<p>Situations involving impact, i.e. the collision between two or more solids, were at one time primarily of concern to the military. Nowadays, as safety is highlighted within most branches of industry, the field of impact dynamics covers a wide range of situations and is of interest to engineers from a large number of different disciplines. This is in particular true for the oil, transport, space, military, nuclear and metal forming industry. </p><p>This thesis describes an experimental and numerical investigation on the ballistic penetration and perforation of Weldox 460F steel plates, and consists of eight independently published parts that are linked together through a synopsis. The thesis was generated from a project in progress on the behaviour of structural components subjected to impact loading conditions. </p>

Situations involving impact, i.e. the collision between two or more solids, were at one time primarily of concern to the military. Nowadays, as safety is highlighted within most branches of industry, the field of impact dynamics covers a wide range of situations and is of interest to engineers from a large number of different disciplines. This is in particular true for the oil, transport, space, military, nuclear and metal forming industry. This thesis describes an experimental and numerical investigation on the ballistic penetration and perforation of Weldox 460F steel plates, and consists of eight independently published parts that are linked together through a synopsis. The thesis was generated from a project in progress on the behaviour of structural components subjected to impact loading conditions.

The present study deals with full- and model scale study of wind effects on a medium-rise building in a built up area. Most low-rise building experiments have been based on an isolated building placed in a relatively uniform terrain. Similarly, the very tall buildings often extend out from their environment in a similar fashion. However, buildings are constructed in various shapes and placed in different types of terrain and topography. Therefore, despite a number of studies made in the past, there are still problems that remain unsolved. As the majority of office- and residential buildings in populated areas fall in the intermediate height category, it should be of interest to examine the wind effects acting upon such a building, as well as its dynamic response. For this purpose, an experimental program was initiated utilising a combination of full-scale measurements and wind tunnel studies, where the fluctuating wind actions are evaluated from recorded simultaneous point pressure fluctuations. Recent improvements in experimental techniques and data handling enable a more detailed information gathering that should eventually lead to an improved understanding of the pressure field around buildings. The investigation studies, experimentally, the wind induced dynamic loading and response of a multi-story building of intermediate height. The presented work evolves on one hand around experimental data acquisition in both full- and model scale, whereas on the other it evolves around basic data reduction, understanding and interpretation of the acquired data. The objective of the study is, in a way, to attempt to provide a sound wind loading chain a la Davenport [29], in the form of data that would facilitate the study of the links connecting the main parameters i.e. Wind – Load – Response. This entails the definition of the relevant wind parameters, the description of the aerodynamic loading process, such as the time-dependent variations of pressure fluctuations on the building surface, and an investigation of the wind induced response of a medium-rise building. Information on the study-building and the experimental setup and procedures is given, for both full-scale and model scale. The full-scale and model scale data are systematically compared through the evaluation of descriptive parameters of both wind turbulence and surface pressures. In general, the evaluated full-scale parameters are found to be in qualitatively good agreement with the model scale parameters. However, the investigation revealed some characteristic differences between full-scale and model scale behaviour. These differences are largely related to the fact that significant variability is found to be inherent in the fullscale data, whereas considerably less variability seems to be associated with the wind tunnel data.

This thesis establishes necessary theory for the geometrically nonlinear dynamic analysis of spatial beam structures by the corotational formulation of finite el- ements. By extending an existing framework that is capable of finite element modeling as well as computing aerodynamic forces, a code is developed that facil- itates the aeroelastic analysis of wind turbines, where the effects of large rotations and deflections of the blades are captured. Verification of the code is carried out first by basic tests, and then by comparing the computed response of a wind tur- bine model with other codes for wind turbine design. Results are shown to be in good agreement with other codes.

As a result of the steadily increasing activities related to marine technology in Arctic regions, Det Norske Veritas has launched an ice load monitoring project to gather knowledge of the ice conditions and prevailing ice-induced actions in the region. The intention of the following thesis is to study different aspects related to design of ice-going vessels, in particular the design scenario where a vessel impacts an ice ridge.The introductory part of the thesis gives an overview of important aspects related to sea ice, including different types of ice features and their physical and mechanical properties. The microstructure of pure ice and formation mechanisms of sea ice are briefly described, and mechanical properties such as elasticity and compressive strength are discussed. Further, a study of existing models for estimation of ice-induced loading on ships is carried out, with focus on local hull plating pressure and global loading due to ice ridge impact.A comparative study of design rules developed by Det Norske Veritas and the International Association of Classification Societies is conducted, and important differences between the two separate rules are identified. The subdivision of class notations is described, and differences in definition of design loads and corresponding requirements are presented. A general conclusion is that the rules developed by Det Norske Veritas are more specific when it comes to governing design scenarios, while rules set forth by the International Association of Classification Societies are more universal in terms of vessel type and prevailing ice conditions.Two separate finite element models based on coastguard vessel KV Svalbard are developed, including a simplified beam element model and a detailed shell element model. Quasi-static and dynamic response analyses for ice ridge impact loading are carried out, where the duration of the load pulse is varied systematically from 0.25~s to 2.0~s. The simplified finite element model is seen to give larger overall maximum response compared with the detailed model, but the difference decreases as the pulse duration is increased.It is observed that quasi-static response is overall larger than dynamic response for both finite element models within the defined pulse duration range. However, the ratio of maximum dynamic to maximum quasi-static response is seen to be positively correlated with the load pulse duration, and a close-to-linear relationship is observed.A study of different parameter variations is performed in order to investigate the importance of various pulse shapes, mass models, damping models and solution methods. Variations are only performed using the simplified beam model. It can be concluded that the shape of the load pulse is of minor importance for dynamic response when the pulse duration is short. However, the pulse shape becomes increasingly important for longer load pulses.An opposite trend is observed when varying the mass model, where a negligible difference in dynamic response is seen for longer load pulses. The difference increases somewhat for shorter load pulses, but can be considered unimportant for dynamic response within the investigated duration interval.It is further observed that the choice of damping model is of significant importance compared with other investigated parameters, and the difference in predicted response remains constant within the investigated pulse duration interval. The choice of solution method is however unimportant for analysis using the simplified beam model.In order to verify the applicability of the finite element models, full scale sea trial measurements of global motions from KV Svalbard are analysed and compared with finite element results. Difference between measured and calculated response during ice ridge impact is seen to be significant, where the calculated maximum response is close to 4 times larger than the maximum measured response. Iterative modifications of the load pulse shape are performed in order to reproduce the measured response history following ice ridge impact, and quite strong agreement is obtained between measured and calculated response.

Well intervention operations can inflict large strains on a wellhead. The seabed in the North Sea is very rigid up to the point where the sea water meets the mud or sand. This is one of the reasons why wellheads operating on the Norwegian continental shelf are more exposed to fatigue damage. In search for more oil and the wish to increase the utilization rate of existing wells the oil companies drill more and more, causing more and more fatigue life consumption. The oil companies must provide sufficient documentation that the wellhead always has enough remaining fatigue life to perform a Plug and Abandon (P&amp;A) operation.Full scale measurements has been collected for a marine drilling riser connected to a moored Aker H-3 rig operating on a field with a depth of 325 m. The angles at the bottom of the riser above the lower marine riser package are used to calculate the consumed cumulative fatigue life using rainflow cycle counting and Miner-Palmgren summation.A simulation model has been developed in the computer simulation program RIFLEX, which is a state of the art simulation program developed especially for slender structures such as a riser in a marine environment. The model was built with relatively conservative assumptions. This resulted on fatigue life assessments that gave a shorter operation life than what was found using the full scale measurements. Using such simulation is often the only tool available to document fatigue life consumption since full scale measurement tools are rarely installed and used. It is vital that the simulation yield reliable and correct results and as close to the true result as possible.A series of similar simulation models were developed where we looked at the effect of taking away some of the conservatism in the original model. First we looked at the difference between a JONSWAP wave spectrum and a Torsethaugen wave spectrum. The difference lies in the assumption of that a sea state is a superposition of wind driven waves and swell waves, where the Torsethaugen use empirical data collected from the North Sea to account for the difference. A Torsethaugen is a double-peaked spectrum while the JONSWAP spectrum is a single-peaked spectrum. The difference between the two results gave little or no effect on the motion characteristics and fatigue life.Then we introduce a directional wave spectrum, meaning that waves may be short-crested and spread around a mean wave direction. This reduced the angular motion in terms of standard deviation significantly. The reduction was between 10% - 15%. It also affected the fatigue life positively. In the next model we introduced non-linear behaviour in the lower flex joint while the waves now were unidirectional. In terms of standard deviation the reduction was the same as for the model with wave spreading.In the last comparison model we used both non-linear flex joint behaviour and wave spreading. The total reduction was again significant. For some of the simulation even up to 30% compared to the original model. All the standard deviation from the full scale data has natural variances from data set to data set and most of the computer simulation fell within this margin of error.For all simulation models the model was tested with different mean heading direction of the waves. The mean heading directions were 0 deg, 30 deg, 60 deg and 90 deg relative to the rig. While the full scale measurement had little correlation between the measured response direction and the weather direction, the simulation were very consistent on this matter.Some simulations with current and support vessel offset was performed to find the effect on the standard deviation. While the presence of current damped the angular motion, the standard deviation increased with increasing support vessel offset. A discussion around the uncertainty of the true characteristics of the non-linear model explains some of the behaviour.When comparing fatigue life the calculated fatigue life consumption became closer and closer to the measured value as we removed the conservatism. However, by a closer investigation of the angle range spectra which is used in the Miner-Palmgren summation there was found differences that need more attention. While the angle range spectrum from the full scale measurement show a close to linear relation between numbers of cycles exceeding ranges the shape for the simulated models were far from linear. In terms of the shape parameter in the Weibull distribution it was found through fitting the curve that the shape model for full scale and RIFLEX simulations were around 1.05 and 1.9, respectively.It is this difference in shape that demands a closer investigation of the simulation models. The fact that the fatigue life approached the true fatigue life so closely should so far be regarded as a coincidence and not a result of good model approximations.It was also found that the full scale motion for some of the time series are low frequency dominated, i.e. high energy in oscillating components with a frequency outside the wave spectrum. Some peak periods reach periods over a minute or even two. This is an effect that is unaccounted for in the models presented in this thesis.

Non-linear analysis of wind load subjected flare tower in Abaqus

Present regulations for offshore structures on the Norwegian continental shelf havea requirement for Accidental Limit State redundancy and Fatigue Limit State redundancyin a damaged state. However, the requirement is far more defined forthe Accidental Limit State than for the Fatigue Limit State. An increased understandingof factors governing fatigue redundancy would create a basis to form acomprehensive definition.In literature, the term redundancy is defined in several ways. The different methodscan be divided into two major categories, namely deterministic and probabilisticapproaches. In general, redundancy may be defined as the absence of memberswhose failure would lead to global collapse. Within both the deterministic and theprobabilistic framework, several redundancy factors are usually defined, and thereare resemblance between some of them. In probabilistic methods, the reliabilitymethod is commonly applied through the First Order Reliability Method.Fatigue damage is a primarily concern regarding the integrity for offshore structures.A near constant subjection to cyclic loadings from wind, current and wavesinitiates a cumulative damage process which leads to a certain fatigue life for themembers in the structure. The lifetime may be calculated using either a fracturemechanics approach or a SN-curve approach. There exists several approaches tocalculate the stress levels to be used in the fatigue analyses, and the choice ofmethod is mainly based on whether or not the structure under consideration isdynamically behaving or may be regarded as quasi-static. Also, there may be nonlinearitiesthat needs to be accounted for and naturally this will affect the choiceof analysis method. However, large uncertainties are associated with fatigue calculationsregardless of analysis approach. Thus, a probabilistic framework is highlyrelevant in order to estimate the risk of failure due to fatigue.A study on how impaired integrity affects the fatigue life has been performed fortwo jackets; one highly redundant four-legged jacket and one less redundant threeleggedjacket. The main goal has been to investigate the fatigue redundancy of thestructures, in order to link up the risk of accelerated fatigue due to damage withthe risk of failure due to extreme environmental actions, which may eventually leadto structural collapse. A stochastic fatigue analysis approach was chosen, and theanalyses was in agreement with the standards governing the Norwegian continentalshelf at the time of this thesis. Pushover analyses has been performed on the jacketsto give an insight in their redundancy, and a calculation of changes in the naturalperiods under impaired integrity has also been done.The four-legged jacket was proven to be highly redundant, and had small changesin the natural period under impaired integrity. The three-legged jacket on the otherhand, had some damage cases with a rather large increase. Also, the redundancyfactor R4 was significantly lower for the three-legged jacket, thus confirming it tobe less redundant than the four-legged jacket. A large change in the natural periodwill alter the dynamic response, thus the fatigue life is vastly connected to changesin global stiffness.Trying to explain the changes in fatigue life for the two jackets under impairedintegrity without using a deterministic approach, i.e. calculate the fatigue life forthe specific damage case, was proven to be very difficult. There seems to be noeasy way to isolate the severity of the fatigue life reduction since large changesare occurring throughout almost the entire structure for several damage cases, aswell as large spread in the values them self. However, there was also found sometrends in the results. One of them, was that the closer a member is to the damagedelement, the larger is the expected reduction in fatigue life. Another trend, is thata large fatigue accelerator factor is expected in almost every damage case, thus onemay expect large changes for most of the damage scenarios.Another vastly occurring phenomenon were the location of the damaged memberswho gave the lowest fatigue life in the structures. For the four-legged jacket, thisinvolved damage in the caisson supports. The three-legged jacket, however, hadthe lowest fatigue lives occurring for damage cases in the top frame where there isa lack of deterministic redundancy.There seems to be no fatigue redundancy for the jackets, as there are large fatigueaccelerator factors occurring. There is also the very low calculated fatigue life inthe most extreme cases. However, there has been found a slight correlation betweena large reduction in fatigue life and a large initial fatigue life. What should also betaken into account though, is both the risk related to the fatigue lives found, andthe accuracy of the values due to the linearised analysis.

for advanced riser analysis. Deep water oil recovery have forced a change in thesystems used to tension risers, the traditional wire-pulley systems are replacedwith direct acting hydraulic-pneumatic systems. In order to design these systemsto obtain the desired operability, analysis tools including the heave compensationsystem is necessary. As a result a pipe in pipe RIFLEX model have been developed.In this masters thesis the pipe in pipe model will be used to investigate drive-offand weak link fracture. Both subjects investigated exposes the riser to large forces,and will push the model to its limits. Another part of the thesis is focused aroundbatch execution of analyses with the use of MATLAB.The focus of the drive-off study lies mainly in investigating the dynamic behaviourof a deep water riser (3000[m] water depth) compared to a shallow water riser(300[m] water depth). Results are presented for upstream and downstream driveoff scenarios. The maximum offset is 100[m] obtained during a 50[s] period. Driveoffscenarios include cases where the vessel remains at the 100[m] offset, and caseswhere the vessel returns to its original position.Drive-off simulations revealed large differences in dynamic behaviour of the deepwater versus the shallow water system. When observing the lower riser anglefor shallow water simulations, the angle were closely related to the vessel offsetposition. Deep water simulations showed a delay of almost one minute before thelower angle responded with a rotation in the vessels movement direction. Duringthe first minute an initial effect that caused the riser to rotate away from the vesselposition was observed. Current had a limiting effect on the lower angle whendriving upstream, and increased the angle for downstream drive-off. By includinga return motion the riser angle increased more rapidly to large values. Variation inreturn motion had little effect on the maximum amplitude. The results show thatit might be difficult to take advantage of the dynamic delay in the riser response.Bear in mind that offsets of only 100[m] was investigated, the picture might changefor simulations including larger vessel offset.Weak link fracture is of concern since it will release large amounts of stored energythat is potentially harmful for personnel and equipment. Establishing analysismethods for weak link fracture can help to better understand the dynamics ofthe problem. In the present work a suitable analysis model was selected and aparametric study on the effect of drag on response was performed.A weak link fracture was simulated with 460 tonnes over pull. Weak link fracturesis a highly complex problem since the high pressure content of the riser is releasedinto the water, causing a rocket effect. The presented results are only accountingfor potential energy stored as strain in the riser and heave compensation system.A parametric study of the tangential drag versus the maximum vertical amplitudeof the riser is presented. The results are meant to be used as a starting point inan investigation of measures to limit the weak link fracture response.The weak link simulations showed that large accelerations are involved during theweak link fracture, and therefore added mass and mass can be of importance tothe response. Due to the rapid movement after fracture, it was found that specialcare needs to be taken when selecting the time incrementation for the simulations.

The importance of offshore renewable energy from wind is expected to increase in the future. Most offshore wind turbines are currently installed in shallow water up to 50 meter water depth on bottom mounted substructures. To harvest more wind energy at deeper waters, offshore floating support structures are needed. Semi-submersible floating wind turbine is one of the proposed floating concepts. Under simultaneous wind and wave loads, fatigue might be an important design consideration. Study of fatigue for such structures is thought to contribute to a better understanding of offshore wind turbines.A local part of a semi-submersible wind turbine was studied. The column-brace connection, or joint, connected a wind turbine tower to a triangular semi-submersible floater. Design, stress concentration factors and fatigue damage of the part were the main topics. To calculate stress concentration factors and fatigue damage, dynamic response analyses and finite element modelling were performed. Only the fatigue limit state was considered.Three different column-brace connection designs were analysed. For the initial design, the stress concentration factors generally were way too large - especially for out-of-plane action. For the third design a horizontal bulkhead at the brace centreline was added. This modification decreased the stress concentrations by a maximum of over 90% for out-of-plane action. The modification was only carried out for brace 1.A long-term fatigue approximation with distribution of mean wind speed in the northern North Sea was considered, while the expected significant wave height and spectral peak period for a given mean wind speed were used, to reduce the simulation effort. The critical fatigue damage was observed for brace 2, with a life time of less than a year. For brace 1 the lowest life time was several hundred years, meaning a conservative design. By reducing and optimizing the brace thickness, one could reduce such conservatism. The critical hot-spot-stresses were found at the crown toe and heel for both brace 1 and brace 2. All fatigue calculations included a design fatigue factor of 3.The modification of brace 1 with horizontal bulkheads as additional stiffening reduced the stress concentrations significantly, and increased the fatigue life considerably. Brace 2 still needs to be modified to decrease the stress concentrations, and thus increase the fatigue life.