Fatigue assessment on local components of a semi-submersible platform subjected to wind and wave loads

• Main Authors: Jin Ma, Dai Zhou, Yan Bao, Zhaolong Han
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JVE International 2018-03-01
• Series: Journal of Vibroengineering
• Subjects: fatigue damage; time domain; a semi-submersible platform; rain-flow counting method; wind and waves
• Online Access: https://www.jvejournals.com/article/18872
• ISSN: 1392-8716; 2538-8460

The objective in this work is to assess fatigue damages on local components of a semi-submersible platform under combined actions of wind and wave loads in time domain. Some improvements are provided in the present study to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the whole evaluating process. Firstly, a combined wind and wave relationship as well as an innovative mixture simulation method are used to generate time series of random wind and waves. Moreover, an m-block division method is proposed to compress the number of the whole short-term sea states in the wind-wave scatter diagram. Then, with an improved multiple interpolation sub-model method, the structural stress responses of the local structural components are calculated as is in the whole model analysis. Finally, a modified rain-flow counting method is provided and validated to count the stress cycles efficiently and accurately. Thus, the short- and long-term fatigue damages are computed based on the S-N curve approach and the cumulative fatigue damage rule. In relative agreement with the numerical results by the traditional time-domain method and existing experimental data, these proposed improved methods are demonstrated to be applicable and efficient methods for fatigue damage analyses. All the fatigue damages on local components satisfy the specification requirements and the minimum value appears under the up wind-wave state, which is the proper working condition for a semi-submersible platform.