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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

The polyester rope taut leg mooring concept: A feasible means for reducing deepwater mooring cost and improving stationkeeping performance

Conference ·
OSTI ID:128879
The polyester rope taut leg mooring system offers a unique opportunity to reduce deepwater mooring system cost, while simultaneously improving stationkeeping performance. These gains are over catenary or taut leg systems designed using all steel components. This paper builds upon work presented at prior OTC conferences and focuses on concept feasibility and implementation. Feasibility is addressed from a systems basis including fiber and rope selection, definition of mechanical properties, mooring system integration, and effects of long-term usage. Implementation is believed practical based on current technology and in-place manufacturing capability. Available cyclic tension test results for polyester rope suggest a comparable fatigue performance to wire rope. The most significant challenge facing application of the polyester taut leg mooring concept is the lack of in-service experience compared to conventional steel catenary mooring systems.
OSTI ID:
128879
Report Number(s):
CONF-950501--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English