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Course

SUBS 6350: Subsea Controls and Systems Engineering
Term
Usually offered in the Spring Semester.
Description

The course provides an overview of subsea systems modeling, dynamic analysis of subsea systems, and its robust control. Subsea systems are inherently multi-domain involving electromechanical, thermal, fluid and chemical systems. A unifying approach capturing the overall system dynamics will be presented via a system-of-systems approach enabled through low dimensional models. The materials of this course emphasize the understanding of basic sciences, engineering and control principles to overall cooperative subsea systems.

The course outcomes include an understanding of systems engineering, ability to analyze flow and temperature losses in deepwater production, and an ability to design robust feedback controllers for pressure and flow using state of the art prediction tools. The course focuses on a model based approach to subsea control issues, enhancing the student’s engineering solving skills when faced to specific subsea control problems.

Topics Covered

Introduction to Subsea Systems Modeling and Dynamic Analysis: This part of the course introduces reduced order models of the subsystems comprising subsea systems. Reduced order models for pipelines, pumps, valves and electric motors will be covered from a physics based approach. Dynamic analysis of these integrated systems will be reviewed using Laplace Transformation techniques and their utility using Matlab. Dynamic simulations will be performed in the Matlab environment along with a sensitivity analysis. This section will conclude with a review of system identification techniques used to calibrate models from in-field data.

Subsea Controls: This part of the course covers subsea systems controls with particular emphasis on model based feedback controller design. Proportional, Proportion+Integral, and Proportional+Integral+ Derivative controllers will be extensively reviewed in the context of closed loop performance. Robust control methods will be developed in class to address system sensitivities thus providing robust closed loop performance. Matlab based tools will be used extensively in this phase of the course.

Simulation Software Tools

Use of simulation tools developed by Mathworks (Matlab) and the course instructor will be provided during the computer lab portions of the courses and throughout the semester.

Course Grading
The course grade will be based on homework and projects.
Project

A project will be completed in this course. The project will focus on developing complete subsea system models. These models will then be used to design a robust controller to regulated subsea production. Each student will write a technical report that is of archival publication quality.