Characterizing the seasonal and directional varying properties in a marine environment

With noticing an increasing number of failure events for offshore structures in the present days, it is now realized that modeling the marine environment especially for exceptional environmental conditions is quite important. It is recognized that a possible improvement in the traditional modeling of environmental characteristics, which are the basis for the load models for structural analysis and design, may be needed. In this paper, the seasonal and directional varying properties in modeling the ocean parameter, the wave height, are studied. The peak over threshold (POT) method is selected to model the extreme wave height by utilizing a non-stationary discrete statistical extreme model. The varying parameters are taken into account with a changing pattern to reflect the seasonal and directional dependent behavior. Both the magnitude and the occurrence rate of the extreme values are investigated. Detailed discussion on the continuity of the established model is also given. The importance of the proposed model is demonstrated in reliability analysis for a jacket structure. The sensitivity to the changing marine environment in reliability analyses is investigated.     

Characterizing the Seasonal and Directional Varying Properties in A Marine Environment

With noticing an increasing number of failure events for offshore structures in the present days, it is now realized that modeling the marine environment especially for exceptional environmental conditions is quite important. It is recognized that a possible improvement in the traditional modeling of environmental characteristics, which are the basis for the load models for structural analysis and design, may be needed. In this paper, the seasonal and directional varying properties in modeling the ocean parameter, the wave height, are studied. The peak over threshold (POT) method is selected to model the extreme wave height by utilizing a non-stationary discrete statistical extreme model. The varying parameters are taken into account with a changing pattern to reflect the seasonal and directional dependent behavior. Both the magnitude and the occurrence rate of the extreme values are investigated. Detailed discussion on the continuity of the established model is also given. The importance of the proposed model is demonstrated in reliability analysis for a jacket structure. The sensitivity to the changing marine environment in reliability analyses is investigated.     

Topology optimization design for offshore platform jacket structure

Offshore jacket platform is widely used as production or oil recovering platform in the shallow sea, and is also applied to the offshore wind turbine supporting structure in the recent years. The jacket structures are normally designed to be conservative and bulky according to various design codes. In this work, a structural optimization design method for jacket platform structure has been developed based on topology optimization theory. The topology optimization method is applicable at an early design stage, which can determine the initial structure and force transmission path. The whole design space is chosen as design variables, and the goal is to maximize the structural stiffness. A set of constraints based on multi-criteria design assessment is applied according to standard requirements, which includes stress, deformation, vibration and design variable constraints. The optimization results are compared with the original platform for static performance, dynamic performance and Ultimate Carrying Capacity (UCC). Results show that the optimized structure show a 13.7% reduction in the global mass, 46.31% reduction in the maximum equivalent stress, and large ultimate carrying capacity ability under the same environmental loads. It is demonstrated that the proposed topology optimization method is capable of effectively determining the optimal design of jacket platform structures.     

Reliability-Based Full-Life Cycle Optimum Design of Offshore Jacket Platform

Based on the consideration of operation environment and structural property, an optimnm design model of offshore jacket platform is developed in this paper, namely, the reliability-based full-life cycle optimum design model. In this model, the time-dependent reliability assessment method for structural members is established by combination of the decrease, of sectional size and performance deterioration of material. The initial investment, maintenance cost and failure loss cost are assembled into the model. The total cost of the platform structure system in its full service period is chosen as the objective function, and the initial reliabilities of the layer elements partitioned in advance are taken as the design variables. Different models are obtained, depending on whether the system reliability eonstraint is considered or not. This optimum design model can result in the lowest full-life cost and the optimal initial layer reliability of an offshore jacket platform in the design of marine structures. The feasibility of this model is illustrated with an actual jacket platform in the Liaodong Gulf as an example.     

Wave-induced vibration control of offshore jacket platforms through SMA dampers

Since permanent wave-induced vibrations of offshore jacket platforms reduce the service life of the jacket structure and deck equipment and increase the fatigue failure of the welded connections, this research has used SMA (shape memory alloy) dampers to control the jacket platform oscillations. Superelasticity, high durability, and energy dissipation capability make SMA elements good nominees for the design of vibration control devices. In this research, to model the force-displacement hysteretic behavior of SMA elements their idealized multi-linear constitutive model has been implemented and the time history responses of vibration equations have been evaluated by direct integration method. To analyze the SMA damper effects on the vibration suppression of the jacket platforms, a 90 (m) high jacket located 80 (m) deep in water has been selected as a case study. Numerical results have shown that optimized SMA dampers with constant-geometry SMA bars will improve the dynamic behavior of the jacket platform under the action of an extreme regular wave. However, under the action of two irregular waves, SMA dampers with varying-geometry SMA bars will cause significant reduction in the dynamic responses of the jacket platform. The power spectral density function of the deck displacements have shown that the previously mentioned SMA dampers avoid resonance by shifting the natural frequencies of the jacket structure away from the excitation frequencies.     

Structural monitoring of offshore platforms using impulse and relaxation response

Monitoring offshore platforms, long span bridges, high rise buildings, TV towers and other similar structures is essential for ensuring their safety in service. Continuous monitoring assumes even greater significance in the case of offshore platforms, which are highly susceptible to damage due to the corrosive environment and the continuous action of waves. Also, since a major part of the structure is under water and covered by marine growth, even a trained diver cannot easily detect damage in the structure. In the present work, vibration criterion is adopted for structural monitoring of jacket platforms. Artificial excitation of these structures is not always practicable and ambient excitation due to wind and waves may not be sufficient for collecting the required vibration data. Alternate methods can be adopted for the same purpose, for example, the application of an impact or a sudden relaxation of an applied force for exciting the structure. For jacket platforms, impact can be applied by gently pushing the structure at the fender while relaxation can be accomplished by pulling the structure and then suddenly releasing it using a tug or a supply vessel in both cases. The present study is an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of a jacket platform, for exploring the feasibility of adapting vibration responses due to impulse and relaxation, for structural monitoring. Effects of damage in six members of the platform as well as changes in deck masses were studied. A finite element model of the structure was used to analyze all the cases for comparison of the results as well as system identification. A data acquisition and analysis procedure for obtaining the response signatures of the platform due to the impulse and relaxation procedure was also developed for possible adoption in on-line monitoring of offshore platforms. From the study, it has been concluded that both impulse and relaxation responses are useful tools for monitoring offshore jacket platforms. The present work forms the basis for the development of an automated, on-line monitoring system for offshore platforms, using neural networks.     

Developing a robust SHM method for offshore jacket platform using model updating and fuzzy logic system

Structural monitoring is essential for ensuring the structural safety performance during the service life. The process is of paramount importance in case of the offshore jacket-type platforms due to the underwater structural parts subjected to the marine environmental conditions. This work is an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of a jacket platform with the objective of establishing a baseline finite element (FE) model for long-term structural health monitoring for this type of structures. A robust damage diagnosis system is also developed which is less sensitive to both the measurements and the modeling uncertainties. Experimental vibration tests are conducted on a physical platform model to obtain dynamic characteristics and then, the initial FE-model of the intact structure is developed to determine them numerically. Some differences between numerically and experimentally identified characteristics emerge due to various uncertainties in the FE-model and measured vibration data. To minimize these differences, initial FE-model is updated according to the experimental results. The updated FE-model is employed to predict the changes in the dynamic characteristics under variety of damage scenarios which are imposed by reducing the stiffness at the components of the model. Fuzzy logic system (FLS) and probabilistic analysis is developed for linguistic classification of damage and global damage diagnosis. Incorporation of the FLS fault isolation technique into FE-model updating method are proposed and evaluated for two different FLS methods to develop a vigorous damage diagnosis method. The efficiency of the technique is validated by different damage scenarios foreseen on the physical model. This technique is shown to be effective for diagnosing the presence of degradation and quantify it.     

Reliability-Based Load and Resistance Factors Design for Offshore Jacket Platforms in the Bohai Bay: Calibration on Design Factors

For the fulfillment of the probability-based structural design for the offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Bay, the design factors of loads, resistance and load combinations are much necessary to be calibrated according to the proposed target reliability index. Firstly, the limit states function for the offshore jacket platforms is introduced. Then, four approaches to calibrate the factors of load and resistance are presented and compared. Afterwards, the methods to calibrate the load combination factors are developed. Finally, the factors of load, resistance and load combination for the offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Bay are calibrated and the corresponding design formulae are recommended. The results are proved to be rational in practice, and also illustrate that the proposed target reliability index for offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Bay is also appropriate.     

Passive control of offshore jacket platforms

The wave-induced dynamic force is one of the most important excitations to be dealt with in the design of offshore structures. In order to perform a reliable design of an offshore structure, it is important to obtain an exact evaluation of its dynamic response but also to examine the ways of reducing the response. This paper presents the response of offshore jacket platforms installed with energy dissipation devices such as viscoelastic, viscous and friction dampers under wave loading. The offshore jacket platforms are modeled as multi-degrees-of-freedom system provided with dampers at each floor location. The wave forces are modeled as per Morison's equation. The governing equations of motion of the jacket platform with dampers are derived and their solution in the frequency domain is presented. The uni-directional random wave loading is expressed by the Pierson-Muskowitz spectrum. The response of the jacket platform with viscoelastic, viscous and friction dampers is compared with the corresponding response without dampers in order to investigate the effectiveness of the passive control systems. It is observed that the additional dampers add substantial damping to structure and thus favorably control the response of platform structure. Among the various energy dissipation devices used for study, the viscoelastic dampers perform better in comparison to the other dampers. This is due to the fact that the added viscoelastic dampers contribute to increased viscous damping as well as lateral stiffness which reduces the response of the offshore jacket platforms significantly.     

Multiple Tuned Mass Damper Based Vibration Mitigation of Offshore Wind Turbine Considering Soil-Structure Interaction

The dynamics of jacket supported offshore wind turbine (OWT) in earthquake environment is one of the progressing focuses in the renewable energy field. Soil-structure interaction (SSI) is a fundamental principle to analyze stability and safety of the structure. This study focuses on the performance of the multiple tuned mass damper (MTMD) in minimizing the dynamic responses of the structures objected to seismic loads combined with static wind and wave loads. Response surface methodology (RSM) has been applied to design the MTMD parameters. The analyses have been performed under two different boundary conditions: fixed base (without SSI) and flexible base (with SSI). Two vibration modes of the structure have been suppressed by multi-mode vibration control principle in both cases. The effectiveness of the MTMD in reducing the dynamic response of the structure is presented. The dynamic SSI plays an important role in the seismic behavior of the jacket supported OWT, especially resting on the soft soil deposit. Finally, it shows that excluding the SSI effect could be the reason of overestimating the MTMD performance.     

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.     

A finite difference approximation for dynamic calculation of vertical free hanging slender risers in re-entry application

The dynamic calculations of slender marine risers, such as Finite Element Method (FEM) or Modal Expansion Solution Method (MESM), are mainly for the slender structures with their both ends hinged to the surface and bottom. However, for the re-entry operation, risers held by vessels are in vertical free hanging state, so the displacement and velocity of lower joint would not be zero. For the model of free hanging flexible marine risers, the paper proposed a Finite Difference Approximation (FDA) method for its dynamic calculation. The riser is divided into a reasonable number of rigid discrete segments. And the dynamic model is established based on simple Euler-Bernoulli Beam Theory concerning tension, shear forces and bending moments at each node along the cylindrical structures, which is extendible for different boundary conditions. The governing equations with specific boundary conditions for riser’s free hanging state are simplified by Keller-box method and solved with Newton iteration algorithm for a stable dynamic solution. The calculation starts when the riser is vertical and still in calm water, and its behavior is obtained along time responding to the lateral forward motion at the top. The dynamic behavior in response to the lateral parametric excitation at the top is also proposed and discussed in this paper.     

Parametric study on offshore jacket launching

Platform structures are commonly utilized for various purposes including offshore drilling, processing and support of offshore operations. Jacket type structures are attractive in relatively shallow water regions. A jacket is a supporting structure for deck facilities stabilized by leg piles through the seabed. The size of a jacket is dependent on deck size, pile dimensions and environmental loads. In a jacket design, operational and environmental loads are very important and must be investigated intensively to secure the stability of structures during their operation life, and installation phase as well. To confirm the stability, several analyses including in-place, fatigue, dynamic, load-out, transportation, lifting, and launching are performed. As the jacket weight and dimensions become large, a launching technique is applied to install the jacket. The launching analysis needs to consider quite a number of parameters including environmental conditions, launch barge specification, ballast, trim angle, local member integrity, etc. Due to the complexity of the operation, there is not a straightforward guideline or procedure for analysis. In this paper, a general procedure for analysis with various conditions and launching criteria are discussed and investigated. The effects of parameters are closely examined by numerical modeling.     

Numerical simulation of dynamic response around shield tunnel in the soft soil area

When a subway train moves through a tunnel, vibrations are generated and transmitted to soils around the tunnel and adjacent structures. Subway train operation has an impact on the shield tunnel lining and the soils around tunnel, especially soft soils that are mostly marine sediments having poor engineering properties. An elastoplastic dynamic finite difference model was built by considering the hysteretic behavior of these marine soft soils and the interaction between the soils and the tunnel to study their dynamic response. Elastic and plastic constitutive models were adopted for tunnel lining and soft soils, respectively. Hysteretic damping was obtained with the Hardin–Drnevich model to reflect the hysteretic behavior of soil under the dynamic load. There are two peaks of the cumulative vertical displacement within 2?s of train moving and it reaches a dynamic balance after 2?s. The soil layers below the shield tunnel are under the compression and the soil layers above the tunnel are in the extrusion state, and turn to uplift. Maximum bending moment and shear forces of lining vary and appear at different places. A parametric study indicates that the speed of train and the interface have an impact on the dynamic behavior of soft soils.     

Multiple Tuned Mass Damper Based Vibration Mitigation of Offshore Wind Turbine Considering Soil–Structure Interaction

The dynamics of jacket supported offshore wind turbine(OWT) in earthquake environment is one of the progressing focuses in the renewable energy field. Soil–structure interaction(SSI) is a fundamental principle to analyze stability and safety of the structure. This study focuses on the performance of the multiple tuned mass damper(MTMD) in minimizing the dynamic responses of the structures objected to seismic loads combined with static wind and wave loads. Response surface methodology(RSM) has been applied to design the MTMD parameters. The analyses have been performed under two different boundary conditions: fixed base(without SSI) and flexible base(with SSI). Two vibration modes of the structure have been suppressed by multi-mode vibration control principle in both cases. The effectiveness of the MTMD in reducing the dynamic response of the structure is presented. The dynamic SSI plays an important role in the seismic behavior of the jacket supported OWT, especially resting on the soft soil deposit.Finally, it shows that excluding the SSI effect could be the reason of overestimating the MTMD performance.     

海上风电基础结构动力分析

针对单桩、三桩、四桩导管架3种常规海上风电基础结构型式动力特性展开研究。以模态分析为基础,获得结构整体固有频率和振型;进而综合运用谐响应分析、瞬态分析、谱分析等方法,对基础结构在简谐荷载、冲击荷载、地震荷载及波浪荷载作用下的动力响应特性进行了数值模拟计算和分析。结果显示:本设计中的单桩、三桩、四桩基础结构刚度依次增大,一阶固有频率递增;对于相同的动力荷载激励,基础结构动力响应递减;基础结构设计中既要保证结构具有足够的刚度以满足荷载作用下的变形控制要求,还要使基础刚度适中以避免共振。为海上风电基础结构动力分析提供了参考。     

Calibration of LRFD Format for Steel Jacket Offshore Platform in China Offshore Area （2） ： Load, Resistance and Load Combination Factors

1.IntroductionLoad and Resistance Factor Design(LRFD)isthe commonly adoptedreliability-based designfor-mat for structural design(CNE,1990;AAHTO,1994;OMTC,1983;CMC,1984).Code calibra-tionforthe LRFDformat is a processto determinethetarget reliability by de…     

Using incomplete modal data for damage detection in offshore jacket structures

The development of robust techniques for early damage detection for offshore structures is crucial to avoid the possible catastrophe caused by structural failures. This article applies the cross-model cross-mode (CMCM) method for damage detection that is capable of identifying the damage to individual members of offshore jacket platforms, when limited, spatially incomplete modal data is available. Basically, the CMCM method is classified as a direct, physical property adjustment model updating method. Implementing this method requires only a few modes measured from the damaged structure. In dealing with spatial incompleteness, this paper investigates both model reduction and modal expansion techniques. Specifically, either Guyan (static condensation) or SEREP (system equivalent reduction expansion process) transformation matrix, between the master and slave degrees-of-freedom, is employed in the model reduction or modal expansion process. One theoretical development is an iterative procedure to compute the transformation matrix associated with the (unknown) damaged structure. Numerical studies are conducted for a jacket platform with multiple damaged members based on synthetic data generated from finite-element models. The results suggest that (i) Guyan scheme always outperforms SEREP, (ii) model reduction is always better than modal expansion, and (iii) the CMCM method in conjunction with iterative Guyan reduction approach yields the best damage location and severity estimate.     

渤海导管架平台的冰激振动响应分析

为研究渤海海域海冰撞击导管架海洋平台的冰振响应,基于锥体冰力函数,本文建立了渤海海域的冰力作用模型。采用ANSYS有限元软件对导管架平台与海冰的相互作用进行数值模拟,开展了海冰作用下抗冰平台的静力分析及平台动力响应分析。通过与静力分析结果对比,验证了动冰力对结构响应的动力放大效应。在此基础上通过改变冰厚、冰速等海冰参数,研究了不同冰力作用周期下导管架平台的冰振响应。研究表明,海冰厚度及海冰流动速度是影响平台动力响应的主要因素,为导管架平台结构的动力优化设计提供了研究基础。