Robustifying dynamic positioning of crane vessels for heavy lifting operation

Construction crane vessels make use of dynamic positioning (DP) systems during the installation and removal of offshore structures to maintain the vessel's position. Studies have reported cases of instability of DP systems during offshore operation caused by uncertainties, such as mooring forces. DP “robustification” for heavy lift operations...

A Switching Control Perspective on the Offshore Construction Scenario of Heavy-Lift Vessels

Position control for heavy-lift construction vessels is crucial for safe operation during offshore construction. During the various phases of a typical offshore construction assignment, considerable changes in the dynamics of the crane-vessel system occur. Operational hazard was reported if such interchanging dynamics are not properly handled...

Construction mode detection for autonomous offshore heavy lift operations

Offshore platforms and windmills are constructed by assembling huge mechanical structures transported by heavy lift vessels. The construction process comprises two interconnected operations, the dynamic positioning (DP) of the vessel and the lifting of heavy loads. The DP system is commonly designed and tuned for the case that there is no...

Observer-based robust control for dynamic positioning of large-scale heavy lift vessels

With the growing demand of large-scale heavy lift vessels in the deep-sea offshore construction works, high performance of Dynamic positioning (DP) systems is becoming ever crucial. However, current DP systems on board of heavy lift vessels do not consider model uncertainty (typically arising from mooring forces). In this paper, an observer...