Improved assessments of wave-induced fatigue for free spanning pipelines

For subsea pipeline projects, the costs related to seabed correction and free span intervention are often considerable. Development of reliable methods for fatigue analyses of pipelines in free spans contributes to minimize costs without compromising pipeline integrity. Assessment of wave-induced fatigue damage on multi-span pipelines is investigated, and improved analysis methods are suggested in this paper. A time-domain (TD) algorithm is developed, which accounts for non-linear hydrodynamic loading and dynamic interaction between adjacent spans. The proposed TD approach is employed to evaluate linearized frequency-domain (FD) solutions from recognized design standards and to study the dynamic response of multi-span pipelines to direct wave loading. Differences between multi- and single-span analyses are described for the first time, and the common assumption that the main fatigue damage contribution comes from the fundamental mode is demonstrated not to hold for multi-spans. An improved FD solution capable of predicting multi-mode response is derived and demonstrated to give accurate fatigue life estimates for multi-span pipelines.     

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.     

Laboratory Study for Influence of Clay Content (CC) on Wave-Induced Liquefaction in Marine Sediments

In this artice, the influence of clay content on the wave-induced liquefaction in marine sediments was reported. The one-dimensional (1-D) equipment was setup with a vertical cylinder and 1.8–m–thick clayey sandy deposit and 0.2–m–thick water above the deposit. Unlike the previous experimental study for a single soil layer, this study used sand-kaolin mixtures, sand-illite mixtures, and sand-bentonite mixtures as the experimental samples. A series of experiments with 3,000 wave cycles in each test were conducted under numerous wave and soil conditions, which allowed us to examine the influence of clay content (CC) on wave-induced liquefaction in marine sediments. The experimental results showed that the clayey sandy deposit will become prone to liquefaction with the increase of CC when CC is less than a critical value, which depends on the type of clay. However, when CC is greater than the critical value, liquefaction depth will decrease as CC increases. Furthermore, when the CC value reaches a certain level, liquefaction will not occur. For example, no liquefaction occurs when CC ≥ 33% for both kaolin-sand and illite-sand mixtures and CC ≥ 16.36% for bentonite-sand mixtures.     

Calibration of cyclic constitutive models by oscillating functions

Most structures are subjected to more cyclic loads during their life time than static loads. These cyclic action could be a result of either natural or man-made activities and may lead to soil failure. In order to understand the response of the foundation and its interaction with these complex cyclic loadings, various researchers have over the years developed different constitutive models. Although a lot of research is being carried out on these relatively new models, little or no details exist in literature about the model-based identification of the cyclic constitutive parameters which to a large extent govern the quality of the model output. This could be attributed to the difficulties and complexities of the inverse modeling of such complex phenomena. A variety of optimisation strategies are available for the solution of the sum of least-squares problems as usually done in the field of model calibration. However, for the back analysis (calibration) of the soil response to oscillatory load functions, this article gives insight into the model calibration challenges and also puts forward a method for the inverse modeling of cyclic loaded foundation response such that high-quality solutions are obtained with minimum computational effort.     

Effect of loading duration on uncertainty in creep analysis of clay

Some studies suggest that creep parameters should be determined using a greater quantity of creep test data to provide more reliable prediction regarding the deformation of soft soils. This study aims to investigate the effect of loading duration on model updating. One‐dimensional consolidation data of intact Vanttila clay under different loading durations collected from the literature is used for demonstration. The Bayesian probabilistic method is used to identify all unknown parameters based on the consolidation data during the entire consolidation process, and their uncertainty can be quantified through the obtained posterior probability density functions. Additionally, the optimal models are also determined from among 9 model candidates. The analyses indicate that the optimal models can describe the creep behavior of intact soft soils under different loading durations, and the adopted method can evaluate the effect of loading duration on uncertainty in the creep analysis. The uncertainty of a specific model and its model parameters decreases as more creep data are involved in the updating process, and the updated models that use more creep data can better capture the deformation behavior of an intact sample. The proposed method can provide quantified uncertainty in the process of model updating and assist engineers to decide whether the creep test data are sufficient for the creep analysis.     

三峡库首区重点断裂围限区蓄水的加卸载效应

通过对蓄水前后三峡库首区构造应力场进行三维数值模拟发现,相对于蓄水前,蓄水至135 m水位时,官渡口断裂-马鹿池断裂-牛口断裂围限区、秭归地理中心和九湾溪断裂带,出现了4个主应力下降区和共轭的主应力增长区,形成了差应力场;175 m水位与135 m水位相比,局部差应力场呈现逆向变化,即形成了加载效应与卸载效应的交替过程。这一过程,可能是水库诱发地震的诱震(或触震)因素。     

低周反复荷载下两跨两层轻钢框架抗震性能试验研究

本文通过两跨两层轻钢框架试件的低周反复加载试验,研究了轻钢框架结构在地震作用下的滞回性能、耗能机制、耗能能力、刚度退化和破坏形态,结果显示轻钢框架具有很好的抗震性能,节点域耗能能力强。论文结论可为多层轻钢框架的抗震设计提供依据。     

Drainage conditions around monopiles in sand

Large diameter monopiles are typical foundation solutions for offshore wind turbines. In design of the monopile foundations in sand, it is necessary to understand the drainage conditions of the foundation soil under the design loading conditions as the soil performance (strength and stiffness) is highly dependent on the drainage conditions. This paper presents a numerical investigation into this issue, with a purpose to develop a simple design criterion for assessing the soil drainage conditions around a monopile in sand. It is found that for typical monopile foundations in sand, the drainage condition during a single load cycle is generally expected to be undrained. However, the current state-of-practice uses p-y springs derived for drained soil responses for monopile design. The impact of this discrepancy on monopile foundation design was evaluated and found to be insignificant due to the relatively low level of loading as compared to the capacity of the soil.     

利用短期静态PPP结果反演海潮负荷位移

采用香港11个GPS测站的观测资料进行1 h、2 h、3 h和4h静态PPP解算,获得4组PPP坐标序列,利用调和分析求取11个测站处8个主要分潮的负荷位移参数（振幅和相位）,将其与海潮模型计算的负荷位移参数进行对比,并比较分析PPP反演值与海潮模型值改正海潮负荷信号的效果。结果表明,垂直和水平方向上,不同PPP结果反演8个分潮的负荷位移分别具有约5 mm和7 mm的差异;PPP反演8个分潮垂向负荷位移优于全球海潮模型,但水平方向上的反演效果稍弱。     

Experimental study on wide-shallow composite bucket foundation for offshore wind turbine under cyclic loading

As an appropriate type of foundation for offshore wind turbines (OWTs), wide-shallow composite bucket foundation (WSCBF) is cost-competitive, and it has a unique and special substructure that comprises seven internal rooms arranged in a honeycomb-like structure. In this study, the cyclic behavior of WSCBF for OWTs embedded in saturated clay was investigated using a large-scale model subjected to lateral cyclic loading. The responses of foundation under constant- and various-amplitude cyclic loadings were recorded in terms of displacements, rotations, and bending moments. The variations in stiffness and damping were obtained, and a collaborative bearing mechanical model between the bucket and soil was considered, which was beneficial for improving the stiffness of the whole structure. Accumulative deformation was found to have little effect on the bearing capacity of the foundation. Dynamic analysis in frequency domain was further performed on both moment and rotation data, and the complex, frequency-dependent impedance was also studied.