Calibration of LRFD Format for Steel Jacket Offshore Platforms in China Offshore Area(1) :Statistical Parameters of Loads and Resistances

The statistical characteristics and parameters of loads and resistances are systematically studied for the development of probabilistic limit state design method for steel jacket offshore platforms in the China offshore area. The mean value, standard variance and distribution pattern of resistances and loads in different base perieds are presented. The statistical parameters of structural member resistance, self-weight, deck live load, and environmental loads such as wind, wave, current and ice, which are drawn on a large amount of observatian data of offshore environmental factors, and the design data of platforms in China Bohai Sea form the data set, providing a necessary basis for the calibration of load and resistance factors to realize the reliability-based design of jacket platform structures.

Curvature of Flexibility Matrix for Damage Identification in Legs of Jacket Platforms

In this paper a new nondestructive damage identification method is introduced. The method based on flexibility matrix can be used to detect and locate structm＇al damage and evaluate the severity of damage in legs of jacket platforms by modal parameters of a structure. With the modal data for only the few lower modes in both the intact and damaged states, the one-dimensional and two-dimensional distributed curvatures can be used to analyze damage location and the severity. Instead of directly comparing the curvatures before and ＇after damage, the method here uses modal parameters only in the damaged structure to detect the damage and it consists of three parts. First, ilexibility matrix is obtained by use of the absolute maximum in each column. Second, because the legs of jacket platforms are the pipe-like structure, the circumferential flexibility curvature matrix is obtained by use of the circular curvature. At last, equivalent curvature ratio is defined and the curve meaning equivalent curvature ratio and the severity of damage relationship for one element is given through the data of damage severity from ten percent to ninety percent by numerical simulation. Many existing damage detection methods need two steps, locate the damage firstly and evaluate the severity of the damage. However, the method present- ed! in this paper can locate and then evaluate the severity of damage at the same time. The numerical analysis results in- dicate that the present method is effective, useful and only need the first and the second mode data of the structure.

Parametric Study on the Effects of Pile Inclination Angle on the Response of Batter Piles in Offshore Jacket Platforms

Offshore jacket-type platforms are attached to the seabed by long batter piles. In this paper, results from a finite element analysis, verified against experimental data, are used to study the effect of the pile＇s inclination angle, and its interaction with the geometrical properties of the pile and the geotechnical characteristics of the surrounding soil on the behavior of the inclined piles supporting the jacket platforms. Results show that the inclination angle is one of the main parameters affecting the behavior of an offshore pile. We investigated the effect of the inclination angle on the maximum von Mises stress, maximum von Mises elastic strain, maximum displacement vector sum, maximum displacement in the horizontal direction, and maximum displacement in the vertical direction. Results indicate that the pile＇s operationally optimal degree of inclination is approximately 5°. By exceeding this value, the instability in the surrounding soil under applied loads grows extensively in all the geotechnical properties considered. Cohesive soils tend to display poorer results compared to grained soils.

Optimum Design of Structure Shape for Offshore Jacket Platforms

With the introduction of the design variables of nodal coordinates, which reflect the embedded depth of the pile and the jacket bed height, a shape optimum design model for offshore jacket platforms is established. A sequential two-level optimum algorithm is developed based on the design variable gradation. On the basis of the finite element method, the sensitivity of the objective function and nodal displacement is analyzed. As an example, the BZ281 oil storage offshore platform, which ties in the Bohai oil field, is designed with the shape optimum model. The results are compared with the cross-section optimum design. The tendency of design variables and its reasons in the two methods are analyzed. In the shape optimum design, the value of objective function is obviously smaller than that of the initial design and the cross-section optimum design. Therefore, the advantage of structure shape optimum design for jacket platforms is remarkable.

Multi-Objective Fuzzy Optimum Design Based on Reliability for Offshore Jacket Platforms

In consideration of the fuzzy constraint boundary and through analysis of structural reliability, a model of structural fuzzy optimum design is established based on reliability for offshore jacket platforms. According to the characteristics of offshore jacket platforms, the tolerance coefficient of the constraint boundary is determined with the fuzzy optimization method. The optimum level cut set lambda*, which is the intersection of the fuzzy constraint set and fuzzy objective set, is determined with the bound search method, and then the fuzzy optimum solution to the fuzzy optimization problem is obtained. The central offshore platform SZ36-1 is designed with the fuzzy optimum model based on reliability; the results are compared with those from deterministic optimum design and fuzzy optimum design. The tendency of design variables in the above three methods and its reasons are analyzed. The results of an example show that the fuzzy optimum design based on reliability is stable and reliable.

Reliability-Based Load and Resistance Factors Design for Offshore Jacket Platforms in the Bohai Bay:Calibration on Target Reliability Index

The target reliability index has been effectively used as the best solution to deal with the relationship between the structural safety and the optimal economy in any structural design. However, the target reliability index for offshore jacket platforms based on different sea areas in China has never been calibrated. This paper presents an approach for its calibration, and suggests many kinds of associated load cases. The uncertainties of loads and structural resistance are mainly in- vestigated. The target reliability index for structural components, tubular joints and piles of offshore jacket plaffortns are discussed respectively in detail. Finally, through the calibrated results from the offshore jacket platforms of QK18-1, JZ20-2, SZ36-1 and BZ28-1 in the Bohai Bay, it is proposed to adopt 2.8 as the target reliability index of offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Bay for a 25-year design period. The results provide significant reference for the design of offshore jacket platforms.

Optimum Design of Jacket Platforms Considering Structure-Pile-Soil Interaction

This paper proposes an optimum design model for the offshore jacket platform considering multidesign criteria, multi-design constraints and the structure-pile-soil interaction, and gives an optimum design procedure in which the proposed optimum design model is used together with structural analysis software SAP91 and optimum algorithm software OPB1. The Chengbei (#)11 offshore platform, which lies in the Shengli oilfield, is designed by use of the above optimum design model. The results show that the optimum design model is stable, and it depends on neither the optimization algorithm nor initial values of design variables. All values of the objective function converge to the same minimum value, and the speed of convergence is high, showing that the proposed optimum design model is reasonable.

A new bracing system for improvement of seismic performance of steel jacket type offshore platforms with float-over-deck

In this paper, the seismic response of a newly designed steel jacket offshore platform with a float over deck （FOD） system in the Persian Gulf was investigated through incremental dynamic analysis. Comparison of incremental dynamic analysis results for both directions of the platform shows that the lateral strength of the platform in the float over direction is less than its lateral strength in other direction. Dynamic characteristics measurement of a scale model of platform was also performed using forced vibration tests. From experimental measurement of the scaled model, it was observed that dynamic characteristic of the platform is different in the float over direction compared to the other direction. Therefore, a new offshore installed bracing system for the float over direction was proposed for improvement of seismic performance of this type of platform. Finally, the structure with the modified system was assessed using the probabilistic seismic assessment method as well as experimental measurement of its dynamic characteristics. It was observed that the proposed offshore installed bracing system improves the performance of platforms subjected to strong ground motion.

Vibration Control of Jacket Platforms with Magnetorheological Damper and Experimental Validation~

Magnetorheological （MR） dampers have been proposed to control the vibration of offshore platforms in this paper. The semi-active control strategy based on fuzzy control algorithm was adopted to determine the optimal output control force based on the responses of jacket platforms. A typical jacket platform in Mexico Gulf was selected as the numerical example to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed control method. Furthermore, a model experiment was performed to validate the results of the numerical simulation. The experimental model of the jacket platform was designed based on dynamical similarity criterion by the scale of 1：50. Both of the numerical and experimental results show that the semi-active control system with the MR damper can reduce vibrations of jacket platforms effectively and at the same time the control effect is stable.

Reliability-Based Load and Resistance Factors Design for Offshore Jacket Platforms in the Bohai Bay:Calibration on Design Factors

For the fulfillment of the probability-based structural design for the offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Bay, the design factors of loads, resistance and load combinations are much necessary to be calibrated according to the proposed target reliability index. Firstly, the limit states function for the offshore jacket platforms is introduced. Then, four approaches to calibrate the factors of load and resistance are presented and compared. Afterwards, the methods to calibrate the load combination factors are developed. Finally, the factors of load, resistance and load combination for the offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Bay are calibrated and the corresponding design formulae are recommended. The results are proved to be rational in practice, and also illustrate that the proposed target reliability index for offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Bay is also appropriate.

An Application of Direct Ritz Method for Random Seismic Responses of Jacket Platforms

In this paper, the jacket platform is simulated by a non-uniform cantilever beam subjected to axial force. Based on the Hamilton theory, the equation of bending motion is developed and solved by the classical Ritz method combined with the pseudo-excitation method for random responses with non-classical damping. Usually, random responses of this continuous structure are obtained by orthogonality of modes, and some normal modes of the structure are needed, causing inconvenience for the analysis of the non-uniform beam whose normal modes are not easy to be obtained. However, if the pseudo-excitation method is extended to calculate random responses by combining it with the classical Ritz method, the responses of a non-uniform beam, such as auto-PSD function, cross-PSD and higher spectral moments, can be solved directly avoiding the calculation of normal modes. The numerical results show that the present method is effective and useful in aseismic design of platforms.

A Method for Analyzing System Reliability of Existing Jacket Platforms

Owing to the ageing of the existing structures worldwide and the lack of codes for the continued safely management of structures during their lifetime, it is very necessary to develop a tool to evaluate their system reliability over a time interval. In this paper, a method is proposed to analyze system reliability of existing jacket platforms. The influences of dint, crack and corrosion are considered. The mechanics characteristics of the existing jacket platforms to extreme loads are analyzed by use of the nonlinear mechanical analysis. The nonlinear interaction of pile-soil-structure is taken into consideration in the analysis. By use of FEM method and Monte Carlo simulation, the system reliability of the existing jacket platforul can be obtained. The method has been illustrated through application to BZ28-1 three jacket platforms which have operated for sixteen years. Advantages of the proposed method for analyzing the system reliability of the existing jacket platform is also highlighted.

Simplified Computation Method of Vibration Characteristics of Jacket Platforms

In this paper a simplified computation method of natural frequency of jacket platforms is given. Shear, bending and rotary inertia effects are considered in the equation, while the jacket shape, rotary inertia and centralized mass of the platform top are all determined by using a coefficient-revising method.

Analyzing the safety of removal sequences for piles of an offshore jacket platform

An inevitable consequence of the development of the offshore petroleum industry is the eventual obsolescence of large offshore structures. Proper methods for removal of decommissioned offshore platforms are becoming an important topic that the oil and gas industry must pay increasing attention to. While removing sections from a decommissioned jacket platform, the stability of the remaining parts is critical The jacket danger indices D ~ and Ds defined in this paper are very useful for analyzing the safety of any procedure planned for disassembling a jacket platform. The safest piles cutting sequence can be determined easily by comparing every column of Do and Ds or simply analyzing the figures of every row ofD o and D,.

Reliability-Based Design for Jacket Platform Under Extreme Loads

In this paper, reliability analysis for the offshore jacket platform with the interaction of structure- pile- soil under extreme environmental loads is carried out. The inherent uncertainties of the environmental load, foundation soil, platform itself, and calculating models are evaluated. The action of extreme loads on the offshore platform is modeled as a function of extreme wave height. The system capacity of the whole platform is determined by nonlinear pushover analysis, and the relevant probability property is obtained by the simulation method. The reliability model for the whole jacket platform is described as the relationship between the load and resistance based on the offshore design codes. The reliability of whole platform is calculated by the analytical method and the importance sampling method on the basis of a case study for a tripod jacket platform.

Calculation of wave and current loads on launching offshore jacket

It’s very complicated to calculate and analyze the wave and current loads on naval architectures since the sea condition is uncertain and complicated and the determinants vary from different form types and dimensions. For calculating the wave and current loads on upright small-long-size pipe, the Morrison equation is practical and applied. Jacket platform is a kind of offshore space frame structure comprised of lots of poles that are circular cylinders with small diameter and in the oblique status relative to seabed. In this paper, based on Morrison equation, the specific method and procedure calculating the wave and current loads on launching jacket are given and applied on a typical launching jacket. The instance shows that the method and procedure are convenient and make the calculation and analysis in good agreement with actual launching.

System Reliability Analysis of an Offshore Jacket Platform

This study investigates strategies for solving the system reliability of large three-dimensional jacket structures.These structural systems normally fail as a result of a series of different components failures.The failure characteristics are investigated under various environmental conditions and direction combinations.Theβ-unzipping technique is adopted to determine critical failure components,and the entire system is simplified as a series-parallel system to approximately evaluate the structural system reliability.However,this approach needs excessive computational effort for searching failure components and failure paths.Based on a trained artificial neural network(ANN),which can be used to approximate the implicit limit-state function of a complicated structure,a new alternative procedure is proposed to improve the efficiency of the system reliability analysis method.The failure probability is calculated through Monte Carlo simulation(MCS)with Latin hypercube sampling(LHS).The features and applicability of the above procedure are discussed and compared using an example jacket platform located in Chengdao Oilfield,Bohai Sea,China.This study provides a reference for the evaluation of the system reliability of jacket structures.

Adaptive Predictive Inverse Control of Offshore Jacket Platform Based on Rough Neural Network

The offshore jacket platform is a complex and time-varying nonlinear system, which can be excited of harmful vibration by external loads. It is difficult to obtain an ideal control performance for passive control methods or traditional active control methods based on accurate mathematic model. In this paper, an adaptive inverse control method is proposed on the basis of novel rough neural networks （RNN） to control the harmful vibration of the offshore jacket platform, and the offshore jacket platform model is established by dynamic stiffness matrix （DSM） method. Benefited from the nonlinear processing ability of the neural networks and data interpretation ability of the rough set theory, RNN is utilized to identify the predictive inverse model of the offshore jacket platform system. Then the identified model is used as the adaptive predictive inverse controller to control the harmful vibration caused by wave and wind loads, and to deal with the delay problem caused by signal transmission in the control process. The numerical results show that the constructed novel RNN has advantages such as clear structure, fast training speed and strong error-tolerance ability, and the proposed method based on RNN can effectively control the harmful vibration of the offshore jacket platform.

Aseismic Reliability Analysis Approach for Offshore Jacket Platform Structures

By means of nonlinear pushover collapse analysis approach, the aseismic reliability analyses of two offshore jacket platforms in the Bohai Gulf in China are studied according to their ocean location and environmental loadings there. On the basis of those analyses, an aseismic reliability analysis approach is presented. The results show that the aseismic reliability of those platforms is high. Also it is proved that this aseismic reliability analysis approach is simple, practical and reliable.

Estimating Design Loads with Environmental Contour Approach Using Copulas for an Offshore Jacket Platform

Jacket-type offshore platforms are widely used for oil, gas field, and energy development in shallow water. The design of a jacket structure is highly dependent on target environmental variables. This study focuses on a strategy to estimate design loads for offshore jacket structures based on an environmental contour approach. In addition to the popular conditional distribution model, various classes of bivariate copulas are adopted to construct joint distributions of environmental variables. Analytical formulations of environmental contours based on various models are presented and discussed in this study. The design loads are examined by dynamic response analysis of jacket platform. Results suggest that the conditional model is not recommended for use in estimating design loads in sampling locations due to poor fitting results. Independent copula produces conservative design loads and the extreme response obtained using the conditional model are smaller than those determined by copulas. The suitability of a model for contour construction varies with the origin of wave data. This study provides a reference for the design load estimation of jacket structures and offers an alternative procedure to determine the design criteria for offshore structures.