Conference article

The objective of modeling the offshore machinery is to allow virtual prototyping and simulation of new designs which in turn makes it possible for engineers to test, redesign, adjust, and optimize a product before it is manufactured. An essential part of the modeling process is validation of the simulation results against real world measurements which in most cases is the limiting factor for achievable accuracy of the modeled system. In this paper we present a case study where a subsystem of an offshore drilling equipment is modeled and benchmarked with a full-scale machinery. Unlike some other works, the current study shows validation of the simulation results and friction identification process. We demonstrate that the model of the vertical pipe handling machine captures the important features of the real world system, and fundamentally improves computational effort of the simulation software as compared to a regular, multi-body model of the same equipment. Hence, the established model could be successfully applied in model based control system design as well as in real-time testing of control systems before commissioning of the equipment.

Modeling and simulation; vertical pipe handling machine; electric drivetrain