Foundation engineering for offshore gravity structures

This is the third in a series of three state‐of‐the‐art papers concerning the geotechnical engineering aspects of the installation of gravity platforms in the North Sea. Andresen et al. (1979) discuss the planning and execution of offshore site investigations and the procedures used to obtain soil engineering parameters. Eide et al. (1979) review the details of the different platform designs and the installation procedures for the thirteen gravity structures that so far have been placed in the North Sea in 70 m to 153 m of water. In this paper, the foundation engineering for gravity structures installed in the North Sea is reviewed including recommended analyses of permanent and cyclic foundation deformations, dynamic behavior, foundation stability, skirt penetration resistance and base contact stresses, potential piping and erosion problems, and stresses in oil wells and risers. Field performance observations are reported, and it is concluded that gravity structures may safely be installed in offshore areas with less favorable platform foundation conditions than so far encountered in the North Sea.     

Random dynamic analysis of multi-body offshore structures

A general method for the dynamic analysis of multi-body offshore structures is presented, being based on a constraint matrix approach. A method of deriving the constraint matrix for a general structure is given, and this is then used to derive the equations of motion of a whole system from those of it's component parts. The response of the system to both first and second order random wave forces is found and then used to calculate the forces and moments in the connecting mechanisms. The structure is assumed to have rigid component parts and a linearised frequency domain analysis method is used, although other methods are discussed. To illustrate it's use, the method is applied to both the SBS and Yoke-CALM design of offshore mooring terminal.     

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.     

海洋平台结构抗震可靠性时程分析方法

将地震运动视为随机过程,建立海洋平台结构在地震作用任一时刻基于剪切变形控制的极限状态方程,应用JC法计算海洋平台结构在地震作用任一时刻的可靠度,得到海洋平台结构抗震可靠度的时程曲线。该方法可满足工程设计的要求,便于工程应用。     

Stochastic analysis for offshore structures with added mechanical dampers

Presented in this paper is a method to mitigate the vibration of an offshore structural system in the marine environment when subjected to in-line random wave forces. A stochastic approach by using an alternative complex analytical model for the viscoelastic material in the mechanical damper was used. The viscoelastic materials applied here were tested and verified that they have high energy absorption capacity. In the stochastic analysis, a random type of wave forces derived from the Morison equation for small bodies was applied. Results of the vibration responses for the system with added damping devices were presented and compared to the responses of structures with traditional design. It was observed that in terms of the power spectral density, the effect of the vibration mitigation and the dynamic performance of the offshore structural system were greatly improved when the new damping devices were applied to the offshore structural system.     

Stochastic analysis of the second-order hydrodynamic quantities for offshore structures

The present study considers the prediction of extreme values of the second-order hydrodynamic parameters related to offshore structures in waves, where the application of Gaussian distribution is not valid. Particularly, this study focuses on a characteristic function approach in the frequency domain to estimate the probability distribution of the second-order quantities, and the results are compared with direct simulations in the time domain. The stochastic behaviors of the second-order hydrodynamic quantities are investigated with the characteristic function approach, which involves eigenvalue analyses of Hermitian kernels constructed with quadratic transfer functions. Three different second-order responses are considered: the springing responses of TLP tendons representative of the sum-frequency problem, the slow-drift motions of a semi-submersible platform moored in waves as a representative of the difference-frequency problem, and the wave run-up around a vertical column for regular and irregular waves. The applicability of the present approach in predicting extreme values is assessed by comparing the results with the values obtained from time-domain signals.     

海洋导管架平台随机响应混合分析方法

采用将结构的解析分析和数值求解方法相结合的固定式海洋平台随机响应混合求解方法，考虑波浪－结构相互作用和基于最小二乘法原理的非线性曳力的影响。采取两个步骤，第一步进行与结构有关的特征值分析；第二基于谱方程进行响应估计，进行海洋平台的线性和非线性数值分析。     

Three-dimensional Fourier analysis of drag force for compliant offshore structures

In this paper a representation is obtained of the first Fourier component of the drag F given by: FQ{Q·Q}1/2

The relative velocity Q is assumed to consist of a mean current plus a single Fourier component, and may come from all directions during the course of a cycle. The expression is shown to agree well with the usual two-dimensional expressions, (when the relative velocity is always in one direction) and also with the exact expression in the three-dimensional case. A good representation of the drag in this manner is important if the quasi-linear spectral approach is to be used in the evaluation of the response of a three-dimensional compliant structure to ocean waves.     

Methods for ultimate limit state assessment of ships and ship-shaped offshore structures: Part III hull girders

The present paper is Part III of a series of three papers on the methods useful for ultimate limit state assessment of ships and ship-shaped offshore structures. It is focused on the methods for the progressive collapse analysis of hull girders under bending moments, in contrast to the previous two papers (Parts I and II), respectively, dealing with methods for the ultimate limit state assessment of unstiffened plates and stiffened panels. An AFRAMAX-class hypothetical double hull oil tanker structure designed by IACS common structural rules (CSR) method is studied as an illustrative example. The ultimate vertical bending moment capacity of the hull structure is then analyzed by ANSYS FEA, ALPS/HULL, and IACS CSR methods, and their resulting computations are compared.     

Methods for ultimate limit state assessment of ships and ship-shaped offshore structures: Part II stiffened panels

The present paper is Part II of a series of three papers on methods useful for the ultimate limit state assessment of ships and ship-shaped offshore structures. In contrast to Part I [Paik et al., 2007a. Methods for ultimate limit state assessment of ships and ship-shaped offshore structures: Part I unstiffened plates, Ocean Engineering, doi:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2007.08.004] that deals with unstiffened plates, the present paper (Part II) is focused on methods for the ultimate limit state assessment of stiffened plate structures under combined biaxial compression and lateral pressure actions. The object structure is the bottom part of an AFRAMAX-class hypothetical double-hull oil tanker structure designed by IACS common structural rules (CSR) method, that is the same ship studied in Part I. Three candidate methods, namely ANSYS nonlinear finite element method, DNV PULS method, and ALPS/ULSAP method, are employed for the present study. The results and insights developed from the present study are summarized in terms of ultimate strength characteristics of bottom-stiffened plate structures.     

North sea offshore structures

Existing and planned North Sea offshore structures for exploration (drillings) and structures for exploitation (production platforms) are mentioned. Introductorily the mereorological conditions, wave climate and bottom composition in the North Sea are reviewed briefly. They are determining factors for design as well as for operation. Furthermore a brief account on present and planned activities on exploration for and exploitation of oil and gas in the North Sea is given.     

GMRES方法在大型离岸结构水弹性分析中的应用

使用GMRES方法求解了大型离岸结构水弹性分析所获得的复系数线性方程组，并按照向后误差分析的方法，给出了它的终止准则。数值试验表明对于所考虑的问题，GMRES方法优于直接方法。     

Use of risk analysis to evaluate the seaworthiness of offshore structures

The evaluation of ·risk’ is based on long-term cumulative distributions of such design parameters which influence the seaworthiness of offshore structures. It is shown how risk distribution functions can be derived from cumulative distribution functions and how safe design values are defined with regard to specified risk levels. The examples given include two most modern designs which have already obtained a quality assurance at Germanischer Lloyd: a semi-submersible LNG-liquefaction platform with a built-in concrete LNG-tank and a semi-submersible drilling platform. Special attention is given to the question of reasonable platform clearance above still water level as specified by the Classification Societies, as well as to the definition of safe design values of loads which occur independently but have to be combined in a structural analysis. Finally, safety factors are critically examined in light of risk analysis and a basic design principle is suggested.     

Frequency domain analysis of dynamic response of drag dominated offshore structures

The paper describes a method for stochastic representation of the hydrodynamic drag forces on offshore structures subjected to irregular waves. It is shown that, for the case of zero current, it is possible to construct a genuinely quadratic representation of the drag force which reproduces the statistical properties of the standard formulation of the drag force very closely, and which at the same time has sufficient flexibility to ensure a spectral density that accurately approximates the desired force spectrum. The distinct advantage of the new representation is that it brings dynamic analysis of extensive linear structures back into the frequency domain.     

基于小波分析的海洋平台实时结构健康监测

由于海洋平台结构长期处于恶劣的海洋环境中,并受到各种载荷的交互作用,结构容易产生各种形式的损伤。因此,对海洋平台进行实时监测有着十分重要的现实意义。以单筒简易导管架平台为例,主要在结构损伤的判定和定位两方面对海洋平台的实时结构健康监测进行研究,结果表明通过对结构响应信号进行小波分析,小波变换系数和小波包能量分布可以很好地定义损伤识别指标。     

Physical and finite element modeling of lateral stability of offshore skirted gravity structures subjected to iceberg impact load

Static stability mainly against sliding of a typical, relatively large skirted gravity structure was investigated using three-dimensional finite element modeling. The numerical model was validated against centrifuge test results. A specific set of dimensions was chosen to model a typical skirted gravity structure in a centrifuge with two types of foundation soils: uniform saturated sand and a clay zone sandwiched between two sand layers. Soil shear strength parameters used in the finite element models were estimated from in-flight cone penetration resistance measurements obtained in the centrifuge. Numerical parametric studies were conducted using the validated finite element model. The parameters included were the depth and strength of the clay zone and the inclination of external load. It is shown that a relatively simple three-dimensional finite element model was effective in providing information that would be needed to design such a critical and expensive offshore structure. Basic Mohr-Coulomb strength parameters and moduli based on cone penetration resistance measurements and published empirical correlations were appropriate in modeling the soils in the finite element simulations.     

海洋平台结构动力响应优化设计与灵敏度分析

研究了海洋平台结构动力响应优化设计以结构动力响应的灵敏度计算方法。给出了结构稳态频率响应和瞬态时程响应的灵敏度分析算法，并通过数值试验讨论了瞬态响应灵敏度分析算法的精度和差分法中变量摄动量的影响。在JIFEX软件中实现了结构动力响应灵敏度计算，建立海洋平台结构优化模型和求解方法。数值算例表明了本文方法和程序的有效性。     

Probabilistic analysis of the DoB in axially-loaded tubular KT-joints of offshore structures

The degree of bending (DoB) characterizing the through-the-thickness stress distribution has a profound effect on the fatigue behavior of tubular joints commonly found in steel offshore structures and the determination of DoB values is essential for improving the accuracy of fatigue life estimation. Probability density functions of the involved random variables are necessary for the fatigue reliability analysis of offshore structures. The objective of present research was the derivation of probability density function (PDF) for the DoB in tubular KT-joints commonly found in jacket-type offshore platforms. A total of 162 finite element (FE) analyses were carried out on 81 FE models of KT-joints subjected to two types of axial loading. Generated FE models were validated using experimental data, previous FE results, and available parametric equations. Based on the results of parametric FE study, a sample database was prepared for the DoB values and density histograms were generated for respective samples based on the Freedman-Diaconis rule. Thirteen theoretical PDFs were fitted to the developed histograms and the maximum likelihood (ML) method was applied to evaluate the parameters of fitted PDFs. In each case, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to evaluate the goodness of fit. Finally, the Generalized Extreme Value model was proposed as the governing probability distribution function for the DoB. After substituting the values of estimated parameters, six fully defined PDFs were presented for the DoB in tubular KT-joints subjected to two types of axial loading.