Influence of initial distortion of 3 mm thin superstructure decks on hull girder response for fatigue assessment

This paper investigates the influence of initial distortion of 3 mm thin superstructure decks on hull girder response and fatigue assessment. Part of the traditional superstructure of a prismatic passenger ship is replaced by thin decks with initial distortion amplitude of 0, 1 and 2 times the IACS limit value for thicker plates, i.e. 0, 6 and 12 mm. Both geometrically linear and nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis is used. For reference also traditional superstructure with 5 mm plate thickness is analyzed. Thin straight superstructure decks give 43% of weight reduction and carry approximately 30% less load than corresponding thick straight decks in traditional model. The load that is not carried by thin decks is divided between other traditional decks. The redistribution of forces also happens at the deck level between plates, stiffeners, girders and longitudinal bulkheads. The presence of initial distortion with the shape of one half wave between web frames and stiffeners causes an additional few percent-decrease in forces carried. The results and conclusions are similar for hogging and sagging loading conditions and differences between geometrically linear and nonlinear FE analysis are very small. This means time saving since the panel loading for fatigue assessment can be defined from geometrically linear hull girder response analysis without considering the initial distortions.     

体外预应力加固重载铁路盖板涵试验研究

目前大秦铁路运输荷载日趋增加,桥梁的既有损伤不断加重,桥梁不断老化,破损。通过既有盖板涵承载力评估可知,盖板涵混凝土压应力已经超出规范要求。为了改善盖板的受力性能,提高盖板的承载能力,对盖板进行体外预应力加固。根据已加固盖板的室内静载试验和200万次疲劳试验,结合数据研究体外预应力的加固效果。结果表明,体外预应力加固可以大幅度提高盖板的承载能力,在正常使用状态混凝土压应力最大降低约32%。最后,根据力学理论推导体外筋应力增量计算公式,借助试验结果验证理论计算的准确性,为体外预应力加固的实际施工提供理论指导。     

乌江大桥病害及承载能力评估

贵州乌江大桥是国内首次采用预应力钢纤维混凝土(P.F.C)主梁建造的吊拉结构组合桥.结合乌江大桥运营期间的病害调查和检测结果,采用有限元计算分析方法对该桥主要构件的承载能力及工作性能进行评估,初步分析病害成因并给出初步的建议措施.     

Fatigue damage from time domain simulation of combined in-line and cross-flow vortex-induced vibrations

A semi-empirical method for time domain simulation of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) is used to calculate the in-line and cross-flow fatigue damage of a tensioned riser in uniform and sheared flow. Simulations are run for flow velocities ranging from 0.3 m/s to 2.4 m/s, and a detailed comparison with experimental observations is performed. Results are reported in terms of dominating frequency, mode of vibration and mean of r.m.s. of displacement, as well as fatigue damage distribution along the length of the structure and maximum fatigue damage rates for each case. Fatigue damage is calculated by rainflow counting of the strain time series together with an idealized S–N curve with slope m = 3. The results show that the model reproduces the measured fatigue damage with a satisfactory level of realism, using a consistent set of parameters. This indicates that the model is usable for calculation of riser VIV fatigue damage in various current conditions, assuming the Reynolds number is in the subcritical range.     

动荷载作用下钢结构涂装的累积损伤机理与量化模型

为研究动荷载作用下公路钢桥涂装层与基体间的协同变形和破坏机制,开发了钢结构涂装层试件的动荷载试验系统,研究了疲劳荷载作用下涂层的破坏模式、附着力、弹性厚度、应变等随循环加载次数的发展规律。结合涂层破坏模式和发展规律,构建了涂层疲劳累积损伤度的计算模型,提出了基于损伤度的涂层破坏分级方法,并结合试验结果进行了验证。结果表明:疲劳荷载将引起涂层的附着力下降、弹性厚度降低和应变松弛,进而导致涂层出现附着破坏、内聚破坏及其组合。涂层附着损伤度是涂层损伤的主要因素,且随加载次数持续增大,当加载次数较大时内聚损伤贡献突出。试验涂装体系在22万次应力循环后附着损伤度最大为0.34,内聚损伤度最大为0.27,总损伤度达0.61,属于严重损伤。提出的损伤度模型及破坏分级方法与试验规律吻合良好,可应用于公路钢桥涂装层受动荷载作用下的寿命预测。     

Corrosion fatigue load frequency sensitivity analysis

This paper presents experimental assessment of crack growth rates of S355J2+N steel in a corrosion fatigue environment similar to what is experienced on offshore wind farm monopile structures under various cyclic load frequencies in order to assess the effect of cyclic frequency of the applied loading within a frequency range pertinent to the structure. Fatigue crack propagation behaviour in this test programme is evaluated through fatigue tests on six compact tension test specimens in air and in laboratory simulated seawater under free corrosion condition. Fatigue crack lengths were monitored by back face strain (BFS), DCPD and ACPD. A regression model was derived through the BFS method to express strain values as a function of crack length to width ratio. The effectiveness of BFS method is particularly demonstrated in the simulated marine environment. Within the range of test frequencies, crack growth rates in simulated seawater when compared to the equivalent air test revealed environmental reduction factors of 2 and 4 at lower and higher values of stress intensity factors respectively. Significant difference in the results of the seawater test frequencies is discussed.     

Low-cycle fatigue assessment of offshore mooring chains under service loading

The integrity of mooring chains is essential to the safety of a range of offshore platforms. However, mooring line failures are occurring earlier than their design lives, with a high number of these failures occurring due to fatigue. Early in the fatigue life of the component fatigue initiation processes occur, where the fatigue hotspot is sensitive to the mean load and there is plastic strain accumulation from the multiaxial stress-strain responses of the material, leading to cyclic plastic damage accumulation. The traditional SN approach suggested by mooring standards does not consider these effects, and it is proposed that this lack of consideration under low-cycle fatigue conditions is the reason for the current non-conservative fatigue assessments of mooring chains. This paper aims to develop a fatigue approach based on a critical plane multiaxial fatigue criterion for mooring chains that can consider the damage-induced by the cyclic plasticity and the mean load effect, to investigate the importance of incorporating low-cycle fatigue into the mooring chain life prediction. To develop the critical plane approach, the multiaxial stress-strain states are extracted for the critical plane at the fatigue hotspot from a finite element model of a mooring chain. This is then correlated with a fatigue life prediction provided by conventional fatigue design data. It uses a simulation of an FPSO as a case study to demonstrate the importance of low cycle fatigue, which shows that the mean load effect is significant in reducing the fatigue life for mooring chain applications, while the effect of fatigue damage-induced cyclic plasticity is limited. The fatigue damage accumulation predicted by the critical plane approach is significantly higher than that of the traditional SN approach and should be accounted for in mooring line design.     

Crack growth direction effects on corrosion-fatigue behaviour of offshore wind turbine steel weldments

In this study corrosion-fatigue tests have been conducted on fracture mechanics specimens extracted from an S355 G10+M structural steel welded plate. The tests have been performed on compact tension specimens with the crack tip located in the heat affected zone. The corrosion-fatigue test results from this study have been compared with the data available on the base metal as well as air tests on the same material. Moreover, the obtained results have been compared with the corrosion-fatigue data available in the literature on a wide range of steels and also the fatigue trends for welded joints in free-corrosion condition recommended in the BS7910 Standard. The effect of the specimen orientation, with respect to the weld region, is also examined in this study and it has been found that higher corrosion-fatigue crack growth rates are generally observed in the tests with 0° orientation. The results have also shown that the corrosive environment has significant effects on the fatigue crack growth acceleration at the beginning of the tests; however, as the crack propagates, the environmental damage effect on crack growth behaviour becomes less pronounced. The results presented in this study are discussed in terms of improvement in the structural integrity assessment of offshore wind turbine monopiles.     

Time domain approach for coupled cross-flow and in-line VIV induced fatigue damage of steel catenary riser at touchdown zone

Existing VIV prediction approaches for steel catenary riser (SCR) typically employ truncation model without considering the interaction between the SCR and soil, and only allow for cross-flow (CF) VIV. In this study, a time domain approach accounting for the SCR-soil interaction is proposed to predict the CF and in-line (IL) VIV induced fatigue damage of a SCR at touchdown zone (TDZ). The hydrodynamic force resulting from the vortex shedding is modeled using the forced oscillation test data of a rigid cylinder and an empirical damping model, which are defined as functions of the non-dimensional dominant frequency and amplitude of the SCR response. Due to the coupling effect, the IL VIV force is magnified based on the CF VIV amplitude. By combining a linear hysteretic interaction model with a trench shape model, some particular phenomena during the vertical SCR-soil interaction are captured and qualitatively discussed, while for the horizontal direction, the seabed is simplified as nonlinear spring model. Based on these models, parametric studies are conducted to broaden the understanding of the sensitivity of VIV induced fatigue damage to the seabed characteristic. The results indicate trench depth, vertical and lateral stiffness, and clay suction are significantly affect the VIV induced maximum fatigue damage at TDZ.     

盐水环境下水泥土桩劣化效应及其对道路复合地基沉降的影响

为了揭示盐水环境下水泥土桩的劣化效应及其对道路复合地基沉降的影响,通过室内模型试验研究了黄河三角洲盐水环境下水泥土的劣化效应,分析了水泥土劣化深度和未劣化部分抗压强度的演化规律.通过对已有水泥土劣化研究成果进行总结分析,提出了基于水泥土早期强度试验的盐水环境下水泥土桩全寿命周期承载力实用预测方法;同时,通过模型试验和数值模拟研究了水泥土桩劣化对复合地基沉降的影响.研究结果表明:在加固地下水矿化度高的软弱地基时,水泥土桩会从外向内逐渐劣化;水泥土劣化对搅拌桩承载力的影响较大,会增大复合地基沉降,而且桩体缺陷将加剧水泥土桩的劣化效应.为了保证路基的持久稳定并控制其长期沉降,在盐水环境下水泥土桩复合地基设计中须考虑水泥土劣化的影响.