Systematic Experimental Evaluation Of Lifeboat Evacuation Performance In A Range Of Environmental Conditions Phase 2

This report describes a systematic study aimed at establishing the capabilities of evacuation systems installed on offshore structures as a function of environmental conditions, installation conditions, and load capacity of the life craft. Model scale experiments on an evacuation system were performed from a fixed platform at the Institute for Ocean Technology (IOT), Offshore Engineering Basin (OEB) during January 2002. A conventional twin falls davit evacuation system fitted with a flexible boom was used to deploy a Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Survival Craft (TEMPSC) from a fixed platform into wind and wave conditions ranging from calm to storm conditions. The experiments involved the investigation of the performance of the evacuation system in seas ranging from Beaufort 0 (calm) to Beaufort 8 (fresh gale) equivalent. Particular attention was focused on the effects of TEMPSC loading conditions (either 100% or 70% capacity), TEMPSC orientation, intact versus damaged installation, direction of weather relative to launch, use of flexible boom or davit system alone, wave type (regular or irregular) and wave steepness. The results of 404 deployments are presented.NRC publication: Ye