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Ageing mechanical, civil, aerospace, marine and offshore structures require continuous and accurate assessment on their integrity to avoid potentially hazardous failures. To further facilitate this crucial demand, a new technical terminology, generally referred to as structural health monitoring (SHM) has been coined in three past decades. SHM involves deployment of a sensory network on such structures in order to gather useful data, such that processing and interpreting the data through specific algorithms would enable one to detect defects and anomalies within the structures. This dissertation presents the results of a series of efforts expended towards the refinement and enhancement of a vibration-based SHM technique, which was originated within our research group. In the adopted damage detection scheme, vibration data are gathered from structures via piezoelectric sensors. Data are processed by a robust signal processing approach, known as the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) in order to establish energy-based damage indices (EMD_EDIs). Interpretation of the damage indices enables detection of onset, location and advancement of defects within structures. A series of adjustments and modifications were devised and implemented to the application of the originally developed methodology, such that, besides increasing the methodology’s robustness and accuracy, they also facilitate a remote vibration-based SHM targeting onshore and offshore pipelines. The integrity of the method in detection of bolt-loosening in a bolted flange joint of a full-scale pipeline was verified through numerical simulations and experimental investigations. The source of a significant inconsistency reported in the previous trials was identified and resolved. Also, for the first time, the remote application of the technique was facilitated by incorporating an advanced wireless data acquisition system. Moreover, the application of the methodology was extended to detection of cracks in girth-welds of offshore pipelines. In this regard, a comprehensive discussion is first provided, which identifies the role of parameters that influence the accuracy of numerical modeling of the dynamic response of submerged structures. The experimental and numerical investigation following the aforementioned modeling efforts presents encouraging results in detection of an advancing notch in the girth-weld of a submerged pipe. The use of a piezoelectric-based excitation technique, incorporated for the first time in the application of the methodology would evidence the enhanced practicality and robustness of the approach. The study concludes with a successful detection of a real-life sharp propagating crack in a beam due to cyclic loadings.

Les méthodes de sélection de matériaux monolithiques peuvent conduire à des impasses lorsque les exigences fonctionnelles sont très élevées ou contradictoires. Le passage aux multimatériaux peut alors être envisagé. L’objectif de la thèse est de proposer une méthode de conception de multimatériaux à architecture fixée, avec en perspective une application à la conception de conduites offshore pour le génie pétrolier. Seuls les multimatériaux à architecture multicouche sont considérés et la méthode de conception est redéfinie comme une méthode de sélection des constituants du multimatériau et de dimensionnement. Une adaptation des étapes classiques de sélection des matériaux conduit à présenter la méthode en détail sur des exemples simples. Les techniques de programmation par satisfaction de contraintes s’avèrent nécessaires pour la résolution de cas réels de conception multimatériaux. L’application à la conception de conduites offshore permet de valider la méthode et de démontrer sa pertinence. / When the design requirements are either too stringent or are conflicting, no monolithic material solution exists. In such cases the selection of a multimaterial could be considered. The primary aim of this thesis is to provide a methodology for designing multi-materials with a prescribed arrangement of the constituent materials. The second objective is to apply this new methodology to the design of a submarine pipeline. From amongst the huge variety of multi-material arrangements available, this study focusses on multilayered stackings and therefore the design methodology becomes a method for selecting the materials of the stack and sizing the layers. This original approach is presented in detail using basic examples in order to match the steps of classical methods for selecting engineering materials. The constraints programming techniques were very useful for solving real multimaterial design problems. Applying this new method to the design of a submarine pipeline permits its validation and provides proof of its relevance.

Offshore on-bottom pipelines are subjected to cycles of thermal and pressure-induced axial expansion, which can cause them to buckle laterally. For an elegant and cost-effective solution, lateral buckling is allowed in a controlled manner. Of the various design parameters, the soil resistance has the greatest associated uncertainty. Previous studies of lateral pipe-soil interaction have used laboratory model tests and continuum-based numerical methods. However, they are economically and computationally expensive, and have mostly been restricted to pipes on undrained clay. To overcome this limitation, this thesis introduces the distinct element method (DEM) as a novel numerical tool for the study of lateral pipe-soil interaction for partially embedded offshore pipelines on sandy seabeds. The DEM directly models the particulate nature of sandy soils, allowing large displacements of discrete bodies and providing insights into the mechanics of the soil at a particle level. Pipe{soil interaction is studied by DEM analyses through four separate research stages: (i) mechanical characterisation of the soil, (ii) specimen preparation and pipeline implementation, (iii) small displacement pipe loading tests and (iv) large displacement pipe loading tests. The soil is modelled as an assembly of spherical particles exchanging contact forces, energy and momentum when they interact. At the microscopic scale, a novel moment-relative rotation contact law is introduced to account for the irregular shape of real sand grains. At a macroscopic scale, the mechanical behaviour of the sand is calibrated using experimental triaxial test data. Additional work includes the numerical preparation of a soil assembly and the implementation of a pipeline object in the open-source DEM code Yade. A novel specimen preparation technique is developed to assemble a homogeneous sample at a desired relative density. The pipeline is implemented as a cylindrical body with a continuously curved surface and a specific mass. Small displacement loading tests are performed, with a segment of the pipeline interacting with a 3D prismatic soil domain, replicating plane strain conditions. The influence of particle size, domain thickness, loading velocity and damping are investigated. The findings provide valuable recommendations for performing DEM simulations of this problem, balancing numerical accuracy and computational effort. Large displacement loading tests are performed to validate the DEM approach and to obtain detailed insights into the nature of the pipe-soil interaction. Monotonic vertical and lateral loading simulations are quantitatively compared with laboratory results. To replicate realistic loading conditions of the pipeline on the seabed, cyclic large displacement tests are also performed. Both the monotonic and the cyclic tests show a good level of agreement with experimental results obtained in previous research. Moreover, the numerical analyses provide insights into the evolution of particle motion and the failure mechanism within the soil.

Intra-archipelago waterways, including tidal strait networks, present a complex set of barriers to, and conduits for sediment transport between marine basins. Tidal straits may also be the least well understood tide-dominated sedimentary environment. To address these issues, currents, sediment transport pathways, and seabed sedimentology & geomorphology were studied in the central Salish Sea (Gulf and San Juan Islands region) of British Columbia, Canada and Washington State, USA. A variety of data types were integrated: 3D & 2D tidal models, multibeam bathymetry & backscatter, seabed video, grab samples, cores and seismic reflection. This dissertation included the first regional sediment transport modelling study of the central Salish Sea. Lagrangian particle dispersal simulations were driven by 2D tidal hydrodynamics (~59-days). It was found that flood-tide dominance through narrow intra-archipelago connecting straits resulted in the transfer of sediment into the inland Strait of Georgia, an apparent sediment sink. The formative/maintenance processes at a variety of seabed landforms, including a banner bank with giant dunes, were explained with modelled tides and sediment transport. Deglacial history and modern lateral sedimentological and morphological transitions were also considered. Based on this modern environment, adjustments to the tidal strait facies model were identified. In addition, erosion and deposition patterns across the banner bank (dune complex) were monitored with 8-repeat multibeam sonar surveys (~10 years). With these data, spatially variable bathymetric change detection techniques were explored: A) a cell-by-cell probabilistic depth uncertainty-based threshold (t-test); and B) coherent clusters of change pixels identified with the local Moran's Ii spatial autocorrelation statistic. Uncertainty about volumetric change is a considerable challenge in seabed change research, compared to terrestrial studies. Consideration of volumetric change confidence intervals tempers interpretations and communicates metadata. Techniques A & B may both be used to restrict volumetric change calculations in area, to exclude low relative bathymetric change signal areas. / Graduate / 2018-12-07