Kriging Model for Reliability Analysis of the Offshore Steel Trestle Subjected to Wave and Current Loads

Offshore steel trestles (OSTs) are exposed to severe marine environments with stochastic wave and current loads, making structural safety assessment challenging and difficult. Reliability analysis is a suitable way to consider both wave and current loading intensity uncertainties, but the implicit and complex limit state functions of the reliability analysis usually imply huge computational costs. This paper proposes an efficient reliability analysis framework for OST using the kriging model of optimal linear unbiased estimation. The surrogate model is built with stochastic waves, current parameters, and the corresponding load factors. The framework is then used to evaluate the reliability of an example OST subjected to wave and current loads at three limit states of OST, including first yield (FY), full plastic (FP), and collapse initiation (CI). Three different distributions are used for comparison of the results of failure probability and reliability index. The results and the computational cost by the proposed framework are compared with that from the Monte Carlo sampling (MCS) and Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method. The influences of sample number on the prediction accuracy and reliability index are investigated. The influence of marine growth on the reliability analysis of the OST is discussed using MCS and the kriging model. The results show that the reliability analysis based on the kriging model can obtain the reliability index for the OST efficiently with less calculation time but similar results compared with MCS and LHS. With the increase of the number of samples, the prediction accuracy of the kriging model increases, and the corresponding failure probability fluctuates greatly at first and then tends to be stable. The reliability of the example OST is reduced with the increase of marine growth, regardless of the limit state.

Damage Analysis in Ag Nanoparticle Interconnect Line Under High-Density Electric Current

Printed electronics (PEs) have attracted attention for the fabrication of microscale electronic circuits. PEs use conductive inks which include metal nanoparticles. The conductive ink can be printed on flexible substrates for wearable devices using ink-jet printers and roll-to-roll methods. With the scaling down of electric devices, the current density and Joule heating in the device lines increase, and electromigration (EM) damage becomes significant. EM is a transportation phenomenon of metallic atoms caused by the electron wind under high-density current. Reducing the EM damage is extremely important to enhance the device reliability. With the progress in miniaturization of the metal nanoparticle ink lines, EM problem needs to be solved for ensuring the reliability of these lines. We know that the formation of aggregates and cathode damages occur due to a current loading. The diffusion path of atoms due to the EM has not been identified under the high-density current loading. In this study, a high-density electric current loading was applied to an Ag nanoparticle line. The line specimens were prepared using a lift-off method. After the current loading tests, observations were conducted using a laser microscope and scanning electron microscope. A local decrease in the line thickness and scale-shaped slit-like voids were observed due to the high-density current loading. Moreover, the microstructure of the line was modified by enlarging the Ag grain. From the results, we identified that a dominant diffusion occurred at the Ag grain boundary due to the EM.

Damage of Flexible Electronic Line Under Mechanical and Electrical Stress Loading

Flexible printed circuits (FPCs) are widely used in electronic devices such as movable part line or wearable sensor. Inkjet printing is attracting attention because it can draw electric lines of any shape without a photo mask. The mechanical characteristics such as flexibility or durability of electric lines have been evaluated by bending and tensile tests. Moreover, the reliability characteristics of metal particle ink lines under electric current loading have been recently evaluated. However, the electronic line has not been evaluated under both the mechanical stress due to bending deformation and the electrical stress due to electric current. According to scaling down of electric devices, the current density and Joule heat in interconnect line increase and electromigration (EM) damage becomes a serious problem. EM is a transportation phenomenon of metallic atoms caused by electron wind under high-density electric current. Reducing EM damage is extremely important to enhance device reliability. In this study, high-density current loading tests of flexible electronic line were conducted under bending deformation of the substrate in order to investigate the effect of mechanical stress on the EM damage of the electronic line. As the results of current loading tests, the specimens with bending deformation became open circuits in shorter time than that without bending deformation. Therefore, it is considered that the bending deformation is affected on the electric reliability characteristic of the flexible electronic lines reflecting EM damage.

Software for Submarine Pipeline Free-Spanning Assessment and Evaluation

Free-spanning pipelines is a phenomenon occurring on uneven seabed and scouring phenomena around the exposed pipeline. To study how free-spanning pipelines are affected from these phenomena, it is necessary to study environmental hydrodynamic flow conditions surrounding the pipeline, such as steady flow due to current, oscillatory flow due to waves and combined flow due to current and waves. Combined wave and current loading include the long-term current velocity distribution, short-term and long-term description of wave-induced flow velocity amplitude and period of oscillating flow at the pipe level and return period values. The bending stresses and associated fatigue life are determined from the given span length and boundary conditions accounting for bending due to self-weight and environmental loading from combined direct wave action and vortex induced vibrations (VIV). The fatigue damage is calculated and integrated over all selected directions, corresponding long-term sea-states and current. Fatigue life is calculated for the in-line response model, in-line force model and the cross-flow response model. The design fatigue life for the in-line mode is a combination of the response model and the force model. Peak dynamic stresses are found from the extreme wave and current conditions and are calculated for cross-flow and in-line response. The premises for this paper are based on application development within pipeline free span evaluation in a software development project based on DNVGL recommended practice, DNVGL-RP-F105. It provides a brief introduction to a software application used to calculate parameters addressing how free-spanning pipelines are affected considering stresses, damage and fatigue life.

Study on the Geo-Stress Loading and Excavation Unloading Devices of the Large-Scale Photoelastic Model Test for Deep-Buried Tunnels

At present, theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and other methods cannot be used to properly solve the problems associated with the stability and bearing capacity of the surrounding rock and its supporting system, the interaction between the supporting structure and surrounding rock, and the sharing role of each supporting structure, all of which commonly occur in deep tunnels. The model test method represented by the photoelastic test is still an important approach to study this kind of problem. In view of the deficiency of the current loading system of the photoelastic model test, we developed a geo-stress loading system for the photoelastic model test, which can simulate the in situ geo-stress environment of unidirectional loading, bidirectional equal pressure, bidirectional unequal pressure, and tridirectional unequal pressure. The universal retaining force loading rod can realize the stability and effective compensation of loading, which is an original design. According to the principle of umbrella-shaped expansion and contraction mechanism, an excavation unloading device for the photoelastic model test is developed, which can realize the simulation of various degrees of displacement release in the excavation process of deep tunnels and other underground projects. The loading simulation test and excavation unloading simulation test show that the geo-stress loading system and excavation unloading device developed in this paper are flexible, exhibit good performance, and can fully achieve their respective test functions. The combination of two devices can compensate for the insufficiency of the current photoelastic model test and will promote the application of photoelastic model tests in underground engineering applications such as deep tunnel projects.

Lifetime and reliability improvements in modular multilevel converters using controlled circulating current

Circulating current has been an inherent feature of modular multilevel converters (MMC), which results in second-order harmonics on the arms currents. If not properly controlled, the circulating current can affect the lifetime and reliability of a converter by increasing the current loading, loss distribution, and junction temperature of its semiconductor devices. This paper proposes controlled circulating current injection as a means of improving the lifetime and reliability of an MMC. The proposed method involves modifying the reference modulating signals of the converter arms to include the controlled differential voltage as an offset. The junction temperature of the semiconductor devices obtained from an electro-thermal simulation is processed to deduce the lifetime and reliability of the converter. The obtained results are benchmarked against a case where the control method is not incorporated. The incorporation of the proposed control method results in a 68.25% increase in the expected lifetime of the converter and a 3.06% increase on its reliability index. Experimental results of a scaled down laboratory prototype validate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.

Implementation of a Method for Free-Spanning Pipeline Analysis

The scope of this paper is to provide a method implemented in an application for assessment of dynamic response of free spanning pipelines subjected to combined wave and current loading. The premises for the paper are based on application development within pipeline free span evaluation in a software development project. A brief introduction is provided to the basic hydrodynamic phenomena, principles and parameters for dynamic response of pipeline free spans. The choice of method for static and dynamic span modelling has an influence on calculated modal frequencies and associated stresses. Due to the importance of frequencies and stresses for fatigue and environmental loading calculations, the choice of analysis approach influences the partial safety factor format. The aim of the structural analysis is to provide the necessary input to the calculations of VIV and force model response, and to provide realistic estimations of static loading from functional loads. Environmental flow conditions are implemented in the application, such as steady flow due to current, oscillatory flow due to waves and combined flow due to current and waves. Combined wave and current loading include the long-term current velocity distribution, short-term and long-term description of wave-induced flow velocity amplitude and period of oscillating flow at the pipe level and return period values. Inline and cross-flow vibrations are considered in separate response models. For pipelines and risers, modes are categorized in in-line or cross-flow direction. A force model is also considered for the short-term fatigue damage due to combined current and direct wave actions. Design criteria can be specified for ultimate limit state (ULS) and fatigue limit state (FLS) due to in-line and cross-flow vortex induced vibrations (VIV) and direct wave loading.