Current modeling for the assessment of offshore structural loading and safety design

swift, local, surface, bottom and slope currents have been observed at several locations on the Norwegian continental shelf and slope. The high topographical resolution of laboratory models reveals how narrow and filamentous many of the now features can be, posing a challenge for monitoring currents along the pipelines from deepwater fields to coastal terminals. The laboratory model results have demonstrated that numerical models need high resolution on slopes and in narrow passages to accurately simulate the now fields for risk assessments. This is most efficiently done with finite element models. The paper shows, by the use of a few selected examples, how the combined use of laboratory and numerical models, together with field measurements at key locations, constitutes a cost-effective method to establish a data base of relevant quality and sufficient resolution for rational pipeline design.