Damage Detection in Offshore Structures by the Random Decrement Technique

1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. S. Yang ◽  
J. Chen ◽  
N. G. Dagalakis

The Random Decrement Technique has shown promise as an inspection technique for offshore structures. The major advantage of this technique is that it requires only measurements of the dynamic response of the structure and not the input excitation causing the response. On offshore platforms, such random input forces occur from wind, waves, and currents. The Random Decrement Technique was evaluated together with a number of other NDE techniques under the NDE round robin testing program sponsored by the United States Geological Survey and the Office of Naval Research. A series of tests, damage scenarios, were conducted on a model of an offshore structure in a blind-mode by an independent neutral agent. Test data were given to the corresponding advocates to be analyzed and interpreted to predict the damages. Initial results indicated that the Random Decrement Technique was able to identify all the damage and non-damage situations with the usage of only four accelerometers mounted on each of the legs of the structure.

Author(s):  
F. Van den Abeele ◽  
J. Vande Voorde

Offshore platforms are subjected to wind, waves and tidal flows. Tidal flow will generate a steady current, which induces a lift force and a drag force on the platform legs. In addition, water particle velocities induced by waves give rise to an oscillatory flow. As a result, the structure will experience a lift, drag and inertia force when subjected to wave-induced flow patterns. On top of that, a turbulent Von Karman vortex street can appear in the wake of the platform legs for certain combinations of dimensions and flow velocities. Vortex shedding can lead to vortex induced vibrations, which may jeopardize the integrity of the entire offshore platform. Environmental loads can cause significant deformations of offshore structures, which can in turn influence the fluid flow. Multiphysics modelling is required to capture the mechanisms governing fluid-structure interaction. In this paper, a Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian (CEL) approach is pursued to simulate offshore platform movements in strong tidal flows. In a CEL analysis, the fluid flow is modelled in an Eulerian framework: the water is described by an equation of state, and can flow freely through a fixed mesh. The offshore platform is modelled as a compliant structure in a traditional Lagrangian formulation, where the nodes move with the underlying material. Interaction between the fluid domain and the offshore structure is enforced using general contact conditions. The strongly coupled problem is then tackled with an explicit solver. Here, the CEL approach is demonstrated to simulate the movement of an offshore jack-up barge. The response of the vessel is calculated for different flow conditions. The multiphysics model allows evaluating the added value of structural redundancy, e.g. in the number of platform legs required for a safe design. In addition, it provides a valuable tool to predict the tidal windows allowed for given operational conditions.


2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Elshafey ◽  
M. R. Haddara ◽  
H. Marzouk

A simple method is used to predict damping and natural frequencies of a fixed offshore platform subjected to wind-generated random waves using its stationary response. The method also predicts the reaction forces and bending moment at the foundation of the platform. The method uses the random decrement signature as a tool to identify the parameters in the equation of motion. Excellent agreements were obtained between the estimated and actual values of the parameters as well as for the reaction and moment at the platform foundation. The method can be applied without any interruption to the operation of the offshore structure. The method is easy to apply and uses inexpensive motion measurement instruments. The estimated forces and bending moments can be used as a tool for an on-line foundation check. A study on the limitations of applying the random decrement technique is also presented.


Author(s):  
Remmelt J. van der Wal ◽  
Gerrit de Boer

Offshore operations in open seas may be seriously affected by the weather. This can lead to a downtime during these operations. The question whether an offshore structure or dredger is able to operate in wind, waves and current is defined as “workability”. In recent decades improvements have been made in the hydrodynamic modelling of offshore structures and dredgers. However, the coupling of these hydrodynamic models with methods to analyse the actual workability for a given offshore operation is less developed. The present paper focuses on techniques to determine the workability (or downtime) in an accurate manner. Two different methods of determining the downtime are described in the paper. The first method is widely used in the industry: prediction of downtime on basis of wave scatter diagrams. The second method is less common but results in a much more reliable downtime estimate: determination of the ‘job duration’ on basis of scenario simulations. The analysis using wave scatter diagrams is simple: the downtime is expressed as a percentage of the time (occurrences) that a certain operation can not be carried out. This method can also be used for a combination of operations however using this approach does not take into account critical events. This can lead to a significant underprediction of the downtime. For the determination of the downtime on basis of scenario simulations long term seastate time records are used. By checking for each subsequent time step which operational mode is applicable and if this mode can be carried out the workability is determined. Past events and weather forecast are taken into account. The two different methods are compared and discussed for a simplified offloading operation from a Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) buoy. The differences between the methods will be presented and recommendations for further applications are given.


Author(s):  
Mohamed A. El-Reedy

The GUPCO offshore structure management system was developed as a part of an integrated infrastructure management system. This paper presents a case study of providing an integrity management system for inspection, evaluation and repair of the fixed offshore platforms in Gulf of Suez. The management system procedure is presented focusing on the first step for defining the highly risky weight to the lower risky weight structure based on API criteria for assessment of the existing structures. The risk analysis methodology for developing design and assessment criteria for fixed offshore structure based on consequence of failure is illustrated. In our case study the assessment method is applied for a number of fixed offshore structures. The above methodology is performed after theoretical assessment and then verifying by using ROV subsea inspection for the fixed offshore structure. Comparison between the actual structure performance and the predicting risk assessment for the structure from the model will be studied. The overall management system will be illustrated in scope of predictive maintenance philosophy and reliability for all offshore structures.


2017 ◽  
Vol 862 ◽  
pp. 265-270
Author(s):  
Raditya Danu Riyanto ◽  
Murdjito

Offshore structure, particularly fixed offshore structures, should be kept in the performance for the fit-for-purpose condition during their operating lifetime. For fixed offshore structures that exceed their designated life years, the proper Structural Integrity Management System (SIMS) should be developed and applied. Despite the fixed offshore platforms have their service life, there are still platforms that continue to operate exceeding their service lifetime. These ageing platforms should be taken care thoroughly to avoid the consequences that could take casualties. This paper will propose the proper initiation of SIMS development for ageing fixed offshore platforms in Indonesia, by taking an example at Bekapai Field Platforms in East Kalimantan. Using HAZID technique and several ranking criteria, the platforms are assessed and ranked. Platforms that categorized in critical condition are grouped based on similarities in geometry and function. The highest rank is analyzed in computer Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Software with modification based on latest inspection result. This method is proven to be a proper method to be used as a maintenance program for ageing fixed offshore platforms in Indonesia.


Author(s):  
H. Matin Nikoo ◽  
M. Zeinoddini ◽  
H. Estekanchi ◽  
M. Golestani

This paper introduces a novel methodology for design and assessment of offshore structures exposed to irregular sea waves. For this, Constrained NewWave (CNW) is integrated with the Endurance Time Analysis (ETA) methodology, which is basically developed for the performance based analysis of onshore structures to earthquake loads. In this approach, the offshore structure is simulated in time-domain under a set of calibrated intensifying wave functions. They are devised to represent a gradually increasing roughness of the sea state by time. A performance index such as base shear, drift or stress in a critical structural members are monitored until they reach to a predefined maximum value. A higher endurance time (corresponding to a higher wave height) is to be interpreted as a better performance of structure. Ability to consider spectral features of waves, waves’ irregularity, the wave-in-deck impacts, utilizing a relatively simple approach, requiring relatively low computational times and capability to consider any desirable damage indices are the advantages of this novel method. The method can be used in the design stage, collapse analysis and for the assessment of existing offshore platforms. In this paper the effectiveness of this method has been examined on offshore jacket platforms. The results obviously have highlighted the potentials of this approach for the dynamic, time-domain, non-linear analysis and assessment of offshore platforms.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadi Kordestani ◽  
Chunwei Zhang ◽  
Mahdi Shadabfar

In this paper, a two-stage time-domain output-only damage detection method is proposed with a new energy-based damage index. In the first stage, the random decrement technique (RDT) is employed to calculate the random decrement signatures (RDSs) from the acceleration responses of a simply supported beam subjected to a moving load. The RDSs are then filtered using the Savitzky–Golay filter (SGF) in the second stage. Next, the filtered RDSs are processed by the proposed energy-based damage index to locate and quantify the intensity of the possible damage. Finally, by fitting a Gaussian curve to the damage index resulted from the non-damage conditions, the whole process is systematically implemented as a baseline-free method. The proposed method is numerically verified using a simply supported beam under moving sprung mass with different velocities and damage scenarios. The results show that the proposed method can accurately estimate the damage location/quantification from the acceleration data without any prior knowledge of either input load or damage characteristics. Additionally, the proposed method is neither sensitive to noise nor velocity variation, which makes it ideal when obtaining a constant velocity is difficult.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Morsy

This investigation deals with the development of an advanced strategy for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of concrete beams and girders for important structures such as bridges, offshore platforms and nuclear power stations using smart monitoring systems, including an effective diagnostic approach for damage detection with a reliability-based performance ranking. The proposed strategy can be classified into four main sections: identification of the existence of damage, determination the localization of the damage, estimation the level of damage, and assessing the seriousness of the damage regarding the structure’s service life. Random Decrement (RD) is an accurate dynamic analysis diagnostic tool that has been used effectively for SHM; the technique has been used within various fields in mechanical, aerospace, and, recently, civil engineering. The damage detection approach is based on the RD technique. A theoretical, numerical, and experimental investigation has been conducted on concrete beams using the RD technique for damage detection in terms of changes in the dynamic properties and used at successive multiple points under certain leading point conditions to determine the location of damage through the development of the Multi-Channel Random Decrement (MCRD).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Morsy

This investigation deals with the development of an advanced strategy for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of concrete beams and girders for important structures such as bridges, offshore platforms and nuclear power stations using smart monitoring systems, including an effective diagnostic approach for damage detection with a reliability-based performance ranking. The proposed strategy can be classified into four main sections: identification of the existence of damage, determination the localization of the damage, estimation the level of damage, and assessing the seriousness of the damage regarding the structure’s service life. Random Decrement (RD) is an accurate dynamic analysis diagnostic tool that has been used effectively for SHM; the technique has been used within various fields in mechanical, aerospace, and, recently, civil engineering. The damage detection approach is based on the RD technique. A theoretical, numerical, and experimental investigation has been conducted on concrete beams using the RD technique for damage detection in terms of changes in the dynamic properties and used at successive multiple points under certain leading point conditions to determine the location of damage through the development of the Multi-Channel Random Decrement (MCRD).


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