Thermal and Structural Behaviour of Offshore Structures with Passive Fire Protection

In offshore structures,hydrocarbon fires cause the structure to loose its rigidity rapidly and this leads to structural integrity and stability problems.The Passive Fire Protection(PFP)system slows the transfer rate of fire heat and helps to prevent the collapse of structures and human losses.The vital design factors are decided in the detailed design stage.The determined design thickness must be accurately applied in the fabrication yard.However,there are many cases that the PFP is overused because of various reasons.This excessive application of the PFP is an unavoidable problem.Several studies have been conducted on the efficient application and optimal design of the PFP.However,the strength of the PFP has not been considered.In addition,research studies on the correlation between the thickness of the PFP and the structural behaviour are not widely available.Therefore,this study attempts to analyse the thermal and mechanical effects of the PFP on the structure when it is applied to the structural member.In particular,it is intended to determine the change in the behaviour of the structural member as the thickness of the PFP increases.

Ballistic design and testing of a composite armour reinforced by CNTs suitable for armoured vehicles

This paper is investigating the use of composite armour reinforced by nanomaterials, for the protection of light armoured(LAV) and medium armoured military vehicles(MAV), and the interaction between the composite materials and high-performance ballistic projectiles. Four armour materials, consisted of front hybrid fibre reinforced polymer cover layer, ceramic strike-face, fibre reinforced polymer intermediate layer and the metal matrix composite reinforced backplate, were manufactured and assembled by adhesive technology. The proposed laminated protection system is suitable for armoured ground vehicles;however, it could be used as armour on ground, air and naval platforms. The design of the protection system, including material selection and thickness, was elaborated depending on the performance requirements of Level 4 + STANAG 4569 military standard(projectile 14.5 mm × 114 mm API B32) and especially on a design philosophy which is analysed with the specifications. The backplate of this new composite is a hybrid material of Metal Matrix Composite(MMC) reinforced with carbon nanotubes(CNTs), manufactured with the use of powder metallurgy technique. The composite backplate material was morphologically, mechanically and chemically analysed. Results show that all plates are presenting high mechanical properties and ballistic characteristics, compared to commonly used armour plates. Real military ballistic tests according to AEP-STANAG 4569 were carried out for the total composite armour systems. After the ballistic tests, AA2024-CNT3 showed the best protection results, compared with the other plates(AA2024-CNT1 and AA2024-CNT2), with the projectile being unable to fully penetrate the composite plate.