Elasto-Plastic Analysis of Tubular Joints of Offshore Platforms by Finite Element Method

The plastic node method is reformulated by the variational principle and is applied to elasto-plastic finite element analysis of tubular joints, eventually including the effect of internal and external gussets, stiffener rings, etc., if necessary. Four different joints are studied here in detail for the elasto-plastic behavior, the strain at the hot spot, the strain concentration factor around the intersection line, and the propagation of the plastic region with loading up to collapse in order to determine the ultimate strength, safety factor, and development of the plastic field. The present results are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

White-light promoted degradation of leucopterin and related pteridines dissolved in seawater, with evidence for involvement of complexation from major divalent cations of seawater

The photochemical instability of several related pteridines in seawater was investigated by aseptic incubation of solutions at 20–22°C under illumination from cool-white light of intensity 6 kerg cm⁻² sec⁻¹, and the chemical changes were spectrophotometrically monitored. All the pteridines showed markedly accelerated degradation from this illumination relative to their behaviour in total darkness.Pterin and lumazine were degraded very slowly with zero-order reaction kinetics, while the other pteridines photolysed rapidly (according to first-order kinetics) with decomposition rates increasing in the order dioxylumazine (2,4,6,7-tetrahydroxypteridine) < leucopterin < isoxanthopterin < xanthopterin < oxylumazine (2,4,6-trihydroxypteridine). Excepting leucopterin and dioxylumazine, the photolysis rates were attributable to the pH of seawater and not its salt content; this was also the case with oxylumazine which required the salt content of seawater for decomposition in darkness. Leucopterin and dioxylumazine (both 6,7-dihydroxylated pteridines) gave evidence of complexation with the major divalent cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) of seawater, by virtue of which their photolytic degradation rates were enhanced to magnitudes obtained in pH-10 buffer without seawater. It is proposed that such complexation produces structural forms of these pteridines analogous to their normal ionic forms at pH 10–12.The photolysis of the 6-hydroxylated pteridines (xanthopterin, oxylumazine) proceeded via intermediate formation of their corresponding 7-hydroxylated derivatives (leucopterin, dioxylumazine).     

A Global Reliability Assessment Method on Aging Offshore Platforms with Corrosion and Cracks

Corrosion and fatigue cracks are major threats to the structural integrity of aging offshore platforms. For the rational estimation of the safety levels of aging platforms, a global reliability assessment approach for aging offshore platforms with corrosion and fatigue cracks is presented in this paper. The base shear capacity is taken as the global ultimate strength of the offshore platforms. It is modeled as a random process that decreases with time in the presence of corrosion and fatigue crack propagati...     

Evaluation of the presence of major anionic surfactants in marine sediments

The contamination of aquatic environments has become the focus of increasing regulation and public concern due to their potential and unknown negative effects on the ecosystems. The present work develops a monitoring and statistical study, based on the analysis of variance test (ANOVA) and the multivariable analysis, both for insoluble soap and LAS in order to compare the behavior of different anionic surfactants in this environmental compartment. First, a novel and successfully validated methodology to analyze insoluble soap in these samples is developed. The matrix effect and the comparison of different extraction techniques were also performed. The optimized analytical methodologies were applied to 48 representative samples collected from the Almeria Coast (Spain) and then a statistical analysis to correlate anionic surfactant concentration and several variables associated with marine sediment samples was also developed. The results obtained showed relevant conclusions related to the environmental behavior of anionic surfactants in marine sediments.     

A Linear Programming Model for Seabed Oil-Gas Pipe Network

This paper analyzes the pipe network system of oil-gas collection and transportation foroffshore oilfield development.A"0-1"integer linear programming model is constructed to optimize theinvestment of seabed pipe network.The mathematical model is solved by the spanning tree method ofgraph theory and network analysis.All spanning trees of a network graph compose all the feasible solu-tions of the mathematical model.The optimal solution of the model is the spanning tree with the minimumcost among all spanning trees.This method can be used to optimize the seabed pipe network system andgive a minimum cost plan for the development of offshore marginal oilfield groups.     

Early Cambrian Ichnofossils from the Mussoorie Syncline and revision of Trace Fossil Biozonation of the Lesser Himalaya,India

A new locality bearing ichnofossils of the Cruziana Assemblage Zone-Ⅲ from the Mussoorie syncline,Lesser Himalaya,is located in rocks of Member-B of the Dhaulagiri Formation,Tal Group,exposed along the Maldewta-Chhimoli fresh road cut section.The site yielded ichnofossils Bergaueria perata,Cochlichnus anguineus,？Diplocraterion isp.,Dimorphichnus obliquus,diplichnitiform Cruziana bonariensis,Diplichnites gouldi,Glockeria isp.,Helminthopsis isp.,Monomorphichnus lineatus,Phycodes palmatum,Palaeophycus striatus,Planolites beverleyensis,Planolites montanus,Treptichnus cf.T.pedum,scratch marks and an undetermined worm impression.An Early Cambrian age （Cambrian Series 2） is assigned to the ichnofossil-bearing strata based on the stratigraphic position between the Drepanuroides and Palaeoolenus trilobite zones.A revised Cambrian ichnofossil zonation is presented for the Tal Group of the Mussoorie syncline.Together with their occurrence on rippled surfaces,and the lateral displacement of some trackways （due to current action）,a sub-aqueous shallow-marine depositional setting is proposed for the rocks of Member-B.     

SETTLING PROPERTIES OF COHESIVE AND NON-COHESIVE PARTICULATE MIXTURES IN WATER

1. INTRODUCTIONAs a wide range of size distirbution including usually a certain POrtion of cohesive material is thecommon feature of the sediment constituting hyperconcentrated flows. it is desirable to study the settling properties of mixtures of cohesive and non--cohesjve sediment particles at high concentrations.Past studies on the settling of discrete particles in a suspension of fine cohesjve sediment is scarcein the literature. The Sediment Research Laboratory of Tsinghua Universi…     

Effect of the injection of pure oxygen into a membrane bioreactor on the elimination of bisphenol A

The effect of the injection of pure oxygen instead of air in a membrane bioreactor for the elimination of bisphenol A is investigated. A dynamic experiment was developed in a pilot plant where the aerobic reactor was continuously spiked with 1 mg L^?1 of bisphenol A. Air was injected for 10 days and then pure oxygen was injected for another 10 days. The bisphenol A concentration was determined in aqueous phases and activated sludge using simple and sensitive analytical methods based on different extraction procedures and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Enzymatic activity was also determined and toxicity tests were performed to discard that the spiked bisphenol A concentration could negatively affect the microorganisms in the bioreactor and, thus, the membrane bioreactor performance. The effluent bisphenol A concentration increased up to 0.26 mg L^?1 after 4 days in the air injection treatment, and up to 0.48 mg L^?1 after only 12 h in the oxygen injection treatment. In both cases, this was followed by a decrease in concentration despite the continuous spiking of bisphenol A into the bioreactor. In presence of pure oxygen, bisphenol A concentration reached background levels (below the limit of quantification) after 5 days. In contrast, when using air a total of 10 days were required to reach background levels. The injection of pure oxygen instead of air is an important innovation in wastewater treatment, allowing permanent elimination of organic contaminants, avoiding their return to the environment and ensuring the safety of water.     

Shear Failure of a Clamped Dented Tubular Beam Under Lateral Impact

- The shear failure of a rigid-plastic dented clamped tubular beam under the lateral impact of a mass is investigated. Both the denting and the impact point are in the middle span of the beam. It is assumed that denting does not spread during the shear sliding. Numerical results show that the axial force and lateral deflection of the beam are very small at the moment of the occurence of shear failure, which means that the finite deformation effect can be neglected in the shear failure analysis. Also, some aspects of the initial impact energy are investigated.