Reliability of mooring lines and piles for a permanently manned vessel in a tropical cyclone environment

The factors of safety for stationkeeping systems in current standards (ISO, API) are not derived or validated using reliability analyses. As the oil and gas exploration and production is breaking new boundaries, deploying new floating systems and moving into regions with harsher environments, it is of paramount importance to understand what level of reliability these new marine structures are achieving. This paper presents a reliability analysis of the mooring system of a Floating LNG (FLNG) vessel permanently moored and permanently manned offshore North West Australia in a tropical cyclone environment. The reliability analysis addresses both the mooring chain and the pile foundation. The analysis accounts for the long term characteristics of the environment, including the short term variability, in response to a given sea state and the variability and uncertainty in strength of the mooring chain and the pile. The stationkeeping system was analysed using detailed time domain simulations, capturing system non-linearities and low frequency oscillations as well as wave frequency responses and, thereby, reducing modelling uncertainties to a minimum.It is found that for the conditions modelled, neither the chain nor the pile meet a target reliability of 10⁻⁴/annum using the factors of safety commonly used in design following current ISO and API standards. New factors of safety are proposed to achieve this target reliability. For the pile design, one complicating factor is that current design standards do not explicitly define the exceedance probability that should be associated with the characteristic value of the undrained shear strength to be used in the design. It is demonstrated that the required factor of safety is crucially dependent on the definition of this characteristic value and on the level and the type of uncertainty in the soil strength profile. A recommendation is made regarding the definition of this characteristic value and the associated factor of safety. Furthermore, it is found that designing the mooring system to an environmental condition with a return period of 10,000 yr (as an Abnormal Limit State event), and setting the factor of safety to unity, meets the target reliability of 10⁻⁴/annum for the pile, if the characteristic undrained shear strength is a lower bound, defined in this paper by the 10th percentile value. For the chain however, this target reliability is not achieved.     

基于概率积分法的采动坡体稳定性预测与分析

地下采煤会引起地表沉降、变形,甚至引发山体、河堤滑坡等地质灾害。采动坡体的稳定性研究一直是采矿工程中实际关心的问题。该文首先介绍分析了概率积分法移动变形稳态、动态预测模型以及基于极限平衡理论的单滑面采动坡体稳定性预测模型,提出了使用概率积分法结合Knothe时间函数对采动坡体稳定性进行预测分析的方法,并使用C#及XML Schema语言编制了相关的计算程序。最后,结合一个工程实例对采动坡体稳定性和动态变化过程进行了预测与分析,通过实测数据验证了提出方法的可行性,得出了采动引起的坡体下沉是影响坡体稳定性的主要因素,并提出了在坡体拉伸阶段进行注浆加固的方法。     

探讨灾害规律的理论基础--极端气候事件概率

分析了国内外极端气候事件研究的现状,从经典极值分布理论、极值分布模式的参数估计、广义极值分布等方面,阐述了近年来国际上常用的理论及研究方法。为了更好地佐证进行极端气候事件发生概率研究的重要性,列举了作者在该领域的一些成功研究成果,并认为极端气候事件概率问题是探讨气象灾害规律的理论基础。     

Application of probabilistic neural network to design breakwater armor blocks

This study presents a probabilistic neural network (PNN) technique for predicting the stability number of armor blocks of breakwaters. The PNN is prepared using the experimental data of Van der Meer. The predicted stability numbers of the PNN are compared with those of previous studies, i.e. by an empirical formula and a previous neural network model. The agreement index between the measured and predicted stability numbers by PNN are better than those by the previous studies. The PNN offers a way to interpret the network's structure in the form of a probability density function and it is easy to implement. Therefore, it can be an effective tool for designers of rubble mound breakwaters.     

Econometric analysis to differentiate effects of various ship safety inspections

This article provides a refined technique to measure and interpret variables associated with the quality of an inspection—be it port state control or vetting inspections towards the probability of a very serious, serious or less serious casualty. It concentrates on filtering out the effect of variables such as detention, the port state control regime that inspected the vessel, time in-between inspections, deficiencies found during an inspection and the effect of vetting inspections. The consensus amongst policy makers in the shipping industry is that data cannot be combined to target vessels. While this article does demonstrate that the decrease in the probability of casualty is stronger for the South American Region, the Indian Ocean Region and Australia versus North Europe, North America or the Caribbean, it also demonstrates that the data can be combined to target vessels for inspections. Since the time in-between inspections and detention is mostly not significant towards decreasing the probability of casualty, these results reflect the lack of coordination amongst port state control regimes and industry inspections. Due to this lack of coordination and trust, a ship might be inspected in several regimes during a relative short time period where the benefit of an inspection can be easily saturated. Our recommendation on direct policy implication is to promote the harmonization of inspection databases across port state control regimes, preferably with the coordination of the development of the Global Integrated Ship Information System (GISIS) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to review the policy of a release of a vessel from detention and to increase cooperation amongst regimes with respect to the follow up of the rectification of deficiencies.     

Econometric analysis of the ship demolition market

The topic of ship recycling has obtained considerable attention during the last two decades for a variety of reasons with the likelihood of the adoption of a new international convention under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This study applies econometric modeling to a unique data set to provide insight into the dynamics of the ship recycling market. The data set contains information on 51,112 ships over 100 gt and includes 748,621 events over a period of 29 years. The analysis confirms a negative relationship of earnings and a positive relationship of scrap prices for all locations while Bangladesh seems to be more sensitive to changes in earnings than the other locations and more likely demolishes larger and older vessels. The results for flag and ownership vary across scrapping locations with Malta and Cyprus indicating potential importance from a registry perspective. The overall safety profile of a vessel seems to be less important towards the probability of a ship being scrapped. Possible implementation of the convention at EU level will mostly likely affect Turkey while non-ratification of one of the major flags will most likely affect China or Bangladesh.     

Some aspects of the hydrology of one-day annual minimum low flows of malawian rivers

Five aspects of the hydrology of one-day annual minimum flows Q_IM, have been studied using data from twelve catchments in Malawi. Results indicate that the log-normal distribution can be fitted to all twelve catchments. Four of the rivers studied are intermittent. Application of statistical methods developed in meterology to the dichotomous-transformed data of these catchments revealed that two are ‘flow-dominant’ and the other two are ‘dry-dominant’. Another catchment is entirely dominated by a hydraulic gradient towards the Shire River and Elphant Marsh and so dries up every dry season for considerable periods of time despite the relatively high rainfall in the catchment. Q_IM, t-days after the date of occurrence of Q_IM(May), can be better estimated from simple regression than from an empirically determined recession constant.     

中国未来极端气温变化的概率预估及其不确定性

本文基于第五次耦合模式比较计划的23个全球气候模式所提供的最高气温与最低气温在RCP4.5情景下的逐日格点资料,根据模式对5个极端气温指数的模拟能力,使用秩加权方法研究了中国未来极端气温变化的概率预估及其不确定性。结果表明,21世纪中期（2046—2065年）中国区域平均最高气温和平均最低气温的增加幅度相对于历史时期（1986—2005年）可能超过2.0℃（概率>66%),增加的大值区主要位于青藏高原南部。暖夜指数在中国大部分地区增加超过15%,西南和东南部沿海是增加的大值区,增幅超过20%。霜冻日数在全国范围内减少,减少的大值区位于青藏高原周围,减少日数超过了20 d。热浪指数在整个中国区域可能增加10 d以上,大值区位于西藏西南部,可达30 d。不确定性的结果表明,除热浪指数的可信度较低外,其余指数都有较高的可信度。到21世纪末期（2081—2100年),中国区域极端气温增加幅度超过前期,平均最高气温和平均最低气温很可能增加超过2.0℃（概率>90%),大值区除中国西部地区外,还扩展到了东北和青藏高原西南地区。中国大部分地区的暖夜指数增加超过15%,西南和南部沿海可能超过25%。大部分地区的霜冻日数减少20 d,青藏高原周围减少超过40 d。热浪指数在中国范围内增加20 d,青藏高原西南部增加40 d以上。除霜冻指数的信噪比略比21世纪中期大外,其余指数的信噪比与中期基本一致。     

基于空间检验技术的甘肃河东地区短时暴雨预报产品误差分析

以6个短时暴雨过程为例,采用空间检验技术对甘肃河东地区短时暴雨预报产品误差进行分析。结果表明：降水概率预报对于系统性降水过程预报准确度明显高于突发性降水过程;短时暴雨预报方法的预报位置较实况偏东偏南,纬度偏差-2.1°～1.3°,经度偏差-0.4°～3.1°;强度较实况偏弱,61%本地预报方法雨强为实况的0%～90%;降水范围较实况偏小,偏小程度最多仅6个格点;强度误差占比最大,其次为范围误差,位移误差最小。预报员可基于本地短时暴雨预报方法对预报误差进行相应的调整。     

强震概率增大时段判定法TIP-M8在广东省及邻区的应用

用强震概率增大时段判定法M8方法判断近年来广东省及邻区几个主要震区(粤闽赣地区、粤桂琼地区、珠江三角洲地区)的中期地震发展趋势,结果显示1997年5月福建永安5.2级地震,1999年5月海南5.1级地震,震前约1年半,地震所在区域均出现了强震概率增大时段.而珠江三角洲地区的计算结果未发现强震概率增大时段.