Offshoring and Reshoring： The Roles of Incomplete Contracts and Relative Bargaining Power

This paper demonstrates that an increase in bargaining power of Northern firms relative to that of their Southern contractors can trigger reshoring if the North- South wage differential is moderate, such that only industries with a high share of unskilled labor find outsourcing profitable. However, such an increase in Northern bargaining power can increase offshoring if the wage differential is so high that even industries with a low share of unskilled labor also offshore.

Information for Contributors

Aims and scope Being an international journal, China Ocean Engineering(COE) takes its prime function as the integration of new research concepts, equipment,technology, materials and structures and other scientific advances within the field of estuarial, coastal, offshore, and deepwater engineering with particular reference to developments. The Journal is concerned with all engineering aspects involved in the exploration and utilization of ocean resources.

Preface for the Special Issue on“Safety and Intelligent Maintenance of Offshore Structures”

The ocean serves as a vital carrier for human resource development and economic growth and contains rich mineral resources such as oil,natural gas,polymetallic nodules,cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts,polymetallic sulfides,and rare earth ore.Moreover,the ocean has wealthy reserves of wind,wave,tidal,and solar energy,making it an essential strategic space for sustainable future development.However,offshore structures are complex.

Information for Contributors

Aims and scope Being an international journal,China Ocean Engineering(COE)takes its prime function as the integration of new research concepts,equipment,technology,materials and structures and other scientific advances within the field of estuarial,coastal,offshore,and deepwater engineering with particular reference to developments.The Journal is concerned with all engineering aspects involved in the exploration and utilization of ocean resources.Topics regularly covered include research.

Application of GNSS-PPP on Dynamic Deformation Monitoring of Offshore Platforms

The real-time dynamic deformation monitoring of offshore platforms under environmental excitation is crucial to their safe operation.Although Global Navigation Satellite System-Precise Point Positioning(GNSS-PPP)has been considered for this purpose,its monitoring accuracy is relatively low.Moreover,the influence of background noise on the dynamic monitoring accuracy of GNSS-PPP remains unclear.Hence,it is imperative to further validate the feasibility of GNSS-PPP for deformation monitoring of offshore platforms.To address these concerns,vibration table tests with different amplitudes and frequencies are conducted.The results demonstrate that GNSS-PPP can effectively monitor horizontal vibration displacement as low as±30 mm,which is consistent with GNSS-RTK.Furthermore,the spectral characteristic of background noise in GNSS-PPP is similar to that of GNSS-RTK(Real Time Kinematic).Building on this observation,an improved Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise(CEEMDAN)has been proposed to de-noise the data and enhance the dynamic monitoring accuracy of GNSS-PPP.Field monitoring application research is also undertaken,successfully extracting and analyzing the dynamic deformation of an offshore platform structure under environmental excitation using GNSS-PPP monitoring in conjunction with improved CEEMDAN de-noising.By comparing the de-noised dynamic deformation trajectories of the offshore platform during different periods,it is observed that the platform exhibits reversible alternating vibration responses under environmental excitation,with more pronounced displacement deformation in the direction of load action.The research results confirm the feasibility and potential of GNSS-PPP for dynamic deformation monitoring of offshore platforms.

浮动基多机协调吊运系统的工作空间分析

At present,the cranes used at sea have several shortcomings in terms of flexibility,efficiency,and safety.Therefore,a floating multi-robot coordinated lifting system is proposed to fulfill the offshore lifting requirements.First,the structure of the lifting system is established according to the lifting task,the kinematic model of the system is developed by using the D–H coordinate transformation,and the dynamic model is developed based on rigid-body dynamics and hydrodynamics.Then,the static and dynamic workspace of the lifting system are analyzed,and the solving steps of the workspace are given by using the Monte–Carlo method.The effect of the load mass and the maximum allowable tension of the cable on the workspace is examined by simulation.Results show that the lifting system has limited carrying capacity and a data reference for selecting the structural parameters by analyzing the factors affecting the workspace.Findings provide a basis for further research on the optimal design of structural parameters and the determination of safe configurations of the lifting system.

对称系泊半潜平台在各种可能系泊组合下的动力学分析

In this technologically advancing world,the demand for more energy,oil and gas production is rapidly escalating.To accomplish this,people have inclined more towards completely floating offshore structures,deployed in deep waters.A semi-submersible is selected in the present study,due to its better response characteristics and stability under harsh environmental conditions.The semi-submersible is position restrain with spread mooring lines incorporated with submerged buoy at different locations has been studied.A detailed numerical analysis is carried out using Ansys Aqwa for dynamic response analysis of semi-submersible under the combination of wind,wave,and current forces for 0°,45°,and 90°directions.It was observed that damping ratios and natural periods had been affected based on the position and number of submerged buoys in the mooring system.Also,reduction in mooring force after incorporating buoy in the mooring lines was observed.Subsequently,a Matlab code based on the S-N curve approach was generated and employed to investigate the fatigue damage of mooring lines under dynamic variation of mooring forces.When pegged with submerged buoys,fatigue life of mooring lines is increased under intact and postulated damaged mooring conditions.Moreover,coupling of motion responses of semi-submersible is observed,and unbounded response is not seen in any degrees-offreedom,even during damaged condition of mooring lines.

Effect of the sloping seabed on 3D soil-spudcan interaction using a material point-finite element(MPM-FEM)model

The sloping seabed affects the bearing capacity and failure mechanism of soil,which may compromise the stability and safety of offshore structures such as jack-up platforms.This paper employs a coupled model combining the material point method and finite element method(MPM-FEM)to analyze the impact of sloping seabeds on the three-dimensional soil-spudcan interaction.The MPM-FEM model implements the B¯approach to solve the challenge of volumetric locking due to the incompressibility constraints imposed by yield criterion.It is validated against the centrifuge results.The effects of sloping seabeds on penetration resistance,soil flow pattern,lateral response,stress distribution,and failure mechanism are discussed.The soil mainly undergoes overall failure when the ratio of penetration depth to spudcan diameter(i.e.D P/D)is between 0 and 0.25.As the slope angle increases,the soil on the side of lower slope is expelled further,resulting in an asymmetric stress distribution and a larger horizontal sliding force of soil.When D P/D increases to 0.75,the soil transitions to localized plastic flow failure,and the range of soil flow affected by the spudcan penetration decreases.The results show that,when the slope angle increases,the lateral displacement and stress distribution on the lower slope of a sloping seabed is significantly larger than that of a horizontal seabed,impacting the spudcan and surrounding soil behavior.The study suggests that the seabed slope significantly affects the range of soil flow and failure at shallow penetration,indicating that the slope angle should be taken into account in the design and installation of offshore jack-up rigs,particularly in areas with sloping seabeds.

Dynamic Analysis of a 10 MW Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Considering the Tower and Platform Flexibility

Recently,semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine technologies have received considerable attention.For the coupled simulation of semisubmersible floating offshore wind energy,the platform is usually considered a rigid model,which could affect the calculation accuracy of the dynamic responses.The dynamic responses of a TripleSpar floating offshore wind turbine equipped with a 10 MW offshore wind turbine are discussed herein.The simulation of a floating offshore wind turbine under regular waves,white noise waves,and combined wind-wave conditions is conducted.The effects of the tower and platform flexibility on the motion and force responses of the TripleSpar semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine are investigated.The results show that the flexibility of the tower and platform can influence the dynamic responses of a TripleSpar semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine.Considering the flexibility of the tower and platform,the tower and platform pitch motions markedly increased compared with the fully rigid model.Moreover,the force responses,particularly for tower base loads,are considerably influenced by the flexibility of the tower and platform.Thus,the flexibility of the tower and platform for the coupled simulation of floating offshore wind turbines must be appropriately examined.

砂土中长径比对三筒基础水平承载特性的影响

The tripod foundation(TF)is a prevalent foundation configuration in contemporary engineering practices.In comparison to a single pile,TF comprised interconnected individual piles,resulting in enhanced bearing capacity and stability.A physical model test was conducted within a sandy soil foundation,systematically varying the length-to-diameter ratio of the TF.The investigation aimed to comprehend the impact of altering the height of the central bucket on the historical horizontal bearing capacity of the foundation in saturated sand.Additionally,the study scrutinized the historical consequences of soil pressure and pore water pressure surrounding the bucket throughout the loading process.The historical findings revealed a significant enhancement in the horizontal bearing capacity of the TF under undrained conditions.When subjected to a historical horizontal loading angle of 0°for a single pile,the multi-bucket foundation exhibited superior historical bearing capacity compared to a single-pile foundation experiencing a historical loading angle of 180°under pulling conditions.With each historical increment in bucket height from 150 mm to 350 mm in 100 mm intervals,the historical horizontal bearing capacity of the TF exhibited an approximately 75%increase relative to the 150 mm bucket height,indicating a proportional relationship.Importantly,the historical internal pore water pressure within the bucket foundation remained unaffected by drainage conditions during loading.Conversely,undrained conditions led to a historical elevation in pore water pressure at the lower side of the pressure bucket.Consequently,in practical engineering applications,the optimization of the historical bearing efficacy of the TF necessitated the historical closure of the valve atop the foundation to sustain internal negative pressure within the bucket.This historical measure served to augment the historical horizontal bearing capacity.Simultaneously,historical external loads,such as wind,waves,and currents,were directed towards any individual bucket within the TF for optimal historical performance.

Characteristics and Insights of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Investment

The oceans'vast expanse has given rise to copious oil and gas resources,with recent years witnessing a steady unlocking of offshore oil and gas potential,positioning them as a key successor in global energy reserves.Currently,offshore oil and gas extraction constitutes nearly a third of the world's oil and gas output.This segment has evolved into a mutually beneficial ecosystem where operators and service providers collaborate closely around exploration and development activities.Investment in offshore oil and gas typically follows a dual "one-third’"pattern,reflecting high upfront costs but promising returns.It also underscores the stark variations in project viability and regional economic efficiency,with monopolistic traits seen at both national and corporate levels.Collaboration has emerged as a key tactic for resource-rich countries and oil companies to advance their offshore ventures.Given the distinct nature of offshore oil and gas development,Chinese oil companies are advised to seize opportunities in marine exploration,emphasize the coordination and planning abilities of the global supply chain,focus on the reserves of offshore oil and gas development technologies,as well as the capabilities of commercial talents and other forms of support,courageously pursue significant offshore assets,and effectively utilize global technology,equipment,and expertise,and rapidly build a competitive edge in offshore oil and gas projects.

Environmental Impact Assessment Follow-Up of Seismic Survey Offshore Activities in Brazil

Follow-up of environmental impacts is an integral part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, closely related to the effectiveness of the instrument. EIA follow-up has been receiving a lot of interest from scientists and practitioners, though it is recognized as one of the weakest points of EIA systems globally. Also, EIA follow-up is influenced by the context, mainly in terms of the types of projects or activities and their related impacts on the environment. Therefore, the present paper is focused on the investigation of the follow-up stage applied to the activity of seismic survey coupled with offshore oil & gas exploitation in Brazil. Research was based on a qualitative approach that included document analysis and semi-structured interviews with analysts involved in EIA processes, and sought to generate evidence of effectiveness of the EIA follow-up as conducted by the Federal Environment Agency (Ibama) in order to situate the practice of follow-up in the broader context of international best practice principles. Based on the findings, it was concluded that, due to the peculiarities of offshore seismic survey, it is necessary to promote adaptations in the procedures for monitoring impacts in order to ensure proper alignment with the principles and conceptual foundations that guide EIA practice. Specifically, the timing of the execution of the activity imposes challenges for its integration into the “conventional” cycle that has guided the monitoring of the impacts in the EIA of projects.

Offshoring,Wages,and Skill Premiums:Firm-level Evidence from China

Using detailed Chinese manufacturing firm production and trade data from 2000 to 2006,this study finds that offshoring significantly increases firms’average wages.First,using the quasi-natural experiment of China's accession to the World Trade Organization,we investigate how a reduction in offshoring costs affects the manufacturing firm's wages and find that a productivity effect and a job-relocation effect are two possible channels.Second,the dynamic decomposition of industry-level wages indicates that the within-firm effect is 0.547,accounting for 31.5 percent of the total variation.Finally,a Mincer-type regression shows that offshoring also increases within-firm skill premiums.Our findings have strong implications for the government related to framing appropriate industrial policies to raise wages and reduce income inequality.

Oil Spill Risk Assessment of Offshore Pipeline in the Bohai Sea Under the Perspective of Ecological Protection

In recent decades,the exploration and development of marine oil and gas resources have increased significantly to meet the increasing energy demand of mankind.The Bohai Sea is a semi-closed continental sea that has a weak water exchange capacity and high ecological fragility.However,at present,more than 200 oil platforms have been built in the Bohai Sea,with more than 270 offshore oil pipelines having a length exceeding 1600 km.The oil spill pollution of offshore platforms has a great impact on the marine environment and ecosystems.Therefore,a comprehensive assessment of its risks is of great practical significance.This paper systematically constructs a comprehensive oil spill risk assessment model that combines the oil spill risk probability model and the ocean hydrodynamic model.This paper uses the Bohai Sea offshore pipeline as an example to assess its oil spill risk.The high-risk-value areas of the Bohai Sea offshore pipeline are mainly distributed at the bottom of Liaodong Bay,the bottom of Bohai Bay,near the Caofeidian area,and the northern part of the Yellow River Estuary.

Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Three-Bucket Jacket Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines During the Lowering Process

The three-bucket jacket foundation is a new type of foundation for offshore wind turbine that has the advantages of fast construction speed and suitability for deep water. The study of the hoisting and launching process is of great significance to ensure construction safety in actual projects. In this paper, a new launching technology is proposed that is based on the foundation of the three-bucket jacket for offshore wind turbine. A complete time domain simulation of the launching process of three-bucket jacket foundation is carried out by a theoretical analysis combined with hydrodynamic software Moses. At the same time, the effects of different initial air storage and sea conditions on the motion response of the structure and the hoisting cable tension are studied. The results show that the motion response of the structure is the highest when it is lowered to 1.5 times the bucket height. The natural period of each degree of freedom of the structure increases with the increase of the lowering depth. The structural motion response and the hoisting cable tension vary greatly in the early phases of Stages Ⅰ and Ⅲ, smaller in Stage Ⅱ, and gradually stabilize in the middle and late phases of Stage Ⅲ.

Aero-Hydrodynamic Coupled Dynamic Characteristics of Semi-Submersible Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Under Inflow Turbulence

In this study,the frequency characteristics of the turbulent wind and the effects of wind-wave coupling on the low-and high-frequency responses of semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbines(FOWT)are investigated.Various wave load components,such as first-order wave loads,combined first-and second-order difference-frequency wave loads,combined first-and second-order sum-frequency wave loads,and first-and complete second-order wave loads are taken into consideration,while different turbulent environments are considered in aerodynamic loads.The com-parison is based on time histories and frequency spectra of platform motions and structural load responses and statistical values.The findings indicate that the second-order difference-frequency wave loads will significantly increase the natural frequency of low-frequency motion in the responses of the platform motion and structure load of the semi-submersible platform,which will cause structural fatigue damage.Under the action of turbulent wind,the influences of second-order wave loads on the platform motion and structural load response cannot be ignored,especially under extreme sea conditions.Therefore,in order to evaluate the dynamic responses of semi-submersible FOWT more accurately,the actual environment should be simulated more realistically.

Coupled Time-Domain Investigation on a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Supported on a Floating Platform

The dynamic responses of a floating vertical axis wind turbine(VAWT)are assessed on the basis of an aero-hydro-mooring coupled model.The aerodynamic loads on the rotor are acquired with double-multiple stream tube method.First-and second-order wave loads are calculated on the basis of 3D potential theory.The mooring loads are simulated by catenary theory.The coupled model is established,and a numerical code is programmed to investigate the dynamic response of the semi-submersible VAWT.A model test is then conducted,and the numerical code is validated considering the hydrodynamic performance of the floating buoy.The responses of the floating VAWT are studied through the numerical simulation under the sea states of wind and regular/irregular waves.The effects of the second-order wave force on the motions are also investigated.Results show that the slow-drift responses in surge and pitch motions are significantly excited by the second-order wave forces.Furthermore,the effect of foundation motion on aerodynamic loads is examined.The normal and tangential forces of the blades demonstrate a slight increase due to the coupling effect between the buoy motion and the aerodynamic loads.

Information for Contributors

Aims and scope Being an international journal,China Ocean Engineering(COE)takes its prime function as the integration of new research concepts,equipment,technology,materials and structures and other scientific advances within the field of estuarial,coastal,offshore,and deepwater engineering with particular reference to developments.

Information for Contributors

Aims and scope Being an international journal,China Ocean Engineering(COE) takes its prime function as the integration of new research concepts,equipment,technology,materials and structures and other scientific advances within the field of estuarial,coastal,offshore,and deepwater engineering with particular reference to developments.The Journal is concerned with all engineering aspects involved in the exploration and utilization of ocean resources.

Information for Contributors

Aims and scope Being an international journal,China Ocean Engineering(COE)takes its prime function as the integration of new research concepts,equipment,technology,materials and structures and other scientific advances within the field of estuarial,coastal,offshore,and deepwater engineering with particular refereance to developments.The Journal is concemed with all engineering aspects involved in the exploration and utilization of ocean resources.Topics regularly covered include research,design and construction of structures(including wharfs,dikes,breakwaters,platforms,mooring systems,etc.),instnumentation/testing(physical model and numerical mode1),wave dynamics,sedimentation,stnuctura/stress analysis,soil mechanics,and material research.