Parametric study of geometrical effects on the degree of bending (DoB) in offshore tubular K-joints under out-of-plane bending loads

In this paper, results of comprehensive finite element (FE) analyses carried out on 81 generated models of tubular K-joints are presented. Results of FE models were verified against experimental data and parametric equations. The fatigue life of a tubular joint, which is commonly found in offshore industry, is not only dependent on the value of hot-spot stress (HSS), but is also significantly influenced by the through-the-thickness stress distribution characterized by the degree of bending (DoB). Data extracted from FE analyses was used to study the effects of geometrical parameters on the DoB values in tubular K-joints subjected to two types of out-of-plane bending (OPB) moment loads. The determination of DoB values in a tubular joint is essential for improving the accuracy of fatigue life estimation using the stress-life (S–N) method and particularly for predicting the fatigue crack growth based on the fracture mechanics (FM) approach. Geometrically parametric investigation was followed by a set of nonlinear regression analyses to develop DoB parametric formulas for the fatigue analysis of K-joints under OPB loadings.     

Parametric Equation of Stress Concentration Factor for Circular X-Joints Under Axial Loads

In engineering practice,tubular X-joints have been widely used in offshore structures.The fatigue failure of tubular X-joints in offshore engineering is mainly caused by axial tensile stress.In this study,the stress concentration factor distribution along the weld toe in the hot spot stress region for tubular X-joints subject to axial loads have been analyzed by use of finite element method.Through numerical analysis,it has been found that the peak stress concentration factor is located at the saddle position.Thereafter,80 models have been analyzed,and the effect of the geometric parameters of a tubular X-joint on the stress concentration factor has been investigated.Based on the experimental values of the numerical stress concentration factor,a parametric equation to calculate the stress concentration factor of tubular X-joints has been proposed.The accuracy of this equation has been verified against the requirement of the Fatigue Guidance Review Panel,and the proposed equation is found capable of producing reasonably accurate stress concentration factor values for tubular X-joints subject to axial loads.     

Regression Formulations for the Stress at Hot Spot of Multiplanar Tubular DT Joints

- Stress concentration analysis of multiplanar tubular DT joints plays an important role in the fatigue design of offshore platforms. A semi-analytic method for stress analysis under the condition of any loads is briefly introduced in the paper. Nineteen multiplanar tubular DT joints with one of two braces of the same dimension subjected to axial loads and out- of- plane bending moments are computed for parametric stress analysis by using the present method. The influence of geometrical parameters on the stresses of multiplanar tubular DT joints is discussed and compared with corresponding uniplanar T joints. The regression formulae for the stress at hot spot of multiplanar DT joints are found by modification of SCF of corresponding uniplanar T joints. The parametric formulae for the maximum stress by superposition. Finally, the influences of stiffening effect and load-interaction effect on the maximum stress of DT joints are discussed.     

A study on the Local Joint Flexibility (LJF) of two-planar tubular DK-joints in jacket structures under in-plane bending loads

In the present paper, results of a parametric study conducted on the Local Joint Flexibility (LJF) of two-planar tubular DK-joints under In-Plane Bending (IPB) loads are presented. DK-joints are among the most common joint types in jacket substructure of Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs). A total of 324 finite element (FE) analyses were carried out on 81 FE models under four types of IPB loading in order to investigate the effect of the DK-joint’s geometrical parameters on the LJF factor (f_LJF). Based on the results of parametric study, the factors leading to the LJF reduction were introduced. Generated FE models were verified using the existing experimental data, FE results, and parametric equations. The effect of the weld profile was also considered. The f_LJF in two-planar DK- and uniplanar K-joints were compared. Results indicated that the effect of multi-planarity on the LJF is quite significant and consequently the use of the equations already available for uniplanar K-joints to calculate the f_LJF in two-planar DK-joints may lead to highly under-/over-predicting results. To handle this issue, the FE results were used to derive a set of parametric equations for the prediction of the f_LJF in IPB-loaded two-planar DK-joints. The proposed equations were checked against the acceptance criteria recommended by the UK DoE and can be reliably used for the analysis and design of tubular joints in OWTs.     

A Semi-Analytical Method for the PDFs of A Ship Rolling in Random Oblique Waves

The PDFs (probability density functions) and probability of a ship rolling under the random parametric and forced excitations were studied by a semi-analytical method. The rolling motion equation of the ship in random oblique waves was established. The righting arm obtained by the numerical simulation was approximately fitted by an analytical function. The irregular waves were decomposed into two Gauss stationary random processes, and the CARMA (2, 1) model was used to fit the spectral density function of parametric and forced excitations. The stochastic energy envelope averaging method was used to solve the PDFs and the probability. The validity of the semi-analytical method was verified by the Monte Carlo method. The C11 ship was taken as an example, and the influences of the system parameters on the PDFs and probability were analyzed. The results show that the probability of ship rolling is affected by the characteristic wave height, wave length, and the heading angle. In order to provide proper advice for the ship''s manoeuvring, the parametric excitations should be considered appropriately when the ship navigates in the oblique seas.     

Stress and deformation of offshore piles under structural and wave loading

Various offshore structures, especially large structures such as Tension Leg Platforms (TLP), are usually supported by concrete piles as the foundation elements. The stress distribution within such a large structure is a dominant factor in the design procedure of an offshore pile. To provide a more accurate and effective design for offshore foundation systems under axial and lateral wave loads, a finite element model is employed herein to determine the stresses and displacements in a concrete pile under similar loading conditions. A parametric study is also performed to examine the effects of the stress distribution due to the changing loading conditions.     

Fatigue Crack Propagation in Steel A131 Under Ice Loading of Crushing,Bending and Buckling

Three types of ice loading, which are most commonly present when ice acts on structures, are chosen and simulated for use of fatigue crack propagation tests on offshore structural steel A131. The three types of ice categorized in accordance with the failure modes when acting on structures called crushing ice, bending ice, and buckling ice, respectively. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the fatigue crack propagation behavior of widely used high strength steel A131 for offshore jackets in the loading environment of ice crushing, bending, and buckling. The test results of fatigue crack propagation in steel A131 under these simulated ice loading at temperature 292K. are presented and analyzed in detail in this paper. The amplitude root mean square stress intensity factor is optimized to be the fundamental parameter of fatigue crack propagation for all types of ice loading histories. The results are also compared with constant amplitude fatigue crack propagation conclusions as in wave loa     

Expected fatigue damage and expected extreme response for Morison-type wave loading

Non-linear probability distributions for Morison-type wave loading are used to indicate the effect of drag forces on the expected fatigue damage and the expected extreme response of quasi-statically responding (members of) offshore structures. Results are compared with those from commonly used equivalent linear methods of analysis. It is found that the expected fatigue damage and the expected extreme response based on non-linear methods are approximately equal to results from linear methods when inertia is the dominant force. However, in the event of the drag forces forming a considerable part of the total wave loading, both fatigue damage and extreme response can significantly exceed those predicted by linear methods. The difference between the two methods is quantified in terms of a drag-inertia parameter, which is directly related to the sea state under consideration.     

Fatigue Properties of Plain Concrete Under Triaxial Compressive Cyclic Loading

Experiments were made on plain concrete subjected to triaxial static loading and constant-amphtude compressive fatigue loading with a constant lateral pressure in two directions. The initial confining pressure was O, O. lfc, O. 25fc and O. 4fc, respectively, for the static test, and O. lfc and O. 25fc for the fatigue test. Based on the triaxial compressive constitutive behavior of concrete, the inflexion of confining pressure evolution was chosen to be the fatigue damage criterion during the test. The rule of evolution of longitudinal maximum and minimum strains, longitudinal cyclic modulus and damage were recorded and analyzed. According to the Fardis-Chen criterion model and the concept of equivalent fatigue life and equivalent stress level, a unified S-N curve for multi-axial compressive fatigue loading was proposed. Thus, the fatigue strength factors for different fatigue loading cases can be obtained. The present investigation provides information for the fatigue design of concrete structures.     

Application of system identification techniques in efficient modelling of offshore structural response. Part I: Model development

Offshore structures are exposed to random wave loading in the ocean environment and hence the probability distribution of the extreme values of their response to wave loading is of great value in the design of these structures. Wave loading on slender members of bottom-supported jacket or jack-up structures is frequently calculated by Morison’s equation. Due to nonlinearity of the drag component of Morison wave loading and also due to intermittency of wave loading on members in the splash zone, the response is often non-Gaussian; therefore, simple techniques for derivation of their extreme response probability distribution are not available. Finite-memory nonlinear systems (FMNS) are extensively used in establishing a simple relationship between the output and input of complicated nonlinear systems. In this paper, it will be shown how the response of an offshore structure exposed to Morison wave loading can be approximated by the response of an equivalent finite-memory nonlinear system. The approximate models can then be used to determine the probability distribution of response extreme values with great efficiency. Part I of this paper is devoted to the development of an efficient FMNS model for offshore structural response while part II is devoted to the validation of the developed models.     

Ice Induced Low Temperature Fatigue Crack Propagation in Offshore Structural Steel A131

To investigate the low temperature fatigue crack propagation behavior of offshore structuralsteel A131 under random ice loading,three ice failure modes that are commonly present in the Bohai Gulfare simulated according to the vibration stress responses induced by real ice loading.The test data are pro-cessed by a universal software FCPUSL developed on the basis of the theory of fatigue crack propagationand statistics.The fundamental parameter controlling the fatigue crack propagation induced by randomice loading is determined to be the amplitude root mean square stress intensity factor K_(arm).The test resultsare presented on the crack propagation diagram where the crack growth rate da/dN is described as thefunction of K_(arm).It is evident that the ice failure modes have great influence on the fatigue crack propaga-tion behavior of the steel in ice-induced vibration.However,some of the experimental phenomena and testresults are hard to be physically explained at present.The work in this paper is an init     

Bias in the estimation of wave-induced fatigue damage of offshore structures

The most widely adopted approach for estimating the wave-induced fatigue damage of the tubular joints of offshore structures relies on a wave scatter diagram to characterise the wave environment. This paper shows that the commonly adopted approach to compiling the wave scatter diagram and the subsequent selection of characteristic individual wave height and period pairs for analysis purposes will almost invariably lead to bias in the estimation of fatigue lives. A statistical argument is developed to show the sources and nature of this bias. This is supported by fatigue calculations based on individual wave data collected in the northern North Sea. It is found that the current practice in most cases introduces a substantial conservative bias into estimated fatigue lives. An alternative procedure for producing wave scatter diagrams and selecting wave heights and periods for subsequent finite-element analysis is presented which should lead to unbiased (or at least much less biased) estimates of fatigue lives.     

Residual compressive strength of inclined steel tubular members with local corrosion

In jacket-type offshore structures, corrosion damage affects the structural performance under compressive loading, which is created by the working and design loads of the main system. In this study, the effects of corrosion damage on the compressive structural behavior and strength of steel tubular members were investigated. Artificial corrosion damage was applied to the tubular specimens via mechanical processing and hand drilling to replicate the inclined nature of jacket-type offshore structures. The damage was applied to either half or all of the circumference of the specimens. The compressive failure modes of the artificially corroded tubular members were affected by the corrosion conditions. The compressive strengths were also affected by the level of corrosion. From the results of this study, the residual compressive strengths of corroded tubular steel members can be estimated based on the condition of the damaged sectional areas.     

The influence of wave-current sea states on the reliability estimates of offshore towers

Since offshore towers are high-cost, high-risk structures, reliability analysis is of great importance in their design. This paper presents a possible practical approach to certify a design through selective critical member reliability estimates. After a brief review of current research in this field, the authors outline a procedure for reliability estimation of structural members in extreme stress and fatigue limit states. A spectral approach for the extreme response statistics with stochastic loading is described. The reliabilities are computed by the Level II first-order second moment (advanced) method. The fatigue reliability is estimated with a narrow-banded stress assumption with discrete, but significant sea states within the life of the structure. Two numerical examples, a three shallow water model and a two-dimensional deep water model are presented along with the influences of stochastic variables (sea state, current, tubular member diameter) on reliabilities (extreme stress and fatigue damage).     

Testing and evaluation of GFRP composite deck panels

Fiber reinforced polymer composite deck panels are effectively used in the construction of offshore structures such as pontoons, floating docks, oil drilling platforms, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems and harbor structures due to their excellent corrosion and fatigue resistance, high strength to weight ratio and stiffness to weight ratio and less maintenance cost. The main objective of this investigation is to study the load–deflection behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite deck panels under static loading. Three prototype GFRP composite deck panels each with a size of 3000 mm×1000 mm×300 mm were fabricated using hand lay-up process and tested under a factored load of AASHTO HS20/IRC Class A wheeled vehicle. The deck panels were analyzed using the standard FE software, ANSYS. Maximum deflection and strain at factored load, and flexural and shear rigidities were calculated in the FE analysis and compared with the experimental data, and also with the specifications given by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), USA. From this study, it is concluded that the fabricated GFRP deck panels satisfied the performance criteria specified by ODOT and can be used in berthing structures, bridges in coastal regions, offshore oil platforms, OTEC systems and also in seismic prone areas.     

Numerical Studies on Piled Gravity Base Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbine

This study aims to investigate a hybrid gravity base foundation to support offshore wind tower. A new hybrid gravity base foundation considered in this study has five component piles, referred to as ‘piled gravity base foundation’. The three-dimensional finite element analyses were carried out for the piled gravity base foundation subjected to a combined load with a lateral load and overturning moment. The parametric analyses were undertaken varying the loading height and direction, the rigidity of the piled gravity base foundation, the field soil layers, and the clay strength. Overall, the response of the piled gravity base foundation was significantly influenced by the interaction between the cone base piles and the surrounding soil. The increased strength of the soil led to a significant reduction of the pile and gravity base foundation responses, in terms of the bending moments, axial forces, lateral displacements, and rotations.     

Reliability Analysis of Ice-Induced Fatigue and Damage in Offshore Engineering Structures

—In Bohai Gulf,offshore and other installations have collapsed by sea ice due to the fatigueand fracture of the main supporting components in the ice environments.In this paper presented are someresults on fatigue reliability of these structures in the Gulf by investigating the distributions of iceparameters such as its floating direction and speed,sheet thickness,compressive strength,ice forces on thestructures,and hot spot stress in the structure.The low temperature,ice breaking modes and componentfatigue failure modes are also taken into account in the analysis of the fatigue reliability of the offshorestructures experiencing both random ice loading and low temperatures.The results could be applied to thedesign and operation of offshore platforms in the Bohai Gulf.     

Parametric Analysis and Experimental Study on Local Flexibility of TY-Type Tubular Joints

Loal flexibility of tubular joints has important effect on the static and dynamic behaviour of offshore platforms, therefore, the determination of it becomes an important research subject in the field of offshore engineering. In this paper, the local flexibility of TY-type tubular joints, which are widely used in offshore platforms, is calculated by using semi- analytical method. Based on the calculated results, parametric formulae for evaluating element in the local joint flexibility matrix of TY- type tubular joints are derived by regression. A test on PVC models of TY-type tubular joints to measure the local joint flexibility is also reported. A comparison of the results calculated from the parametric formulae presented in this paper with those measured from the model test shows that the parametric formulae are reliable. It is recommended that these formulae be used in the global structural analysis of offshore platforms.     

宽带波浪载荷下海洋结构物内应力范围及疲劳损伤分析

研究短期海况中海洋结构物在宽带波浪载荷作用下交变应力过程中的应力范围的概率分布及结构疲劳损伤问题.首先从应力的功率谱密度出发,利用小波变换作为工具,对应力过程进行模拟.然后用雨流计数法识别出应力过程中对结构造成疲劳损伤的应力范围,并用Weibull分布对应力范围的分布进行了拟合;最后给出了应力范围服从Weibull分布时结构疲劳损伤的计算方法.     

Modification of Wirsching’s Model for Fatigue Reliability Analysis

First,Wirsching＇s model,which is widely employed in fatigue reliability anlysis of marine andoffshore structures,is analysed systematically.It is found that the very important random variable △ inWirsching＇s model can not be directly determined from fatigue experiment because of the irreversibility offatigue test,and in fact,what Wirsching studied from testing results is not △ but α of the statistical Miner＇srule.Second,by use of the statistical Miner＇s rule,a modified Wirsching＇s model is proposed.Thirdly andmore importantly,based on the two-dimensional probabilistic Miner＇s rule,a new model is established forfatigue reliability analysis of structural components subjected to specified cyclic loading of variableamplitude or stochastic time history.In the end,an example is presented,from which it will be seen thatthis new model is very convenient to use and feasible to engineering practice.