University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

The College of Engineering at the
University of Illinois at Chicago invites you to the 2005 Paul M. Chung Distinguished Lecture Series

Design Challenges in Deep-Water Offshore Development Fluid-Structures Problems

Subrata Chakrabarti, NAE, Ph.D., P.E.
Offshore Structures Analysis, Inc.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005
3:00 p.m. Lecture, 1043 ERF
4:30 p.m. Reception, 2 nd floor east atrium, ERF

Design challenges in deep-water offshore development
-- fluid-structure problems

The main objective of this presentation is to review and highlight the research being carried out today to meet the expanding demand for the design, construction, deployment and operation of deepwater offshore structures. This presentation will concentrate on one the most unique areas in the offshore structure design, namely, the fluid-induced responses of the structure. Due to the rapid growth of the offshore field, particularly in deep waters, the science and engineering in this area is seeing a phenomenal advancement. This presentation will begin with an overview of the historical development of fixed and floating structures. For floating structures the design procedure is still advancing and more research is needed in this area. These will be highlighted. The treatment of the individually components, namely, the floater, the mooring system, and the riser system including their coupling effects will be discussed.

Finally, for illustrative purposes a case study will be undertaken from the design, construction and installation of a bridge pier. While it is not a typical offshore structure, the design involved during the construction phase of the pier had many of the same challenges faced by offshore structures and is considered a good illustration of the application of the techniques discussed in the earlier part of the presentation. The talk will conclude with a discussion of the present-day deep water design challenges that remain and research that is needed to meet these challenges.

Brief Biography

Subrata Chakrabarti is currently the president of Offshore Structure Analysis Inc., Plainfield, Ill. The company provides engineering and technical services to and software development for the offshore industries and the US Navy. Several design companies use design/analysis software Subrata has developed. Dr. Chakrabarti received his Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Colorado in 1968. He joined the research division of Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. in Plainfield, IL in 1968 where he worked as the director of the Marine Research Division in the last 15 years of his career there. He was involved in the research, design, testing, and development related to many offshore structures.

He was elected to the 2002 National Academy of Engineering for his major contributions to the field of hydrodynamics and fluid structure interaction in the design of harbor, coastal, and offshore structures. Dr. Chakrabarti is a fellow of American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Wessex Institute of Great Britain and American Association for Advancement of Science. He was one of the pioneers to help initiate the Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering division within ASME in 1985. Dr. Chakrabarti was instrumental in starting the Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, ASME in 1987 and served as the Technical editor of the journal for ten years. He is currently the American Technical editor of the Applied Ocean Research, Elsevier.

Subrata has been instructing the offshore community in several parts of the world for the past 20 plus years with short courses on the subject of Dynamics of Offshore Structures. The instructions have been accepted as a standard bi-annual course for the offshore design and oil companies in Houston. Dr. Chakrabarti was a visiting faculty member at several universities, including visiting NAVFAC professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland in the summer of 1986 and again in 1988.

Subrata has recently completed his fourth textbook on Theory and Practice of Hydrodynamics and Vibration . He is the technical editor of the forthcoming (1200 page) Handbook of Offshore Engineering (Elsevier) scheduled to appear in print in Jan./Feb. 2005. He is also the sole author of three other books related to Offshore Hydrodynamics and Model Testing. Subrata has over 150 refereed publications in the world scientific journals and written chapters in eight books. He has also edited over six books in the general area of fluid-structure interaction.