Full Dynamic Analysis of Offshore Platform Structures Using Exact Timoshenko Pipe Element

One of the major divisions in the mathematical modeling of a tubular structure is to include the effect of the transverse shear stress and rotary inertia in vibration of members. During the past three decades, problems of vibration of tubular structures have been considered by some authors, and special attention has been devoted to the Timoshenko theory. There have been considerable efforts, also, to apply the method of spectral analysis to vibration of a structure with tubular section beams. The purpose of this paper is to compare the results of the improved complex spectral element method for the Timoshenko theory with those derived from the conventional finite element method for an offshore structure. Using a computer program, the proposed formulation has been extended to derive the dynamic response of an offshore platform structure under dynamic loads.