Advances in the fatigue assessment of wire ropes

This paper presents the findings from an in-depth analysis of the (axial) stiffness data recorded during tension–tension fatigue tests on wire ropes, particularly in relation to how changes in stiffness during testing relate to changes in rope strength. A linear relationship between stiffness and strength is shown to exist and a methodology presented for quantifying residual strength with applied cycles. New lower bound fatigue lines for six-strand rope and spiral strand are presented which are based on a 10% loss of strength. These new lines have the advantage of having been established using a common discard criterion for wire ropes.     

Direct scantling assessment of propeller blades

Traditionally, propeller design has been focused on all activities necessary to obtain a propeller featuring a high efficiency, avoiding erosive cavitation for given operating conditions and having adequate structural strength. In recent years, more and more challenging requirements have been imposed, such as the reduction of radiated noise and pressures pulses, requiring more precise analyses and methods in the optimization of the propeller performance. On the other hand, the evaluation of the propeller strength still relies on simplified methods, which basically consider the blade as a cantilever beam subjected to characteristic static forces. Since the loads acting on a blade are variable in the blade revolution and in different operating conditions throughout the ship life, a procedure to account for the influence of fatigue phenomena is proposed. The fatigue assessment could reduce the safety factor in the propeller scantling rules and allow improving the quality of propeller design (e.g. obtaining higher efficiency, margin on cavitation phenomena, less noise).     

Effect of wave nonlinearity on fatigue damage and extreme responses of a semi-submersible floating wind turbine

Floating wind turbine has been the highlight in offshore wind industry lately. There has been great effort on developing highly sophisticated numerical model to better understand its hydrodynamic behaviour. A engineering-practical method to study the nonlinear wave effects on floating wind turbine has been recently developed. Based on the method established, the focus of this paper is to quantify the wave nonlinearity effect due to nonlinear wave kinematics by comparing the structural responses of floating wind turbine when exposed to irregular linear Airy wave and fully nonlinear wave. Critical responses and fatigue damage are studied in operational conditions and short-term extreme values are predicted in extreme conditions respectively. In the operational condition, wind effects are dominating the mean value and standard deviation of most responses except floater heave motion. The fatigue damage at the tower base is dominated by wind effects. The fatigue damage for the mooring line is more influenced by wind effects for conditions with small wave and wave effects for conditions with large wave. The wave nonlinearity effect becomes significant for surge and mooring line tension for large waves while floater heave, pitch motion, tower base bending moment and pontoon axial force are less sensitive to the nonlinear wave effect. In the extreme condition, linear wave theory underestimates wave elevation, floater surge motion and mooring line tension compared with fully nonlinear wave theory while quite close results are predicted for other responses.     

VIV response of a long flexible riser fitted with strakes in uniform and linearly sheared currents

An experimental investigation was conducted on a flexible riser with and without various strake arrangements. The aim of the present work was to further improve the understanding of the response performance of the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a riser with helical strakes. Two current profiles, including uniform and linearly sheared flows, were simulated. The uniform current was simulated by towing the riser model in one direction using the towing carriage, and the linearly sheared current was simulated by fixing one end of the riser and using a driven cantilever to traverse a circular arc. Based on the modal superposition method, the displacement responses were obtained from the measured strain. Strakes with different heights and pitches were analysed, and response parameters such as the displacement response and fatigue damage were studied. The results of the bare model test show that the lock-in phenomenon displays multi-order characteristics, and the VIV displacement decreases with an increased order of the lock-in regime. The results of the straked model test indicate that the response characteristics of a bare riser can be quite distinct from those of a riser with helical strakes, and the response performance depends closely on the geometry of the strake configuration.     

Tension during parametric excitation in submerged vertical taut tethers

The construction of a suspension bridge with floating pylons or a submerged floating tunnel requires the installation of a mooring system. The option of taut vertical tethers, similar to those used in tension-leg platforms, has been suggested in preliminary designs. The environmental loading on the tether, mainly due to wind waves and swell, results in a parametrically excited system. Certain loading conditions develop instabilities that translate into large horizontal motion. However, the effects of parametric resonance on the tension values have rarely been investigated. This paper aims to clarify the relation between lateral displacement and tether tension and to quantify the extreme tension values in the event of parametric resonance. The presented analysis is based on a full numerical model of the tether that includes geometric and hydrodynamic nonlinear effects. This model is used to investigate a representative example that illustrates parametric resonance and multiple parametric studies to assess the effects of the excitation frequency, amplitude, initial pretension, tether length and inclination angle on the tether’s response. The results reported here provide the basis for a recommendation on designing a tether under parametric resonance regarding the ultimate extreme values and fatigue life.     

Fatigue reliability analysis of deep water rigid marine risers associated with Morison-type wave loading

This work presents a simple and efficient framework for the fatigue reliability assessment of a vertical top-tensioned rigid riser. The fatigue damage response is considered as a narrow-band Gaussian stationary random process with a zero mean for the short-term behavior of a riser. Non-linearity in a response associated with Morison-type wave loading is accounted for by using a factor, which is the ratio of expected damage according to a non-linear probability distribution to the expected damage according to a linear method of analysis. Long-term non-stationary response is obtained by summing up a large number of short-term stationary responses. Uncertainties associated with both the strength and stress parts of the limit state function are quantified by a lognormal distribution. A closed form reliability analysis is carried out, which is based on the limit state function formulated in terms of Miner’s cumulative damage rule. The results thus obtained are compared with the well-documented lognormal format of reliability analysis based on time to fatigue failure. The validity of using the lognormal hazard rate function in predicting the fatigue life is discussed. A Monte Carlo simulation technique is also used as a reliability assessment method. A simple algorithm is used to reduce the uncertainty associated with direct sampling at small probability of failure values and a small number of simulations. Simulation results are compared with closed form solutions. A worked example is included to show the practical riser design problem based on reliability analysis.     

边坡岩体浅层破坏的热应力效应研究

温度变化是影响边坡岩体风化并导致浅层破坏的一个重要因素。边坡岩体内的温度变化比较复杂, 且随地面温度的变化呈周期性的变化。温度的变化导致热应力的生成, 温度变化的周期性致使热应力具有交变性。在这种交变应力作用下, 边坡浅部岩体的破坏表现出疲劳特征。本文分析了边坡岩体中的温度场和热应力的分布特征以及边坡岩体疲劳破坏的机理及判据。     

A parametric design study for a semi/SCR system in Northern North Sea

In recent years, offshore reservoirs have been developed in deeper and deeper water environments. Steel catenary risers (SCRs) are being considered in deepwater development such as Northern North Sea. SCRs used in conjunction with a semi-submersible or floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) in deepwater harsh environments present significant design challenges. The large vertical motions at the semi or FPSO induce severe riser response, which results in difficulty meeting strength and fatigue criteria at the hang off and touch down point locations. To improve the understanding of SCR behaviour and increase the confidence in the design of such systems in deepwater harsh environments, a parametric study on a SCR connected to a semi-submersible was carried out in this paper to deal with the factors that mainly influence the loading condition and fatigue life of the riser. Weight-optimized configurations were applied during the course of riser design. Riflex combined with DeepC was the primary analysis tool used for the long-term response of the nonlinear SCR structure simulations, which requires a large amount of computer time. Hence, the parameters affecting the efficiency and accuracy of the simulations have also been studied during the analysis process.     

Biofouling on mooring lines and power cables used in wave energy converter systems—Analysis of fatigue life and energy performance

This study presents an analysis of a wave energy converter (WEC) system consisting of a buoy, a mooring system, and a power cable connected to a hub. The investigated WEC system is currently under full-scale testing near Runde in Norway. The purpose of the study was to investigate the characteristics of the entire system, primarily with regard to energy performance and the fatigue life of the mooring lines and power cable, considering the effects of marine biofouling and its growth on the system’s components. By means of parametric study, the energy performance and fatigue life of the mooring lines and power cable were investigated considering two mooring configurations, three biofouling conditions, four sea states in a scatter diagram, and three wave and current directions. Hydrodynamic and structural response simulations were conducted in a coupled response analysis using the DNV-GL software SESAM. Energy performance analyses and stress-based rainflow counting fatigue calculations were performed separately using an in-house code. The results show that, for a WEC system which has been deployed for 25 years, biofouling can reduce the total power absorption by up to 10% and decrease the fatigue life of the mooring lines by approximately 20%.     

Low-cycle fatigue crack initiation life of hull-notched plate considering short crack effect and accumulative plastic damage

When studying the low-cycle fatigue crack initiation life of notched plates, the effects of fatigue short crack and accumulative plastic damage in the vicinity of the notch should be considered. The low-cycle fatigue crack initiation life of notched plates has been revised in the analysis process by considering the short crack initiation and expansion of notch stress concentration area. By determining the accumulative plastic deformation in the vicinity of a notch under low-cycle fatigue loads, a predictive model of low-cycle fatigue crack initiation life was presented for notched plates, and the relative influence factors were quantitatively analyzed. A comparison study verified that the results obtained from the presented calculation model correlate quite well with those from the existing experiments. Some important conclusions were drawn from the study on considering the effects of short crack and accumulative plastic damage. The presented method may be used for predicting the low-cycle fatigue crack initiation life of ship plate.