Chapter One
Structures in the
Offshore Environment
James F. Wilson
Offshore structures, constructed on or above the continental shelves and on
the adjacent continental slopes, take many forms and serve a multitude of purposes:
towers for microwave transmission, installations for power generation,
portable pipeline systems for mining the ocean floor, and a few platforms and
floating islands that serve as resort hotels. Most structures offshore, however,
have been built to support the activities of petroleum industries-activities
that include the exploration, drilling, production, storage, and transportation
of oil. Exploratory drilling is done from mobile platforms or carefully positioned
ships; production and storage operations involve more permanent structures;
and pipelines, buoys, and mooring systems for floating structures and ships
support all oil acquisition activities.
The design of marine structures compatible with the extreme offshore environmental
conditions is a most challenging and creative task for the contemporary
ocean engineer. The engineer involved in designing these marine structures
must rely on the knowledge and experience of meteorologists, oceanographers,
naval architects, geologists, and material scient ... read full excerpt from Dynamics of Offshore Structures, 2nd Edition ebook
