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Copyright of Journal of Architecture & Civil Engineering is the property of Chang'an Daxue Zazhishe and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Offshore platforms in seismically active areas should be properly designed to survive within the face of intense earthquakes without a global structural collapse. This paper scrutinizes the seismic performance of a newly designed and established jacket type offshore platform based on the API-RP2A normalized response spectra during seismic events. A finite element model is developed from a typical jacket type offshore platform taking into the effect of the interaction among structure, pile, and soil components. The seismic responses of jacket type offshore platforms subjected to random earthquake excitations are evaluated by means of the power spectral density (PSD) analysis. Dynamic characteristics, the response function, output PSD and transfer functions for various elements of the platform are discussed. The spectrum compatible PSD is directly used to estimate the peak structural responses and determine the dynamic response of offshore jacket platforms that meet the required level of engineering practice for preliminary design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-place analysis for offshore platforms is essentially required to make proper design for new structures and true assessment for existing structures. The structural integrity of platform components under the maximum and minimum operating loads of environmental conditions is required for risk assessment and inspection plan development. In-place analyses have been executed to check that the structural member with all appurtenances has robustness and capability to support the applied loads in either storm condition or operating condition. A nonlinear finite element analysis is adopted for the platform structure above the seabed and the soil–pile–jacket interaction to estimate the in-place behavior of a typical fixed offshore platform. The analysis includes an interpretation of the dynamic design parameters based on the available site-specific data, together with foundation design recommendations for in-place loading conditions. The SACS software is utilized to calculate the natural frequencies, dynamic amplification factors, and the stresses at selected members, as well as their nodal displacements. The directions of environmental loads and water depth variations have important effects on the results of the in-place analysis behavior. The incidence angle of seismic waves is an essential parameter, where, for some crucial angles, the internal forces and the maximum deformations can be doubled or more in comparison with the ones corresponding to other, less crucial angles. Therefore, the incidence angle considerably affects the response quantities. The results confirm that the in-place analysis is quite essential for the reliable design of new offshore platforms and the assessment of existing offshore structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-place analysis for offshore platforms is essentially required to make proper design for new structures and true assessment for existing structures, in addition to the structural integrity of platforms components under the maximum and minimum operating loads when subjected to the environmental conditions. In-place analysis have been executed to check that the structural member with all appurtenance's robustness have the capability to support the applied loads in either storm or operating conditions. A nonlinear finite element analysis is adopted for the platform structure above the seabed and pile-soil interaction to estimate the in-place behavior of a typical fixed offshore platform. The SACS software is utilized to calculate the dynamic characteristics of the platform model and the response of platform joints then the stresses at selected members, as well as their nodal displacements. The directions of environmental loads and water depth variations have significant effects in the results of the in-place analysis behavior. The most of bending moment responses of the piles are in the first fourth of pile penetration depth from pile head level. The axial deformations of piles in all load combinations cases of all piles are inversely proportional with penetration depth. The largest values of axial soil reaction are shown at the pile tips levels (the maximum penetration level). The most of lateral soil reactions resultant are in the first third of pile penetration depth from pile head level and approximately vanished after that penetration. The influence of the soil-structure interaction on the response of the jacket foundation predicts that the flexible foundation model is necessary to estimate the force responses demands of the offshore platform with a piled jacket-support structure well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel tubular structures are widely used in the construction of offshore platforms and T-type junctions are extensively used in this domain. The tubular members are welded, which generates significant stress concentrations at the edges. The stress levels reached in these critical places are used to assess lifetimes based on fatigue curves from tests conducted on standard samples. This study is devoted to the modeling and analysis of T-type welded tubular structures for the determination of hot spots stresses (HSS) at the chord/brace intersection, A numerical analysis was carried out to study the effect of a combined loading composed of an axial loading and a continuation of rational bending, that best assimilate real conditions, as well as the effect of normalized geometric parameters a, ß, on the distribution of stress concentration (area and values) of T-joints. The mechanical behaviour has been modeled in 2D using quadrangular and triangular thin-shell elements by the finite element method (FEM). It is the most appropriate approach because it considers all geometric complexities and singularities of the structure, while the efforts as well as the computation time are considerably reduced compared to an experimental study or to complex FE models implementing solid elements. In this study, we use the COMSOL-MULTIPHYSICS® software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Study of structure-borne sound transmission of cascaded plate–cavity system. • Application of Chebyshev-Ritz method. • Comparable numerical accuracy as compared to finite element method. • Numerical examples are simulated for different configurations. • Better prediction of sound transmission via tuning of cascaded plate–cavity system. Abstract A Chebyshev-Ritz based analytical model is proposed to investigate I-junction within the structural–acoustic model of a cascaded rectangular plate–cavity system. By considering of the structural interconnection force and the moment at edges and structural-acoustic interaction on the interface, the structural and acoustic systems are coupled. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional Chebyshev Polynomial series are used to present the unknown panel displacements and the sound pressure field variable inside the cavities, respectively. The effectiveness and correctness of the proposed model on an I-junction in a typical marine offshore platform are verified with those calculated from Finite Element Analysis. The influence of boundary conditions, structural coupling, plate properties, and size of the source-to-receiver cavities on the offshore platform on structure-borne sound transmission are analyzed and addressed. Numerical examples are simulated for several different configurations. It is shown that the boundary conditions, structural coupling manner, plate properties, and the volume ratio of the source-to-receiver cavity will change the structure-borne sound transmission characteristics of the cascaded rectangular plate–cavity system. With the proposed approach, a better prediction can be obtained for structure-borne sound transmission via proper tuning of the cascaded rectangular plate–cavity system on the offshore platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A finite element model (FEM) of the offshore platform with biofouling is developed here to predict the effectiveness of the ICCP under seawater. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) test verified that the offshore platform was fully covered by a coating‐like biofouling to protect the structures from corrosion. FE‐SEM and EDS tests demonstrated that the biofouling deposits on the offshore platform mainly contained magnesium oxides, biofouling deposits, and corrosion products doped with calcium oxides. The polarization relationships of platform steel with biofouling coverage were used as boundary conditions for the numerical simulation. Furthermore, the factors including output current, anode location, seawater conductivity, and biofouling coverage rate, which influenced the protective effectiveness, were comparatively evaluated by FEM. Then, a re‐design two‐anode ICCP system was employed to keep offshore platform in protective condition. A ROV monitored the potential distributions of the legs and demonstrated that numerical simulation results of ICCP had a good agreement with measured data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Petroleum Machinery is the property of China Petroleum Machinery Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Among offshore platform structures, multi-planar tubular joints are usually in the most dangerous positions and generate fatigue cracks the earliest. In this study, DX-joints were regarded as the research object, and finite element method was adopted to conduct systematic research on the fatigue properties of multi-planar tubular joint welds. Axial, in-plane bending moment, and out-of-plane bending moment loads were applied to explore the stress distribution along the weld path and the hotspot location under different load conditions. Results indicated that the hotspot stress (HSS) location of DX-joints changed with the variation in the combined stress ratio. Through HSS analysis, cracks were prefabricated at the hotspot location of DX-joints to analyze the change rule of the stress intensity factor (SIF). The influence of different loads, crack lengths, and crack depths on SIF was studied to estimate the growth trend of the weld crack and its dominance. The findings can provide theoretical guidance for fatigue damage and safety assessment of offshore platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of true weak modes buried in high-level, noisy, measured data from offshore structures is a practical but challenging problem because weak modes are typically eliminated as noise and rarely, yield a discrete time series. This study proposes a weak-mode identification and time-series reconstruction method for offshore structures when high-level noise is present. A theoretical development proposed in this study extends the traditional modal analysis to reconstructing the discrete time series of weak modes, thereby removing its previous limitations to only frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes. Additionally, a second development proposed in this study makes the reconstructed time series not simply a combination of harmonic components from a Fourier transform but rather complex exponentials; the damping of the test structure is thus estimated with a better accuracy. A third theoretical development avoids variations in the results from different original signals by handling multiple signals simultaneously. The proposed approach primarily includes three steps: (1) estimate the poles and corresponding residues of high-level, noisy, measured data by converting high-order difference equations to first-order difference equations; (2) isolate the poles of weak modes by assigning multiple rough-pole windows, and subsequently extract the corresponding residues based on the row number of the isolated pole vector; and (3) identify and reconstruct the time series of the weak modes of interest in the form of complex exponentials. The most primary advantage of the proposed process in engineering applications is that the pole windows can be easily obtained and assigned from the relationship between the frequencies and their poles. Three numerical examples are studied: the first presents the detailed numerical operation of the proposed method, the second extends the proposed method from managing one signal to managing multiple signals, and the third demonstrates the advantage of the approach compared with traditional methods. The numerical results indicate that the original signals can be decomposed into multiple complex exponentials with representative poles and corresponding residues, and that the new signals representing weak modes could be reconstructed by assigning a range of frequencies in terms of their relations with the poles. To study the performance of the proposed method when applied to offshore structures such as offshore platforms and marine risers, the experimental data from the high mode VIV experiments sponsored by the Norwegian Deepwater Programme (NDP) are used firstly. The results show that two dominant frequencies corresponding to the in-line and cross-flow directions can be identified simultaneously even one mode is very weak compared with the other, and the time series of the weak mode could be reconstructed with a rough frequency window. Then sea-test data of two offshore platforms are used: one was collected from the JZ20-2MUQ offshore platform when it was excited by ice, and the other was collected from the WZ11-4D platform when it was excited by waves. The results further demonstrated that a large model order is required to estimate all poles and residues of the original noisy signals, and that the row number corresponding to a weak mode of the isolated pole matrix could be easily determined via finite element analysis or engineering experiences. Therefore, the proposed approach provides not only modal parameters, such as frequencies and damping ratios of true weak modes buried in high-level noise, but also the discrete time series of the weak mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents developments in fatigue cracking of a floating platform that required repair and upgrading during 1999–2000. The Veslefrikk B (VFB) platform was built in 1985 for drilling exploration but was converted to a production platform in 1989. Shortly thereafter extensive fatigue cracking was discovered and several repairs were made. However, extensive fatigue cracking continued and a retrofitting program was implemented, using various types of grinding and peening techniques. In 1999 the platform was temporarily decommissioned and dry-docked for a comprehensive repair and upgrading program, following the International Institute of welding (IIW) guidelines for weld improvement methods [1] , this was completed in only four months. However, after a few more years of service fatigue damage again necessitated new repairs. The majority of cracks occurred in the hull skin plates and caused water leakage. It is noteworthy that cracking this time occurred only in areas of the structure that were left untreated in the first retrofitting program due to low levels of stress from FE analyses in these areas. The paper describes the original repair and strengthening program, and the types of subsequent fatigue damage that necessitated new repairs. The recent life extension program has resulted in the safe operation of the platform for an estimated additional period of 20 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A recursive window-based Bayesian inference approach is formulated and validated. • It is implemented for joint input-parameter estimation of an offshore structure. • Strain time histories at hotspots are accurately predicted through virtual sensing. • The proposed method outperform modal expansion method for virtual sensing. This paper presents a recursive Bayesian inference framework for joint parameter-input identification, and virtual sensing for strain time history prediction of an offshore platform using sparse output-only measurements. The studied offshore platform, known as FINO3, is in the North Sea and is instrumented with a variety of sensors, including accelerometers and strain gauges. Offshore platforms are fatigue critical structures due to harsh marine environmental conditions and continuous cyclic wind and wave loads. Therefore, continuous monitoring of strain time histories at hotspot locations of offshore structures is important for reducing maintenance cost and avoiding unexpected failures. A windowed unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is employed to estimate an uncertain modeling parameter (foundation stiffness) and unknown input load time histories using output-only acceleration and strain measurements. The input loads are divided into overlapping windows, and windowed inputs and model parameters are combined as an augmented state vector in the UKF framework. Then strain time histories at critical locations are estimated through a virtual sensing strategy using the estimated input loads and model parameter. A traditional modal expansion approach combined with model updating is also implemented for the purpose of verification and comparison. The proposed method is first demonstrated through a numerical study using a finite element model of FINO3, where accurate model parameter and input estimations are obtained. Then the approach is further investigated using the actual measurements on FINO3. More accurate strain predictions are provided by the UKF than the modal expansion approach, which recommends the proposed UKF method for fatigue monitoring and input estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was devoted to presenting a systematic approach based on finite element method to numerical analysis of gear surface hardening with the consideration of the contact problem. After the contact finite element method theory of gear and rack was introduced, the numerical analysis of gear surface hardening was discussed in detail. The element selection of gear-rack hardening layer based on finite element method was proposed, the algorithm characteristics of gear-rack elastic-plastic contact problems were also put forward, and the material properties and constitutive relations of gear-rack hardening layer were then discussed in detail. The gear-rack elastic-plastic contact analysis results were discussed, and the experimental results with the laser treatment were analyzed with the microstructure changes of the laser hardening layer to measure the performance of the hardening layer. The wear simulating test of gear results in improving the wear resistance greatly, and this surface hardening treatment has been officially put into engineering application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Accurate estimate of the modal parameters of an offshore structure is crucial to many practical engineering issues, such as finite element (FE) model updating/validation, damage detection, etc. Using noisy acceleration signals collected from a step-relaxation test of a jacket-type offshore platform, we estimate its modal frequencies and damping ratios by an extended Prony''s method, which includes a noise removal procedure to yield filtered signals before implementing the classical Prony''s method on the filtered signals. To validate the applicability of the proposed approach, numerical simulations were firstly performed. Investigating corrupted relaxation response signals simulated from a FE model of the test platform, we conclude that the proposed approach is very accurate on estimating the modal parameters. A significant improvement can be achieved when the filtered, rather than the originally measured, signals are used. Using sea test data measured from accelerometers mounted at three different locations of the test platform, we find that the modal parameters estimated from the filtered signals of the three locations separately are in excellent agreement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this work a numerical modeling with ANSYS program of the mechanical behavior of the not welded tubular junction structures of the offshore has been considered. The objective is to determine the stress field and displacement of the structure in particular, at the chord/brace intersection of the Y-joint and T-joint under the action of wind and sea wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accurately predict the crack growth trend of marine structures, this paper proposes a fatigue crack growth prediction method for offshore platforms based on digital twin. First, a digital twin model for offshore platforms is established, and the key technical procedures required for each part of the model are given. Subsequently, to implement consistency maintenance between the virtual model and the physical entity during the digital twin usage, a finite element surrogate model approach based on Gaussian process is performed, which integrates with the crack growth consistency maintenance strategy using dynamic Bayesian network. Finally, according to service condition characteristics of the offshore platform, a crack growth experiment under mixed-mode multi-step loading is designed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the method not only reduces the influence of uncertain factors on crack growth prediction under complex loads, but also achieves accurate of crack growth through dynamic tracking. • A digital twin five-dimensional model for offshore platform is proposed. • Summarized the key technical methods for building digital twin model. • A fatigue crack growth prediction method based on digital twin is proposed. • A fatigue crack growth experiment under mixed-mode multi-step loading was designed according to the marine environment. • The proposed method can achieve dynamic following and accurate prediction of fatigue crack growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]