Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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Dynamic spectral fatigue behavior of a fixed offshore jacket structure

S. Vijayan, R. Santhosh Ram, D. Senthil Velan
Department of Civil Engineering, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai 600089, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The need for energy to run the wheels of technology is increasing day by day. Apart from non-renewable
Received 10 November 2020 energy which cannot fulfil the today’s requirements. Henceforth the need for oil to run today’s technol-
Received in revised form 17 November 2020 ogy is tremendous. The oil fields in Gulf countries face so many problems related to the structural life of
Accepted 21 November 2020
various components of the field. This report discuss one major thing of these kind which is the fatigue
Available online xxxx
analysis to evaluate the fatigue life of the weld connections pertaining to Jacket tubular joints under
the cumulative actions of cyclic loads induced by waves. The jacket structure is a four-legged type, lift
Keywords:
installed steel jacket with two vertical faces and two battered faces. Following are the key details jacket.
Fatigue
Jacket
The dimension at Work Point is 21.40 m  10.70 m. The work point EL (+) 8.230 m. The depth of the water
Renewable energy is at 41.30 m from LAT (Lowest Astronomical Tide). The Top of Jacket is at EL (+) 7.010 m. The bottom of
Leg pile Jacket level is EL (+) 41.000m. The foundation is 42” piles with leg pile annulus. The codes used are as per
Astronomical tide the International standards API RP 2A – WSD 22ND Edition & AISC – WSD – 9th Edition (Manual of Steel
Construction – Allowable Stress Design). Analysis is carried out using SACS 5.7 V8i SELECT Series 4.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Materials, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering for Sustainable Developments-2020.

1. Introduction 2. Wave theory selection

The off shore structure are mostly assembled steel structures Stream function used to calculate the water particle velocities
for the purpose of creating platforms to install the machineries and accelerations. Deterministic fatigue analysis used for calculat-
related with the oil or natural gas extraction, power generator ing the water depth to use, absolute care should be taken to recog-
and minimal human operation requirements. Henceforth the space nize that higher local member wave loads - higher water particle
requirement is highly optimised one in the case of offshore struc- velocities, hence result from shallower water depths. The long-
ture. Because it plays an important role in the determination of term average of water depth is reflected by, the Mean Sea Level
shape and size of the structure, in turn the gravity load. Cyclic load- (MSL) at this end. The analysis excludes the current from this cal-
ings on offshore structures may be due to wind, wave current, deck culation (Fig. 1).
mounted rotating equipment, ice loading & vortex shedding. Con-
tinuous repeated loads result in fatigue. Therefore the continuous
repeated load occurs daily at number of time which causes fatigue
2.1. Wave steepness
failure. Micro-cracks will develop and grow until the structural
material fractures. Cracks will happen likely at flaws or inclusions
The ratio of wave height to wavelength is the wave steepness.
in the material, in homogeneity, especially points of abrupt change
The appropriate wave theory is used to calculate the wavelength.
of the geometry of the structure resulting in stress concentrations.
The wavelength in meters for small amplitude in deep water waves
The fatigue damage to a structure is calculated using the Spectral
is given by: wave steepness = Hd/ L, considering L = 1:56T2 Consid-
fatigue approach which is statistical. The aggregate of all sea states
ering Hd is the design wave height and T is the wave period. Wave
to be expected over the long term is determined for wave climate.
steepness of 1:16 will be considered for generation of wave forces
For the purpose of structural analysis it is condensed into represen-
by experience. The ratio of hot spot stress amplitude at a particular
tative sea states which are characterized by physical parameters
member-end circumferential point divided by the wave amplitude
and wave energy spectra together with occurrence probability.
which generates the amplitude of stress at that point as frequency

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.11.1006
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering for
Sustainable Developments-2020.

Please cite this article as: S. Vijayan, R. Santhosh Ram and D. Senthil Velan, Dynamic spectral fatigue behavior of a fixed offshore jacket structure, Materials
Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.11.1006
S. Vijayan, R. Santhosh Ram and D. Senthil Velan Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig.1. Isometric View of Jacket.

function defines the transfer function ordinates. Transfer function 2.6. Stress amplitudes
units will be, MP a/m of wave amplitude.
The stresses are calculated in various wave positions and this
difference between the maximum and minimum stress is the
2.2. Selection of frequencies stress range which are determined for each wave. The stress ranges
are divided by one-half of the corresponding wave height which
Selective waves of various heights with constant steepness are produces stress ranges for waves of amplitude units (for sinusoidal
used to load the structure to generate a transfer function ordinate waves, wave height which equals the twice of wave amplitude).
for a particular fatigue wave direction. Transfer function for all waves is the relationship between the
stress ranges of unit amplitude and the corresponding wave
frequency.
2.3. Dynamics criterion

The waves corresponding to first three modal frequencies are 2.7. S-N curves
considered.
Fatigue failure may occur for a particular stress range existing at
a theoretical number of cycles N(s). The relationship with the num-
2.4. Leg spacing criterion ber of allowable cycles and the stress range is called as an S-N
curve. The curve X applicable for normal welding and curve X’
Frequencies are chosen based on the corresponding wave- applicable for profile control welding as per API RP 2A-WSD.
lengths which is approximately integral (n) or half of the integral
(n/2) multiples of the distance between the legs.
2.8. Foundation linearization

2.5. Minimum and maximum wave height criterion The series of structural analysis for each direction and each
wave set is considered for fatigue analysis. It is time consuming
Waves having a height of 0.25 m (minimum) and a wave height if each analysis is done with pile/soil interaction. Since the modal
(maximum) obtained from the fatigue wave climate will be consid- analysis cannot be done with pile/soil interaction, the nonlinear
ered to generate transfer function. foundation will be linearized and stiffness matrix that corresponds
2
S. Vijayan, R. Santhosh Ram and D. Senthil Velan Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

to six degrees of freedom at pile head will be used. Hence to gen- Still water level (highest) + Storm surge (positive storm surge)
erate this spring stiffness, a representative wave height and direc- = 41.300 + 0.610 + 0.660 + 0.900 + 0.400 = 43.87 m
tion will be selected to represent the sea state fatigue.
6. Jacket analysis model
3. Software
Platform comprises of four (4) legged jacket, drill deck and top-
The analysis of structure is carried out using the Bentley side structure (future) the jacket. The jacket structure is a four-
structural analysis package ‘‘SACS5.7V8iSELECTSeries4”. legged type, lift installed steel jacket with two vertical faces and
3Dmodelisusedtoanalyzethejacket. two battered faces. Following are the key details.

4. Objective  Dimension at Work Point – 21.40 m  10.70 m

 Work point – EL (+) 8.230 m
The main objective of this report is ensuring the fatigue life of  Water Depth – 41.30 m from LAT
tubular connections of jacket structure are within allowable limits  Platform Orientation – 300 west of grid north.
in accordance with codes for repeated cyclic environmental load-  Top of Jacket – EL (+) 7.010 m
ing for the fatigue wave data.  1st Horizontal Jacket Framing Level – EL (+) 5.500 m
The analysis is done to check the jacket structural joints that  2nd Horizontal Jacket Framing Level – EL ( ) 11.250 m
have enough fatigue endurance, in order to resist the stress fluctu-  3rd Horizontal Jacket Framing Level – EL ( ) 29.500 m
ations due to wave action during the life of the jacket at service.  4th Horizontal Jacket Framing Level – EL ( ) 40.300 m
 Bottom of Jacket leg – EL ( ) 41.000 m
 Foundation – 42” OD piles with leg pile annulus grouted
5. Analysis methodology

Jacket is electrified and coated structure. The foundation com-

The fatigue analysis performed after performing the in-place
prises of piles driven through legs to the desired penetration with
analysis. Therefore it is assumed that following details are avail-
the leg pile annuli grouted.
able before starting this analysis.
Following are the major appurtenances included in the
platform:
 SACS models
 SACS in-place analysis model
 Three (3) boat landings, one on east face for half length, one on
 SACS PSI file (Pile Structure Interaction) used for in-place
west face for full length and one on south face for full length.
analysis
 Four conductors of size48”x1”
 Basic working knowledge in SACS
 Design data for fatigue wave such as:
 Wave scatter diagram Table 2
 S-N Curve Design Data.

Parameters Value
5.1. Materials used
Young’s Modulus 200000 Mpa
Shear Modulus, G 80000 Mpa
The present study is to determine the binder strength used for Mass steel density in air 7850 kg/m3
the application of TRC. To compare, a totally three different types Poisson’s ratio 0.30
of binders have been developed from Table 1. In the cementitious Co-efficient of thermal expansion 12  10 6/°C
Grade of Steel S355(According to AISC)
binder matrix, the maximum aggregate size used is lesser than
Yield Stress 355-600 Mpa
2 mm (Tables 2 and 3).

5.2. Corrosion in splash zone

Splash zone defined between EL ( ) 1.80 m to EL (+) 4.30m. Table 3

Design Data.
However, monel sheathing is provided between EL ( ) 2.41 m to
EL (+) 4.91 m considering water depth/settlement variation of a. Wave kinematics factor 1.00
±0.61 m. Hence no reduction in sectional properties at jacket mem- b. Drag & inertial coefficients:
Smooth Tubular Members Cd = 0.50 Cm = 2.00
bers to account for corrosion is considered at this level.
Rough Tubular Members Cd = 0.80 Cm = 2.00
Mud mat Beams (I sections) Cd = 1.60 Cm = 2.00
5.3. Design water depth c. Corrosion allowance No corrosion allowance,
splash zone provided with
monel sheathing.
Design Water Depth = Water depth with respect to LAT (m)
d. Wave Theory used Airy
+ Water depth Variation (m) + LAT to MSL (m) + MSL to Extreme

Table 1
Codes and Standards.

Document Number Revision Description

API RP2A-WSD 22nd/ Working stress Design – Recommended practice for planning,
Designing and Constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms
ANSI/AISC360 2010 Specification for Structural Steel Buildings.
DNV RP C205 2010 Environmental Conditions and Environmental Loads.
AISC – WSD – 9th edition Manual of Steel Construction – Allowable Stress Design

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S. Vijayan, R. Santhosh Ram and D. Senthil Velan Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

 1 no. – 16”Riser a. Fatigue damage wave parameters are determined by calcu-

 1 no. – 24” Umbilical J-tube and 1 no. – 8” ICCP J-tube lating fatigue damage Centre and the same is used for pile
head linearization.
Sacrificial anodes designed for 5years b. A 3-dimensional space frame consisting of jacket and deck
main steel is used for the fatigue analysis. The foundation
piles are modeled as pile head joints with stiffness defined
7. Computer model
as 6x6 stiffness matrix obtained from super element gener-
ation using the damage wave.
Fatigue analysis of jacket is carried out by using SACS 5.7 struc-
c. Mass is generated from structural steel mass, entrapped
tural analysis software. The computer model of the platform con-
water mass, added mass, marine growth mass and mass
sists of main (primary + secondary) steel and miscellaneous steel.
from un-modeled steel weight.
d. Eigen value analysis is performed to obtain the structural
8. Structural components modes of vibration and periods.
e. Platform wave response analysis is performed to determine
 Jacket the structural response to a range of realistic harmonic wave
 Pile Foundation pairs with wave heights and periods. Wave pairs are chosen
 Topside to cover the entire wave spectrum. Airy wave theory used
 Drill Deck for fatigue wave load calculation. Wave load calculation
methods are similar to those used for the in-place analysis
with revised drag and inertia coefficients.
9. Load data
f. Non cyclic loading such as gravity, equipment’s, winds and
current are excluded in the harmonic solution.
The weight of entire platform which is in in-place condition is
g. Based on structural response, wave pairs are selected with
considered for the analysis. The basic loads include gravity and
periods corresponding to and natural period, 2%, 5% above
buoyancy loads. This section presents the design data, description
the natural period and peaks & troughs positions to perform
and application of the basic loads and load combinations.
dynamic wave response analysis from which response trans-
Main structural Steel Weight of the substructure comprising
fer function is obtained. Peak points on transfer function in X
jacket, piles, conductors, boat landings and other modelled struc-
& Y direction are refined and ensured to occur at natural
tural elements along with Buoyancy load is considered. Jacket
periods. Fatigue assessments in further steps are performed
gravity loads (other than modelled structural weight and buoy-
based on these response transfer function.
ancy) such as structural weight of non-modelled structural items
h. Stress Concentration Factors (SCF) is determined by the SACS
of jacket and boat landing corresponding buoyant weights and
program at eight usage points using Efthymiou SCF formula.
walkway live loads are pre combined in load combination and used
For grouted joints SCF values are determined by Marshall
in analysis.
Formula. The hot spot stresses at eight usage points for each
The centre of damage (COD) wave parameters obtained as per
chord brace pairs are generated by the SACS program by
API is applied in orthogonal directions in the following load cases
multiplying the nominal stress by suitably determined
for super element generation.
Stress Concentration Factors.
Foundation super element is created using the average pile
i. The hot spot stresses at eight usage points for each chord
super element option considering four pairs of orthogonal load
brace pairs are generated by the SACS program by multiply-
combination with the maximum operating gravity loads, corre-
ing nominal stress with suitably determined Stress Concen-
sponding COD wave height and associated wave period (Table 9.1).
tration Factors. The joints hot spot stress ranges at the brace
and chord side of the weld used to determine the fatigue
10. Spectral fatigue analysis lives shall be calculatedfrom:
j. Hot spot stress range = Fa. SCFa + FBi. SCFi + FBo.SCFo
The fatigue analysis purpose is to evaluate the fatigue life of k. Fa, FBi and FBo are the brace nominal axial, in-plane and out
weld connections pertaining to Jacket tubular joints under the of plane bending stress ranges. SCFa, SCFi and SCFo is corre-
cumulative actions of cyclic loads induced by waves. sponding stress concentration factors for axial, in-plane and
The following procedure is adopted in carrying out the spectral out of plane bending stresses for the chord side or the brace
fatigue analysis. side.

Table 9.1
Load Combinations.

Load Case Description Load (kN)

DMAX BMAX
DKDL Generated dead load - Topside 6271.93 6271.93
DNGL Non generated structural weights 2127.89 2127.89
ELEC Electrical weight in operating condition 1220.64 –
INST Instrumentation weight in operating condition 2735.47 –
MEOP Mechanical weights in operating condition 1693.58 –
PIOP Piping weights in operating condition 4756.24 –
ARCH Architectural items weights 462.38 –
SFTY Safety devices weight 28.33 –
HELI Helideck live load 78.80 –
LIVE Live load in open area condition 8714.62 –
LLBK Live load in Blanket area condition – 21027.80
DDMX Drill Deck loads in operation condition 1273.03 1273.03
P
29362.90 30700.7

4
S. Vijayan, R. Santhosh Ram and D. Senthil Velan Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

l. Fatigue damage assessment is performed. Tubular joints are The wave height and period used to obtain the pile head stiff-
checked for two types of failure using the appropriate SCFs, ness matrix (super element generation), have been estimated using
i.e., Brace side failure and Chord side failure. The highest the damage centre calculation method described. Site specific
damage ratio or the lowest fatigue life from the eight usage Geotechnical data in accordance with Geotechnical Engineering
points is considered for fatigue check. Fatigue life is calcu- Site Survey is used in the analysis. The natural period of the plat-
lated using Palmgren-Miner hypothesis of cumulative dam- form is obtained as 2.581 sec. Stress range is calculated using
age and the API S-N curves including thickness dynamic characteristics obtained from wave loads in twelve (12)
correctionfactor. directions i.e., for every 30 deg incidence angle. Hot spot stress at
m. All the joints are checked using ‘WJ’ Basic S-N Curve without eight (8) points as described is calculated using these stress range
weld improvement techniques as per API RP2A. and suitable stress concentration factors. These SCFs for tubular
joints are selected based on Efthymiou parametric equations. For
10.1. Dynamic mass generation grouted joints SCF values are determined using Marshall SCF for-
mula, Pierson-Moskowitz (PM) Spectrum is used.
Modal dynamic analysis or the Eigen value analysis has been Fatigue damage at each of the tubular welded joints is calcu-
carried out to find the natural frequencies and to extract the exact lated using Palmgren-Miner hypothesis of cumulative damage
mode shapes which are pre-requisites to determine the platform and API ‘WJ’ basic SN curves without weld improvement
responses for the wave dynamic loads. technique.

10.2. Dynamic wave response analysis 12. Conclusion

The purpose of this analysis is to obtain the dynamic wave A dynamic spectral fatigue analysis had performed on Jacket,
response of the structure in calculating the equivalent static load- with recommendations as per API RP2A.
ing used to represent the forces on the structure due to inertial and To ensure the fatigue life of tubular connections of jacket are
hydrodynamic loading using the transfer functions. Spectral within allowable limits for repeated cyclic environmental loading
dynamic wave response analysis is performed with the WAVE for the fatigue wave data.
RESPONSE module of the SACS software. Fatigue damage at each of the tubular welded joints are calcu-
lated using Palmgren-Miner hypothesis of cumulative damage
and API ‘WJ’ basic SN curves without weld improvement
10.3. Fatigue damage calculation
techniques.
The results of the fatigue analysis shows that all primary and
The final step is the assessment of fatigue damage. The hot-spot
secondary jacket joints fatigue lives are more than the required
stress spectra are calculated as the product of hot-spot stress trans-
design life.
fer functions and the specified wave spectra. The Pierson- Markow-
itz (P-M) spectrum is assumed for the power spectrum density of
CRediT authorship contribution statement
the wave energy. ‘‘WJ” curve is used to calculate joints fatigue
damage.
S. Vijayan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software. R. San-
thosh Ram: Data curation, Writing - original draft, Visualization,
11. Results and conclusion Investigation. D. Senthil Velan: .

Platform design life is considered as 25 years. Design fatigue life Declaration of Competing Interest
requirement considered as per API RP 2A.
Gravity load pertaining to Blanket live load combination The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
(BMAX) being higher than open area live load combination, is con- cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
sidered in the dynamic analysis to obtain the natural frequencies to influence the work reported in this paper.
and to extract the mode shapes.