vessel dynamic positioning (DP) and active heave compensation (AHC). A coupled model including the production support vessel (PSV), lifting riser, and slurry pump is established containing simulated DP and AHC models. Furthermore, dynamic simulations are implemented to obtain the results of the vessel motions, thruster forces, pump motions and riser tensions. Using optimal Latin hypercube sampling, an RBF neural network approximation model is established, the input includes environmental factors and the output includes the dynamic responses of the pump motion and riser tension. Calculations are performed using RBF network approximations instead of a coupled model. The obtained results show that the PSV wave frequency (WF) motions have significant influence on the dynamic responses of the subsea system. Moreover, the current load affects the compensation effect. The RBF network approximation model can be used to reduce the required calculation time.