Jack-up and geotechnical engineering
Engineering analysis of jack-ups for marine and offshore projects, including renewables
Mobile jack-up units present complex engineering challenges that require fast and reliable resolution.
DNV's jack-up and geotechnical practice is a worldwide centre of excellence, providing fast, reliable and innovative solutions to complex engineering problems. We have extensive experience with jack-ups for drilling, accommodation, platform maintenance and wind farm installation.
Working in partnership with oil companies, contractors, shipyards, consultants, designers and utility companies, we offer structural, geotechnical and mechanical analysis for marine and offshore projects from the drawing board to decommissioning. Much of the oil and gas sector follows our guidelines, standards and rules, and we make a significant contribution to developing global best practice in marine operations.
DNV enables safety, reliability and performance at every stage of the asset lifecycle, from feasibility studies to site-specific assessments for marine warranty approval in the most challenging locations.
We support customers throughout the rig-moving process from rig checks and tow safety, to positioning, installation, and securing the elevated platform.
Our site-specific analyses can be used to review and optimise load conditions in advance, including lightship, variables, centre of gravity, wind, wave and current, and conductor loads.
Our software provides robust and consistent site-specific assessment of jack-up units, helping you evaluate individual performance quickly and efficiently. It combines jack-up dynamics and modules for non-linear soil-structure interactions with comprehensive analysis options and assessment criteria, including the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) 5-5A ‘Recommended practice for site assessment of mobile jack-up units’, DNV and ABS standards, and ISO 19905-1.
The analysis provides loads and reactions at the seabed and leg-to-hull interface from the global assessment, in addition it gives assessment checks for key parameters including; overturning stability, windward leg sliding, preload requirements, leg and holding system strength, leg length and air gap.
What we offer:
- Review, advice, and real-time support for geotechnical site investigations
- Leg penetration analysis, including geotechnical hazards identification
- Geotechnical stability assessment of offshore structures
- Jack-up site-specific assessments to SNAME 5-5A and ISO 19905-1, with compliance with Norwegian requirements
- Windfarm installation vessel assessment to Renewable UK guidelines
- Screening of units and locations, and capability maps for jack-ups
- Punch-through/sudden drop unit capability
- Rack phase difference (RPD) limit analysis
- Motion response and leg strength for towage
- Advanced jack-up structural analyses, including leg touch-down, vessel impact, earthquake response, fatigue analysis, and blast response
- Practical and cost-effective solutions for jack-up geotechnical hazards such as punch through, spudcan-footprint interaction, leg extraction and spudcan scour.
