Fatigue Damage Repair and Life Extension of a Floating Production Unit: The VFB Platform Revisited

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Haagensen ◽  
J. E. Larsen ◽  
O. T. Va˚rdal
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Damage ◽  
Fatigue Cracks ◽  
Fatigue Cracking ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Conference Paper ◽  
Safe Operation ◽  
Damage Repair ◽  
Production Platform ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Extension Program

The Veslefrikk B platform was built in 1985 as a drilling exploration unit but was converted to a production platform in 1989. After only two years in service fatigue cracks were discovered and several repairs were made. However, extensive fatigue cracking continued and a retrofitting program was planned. In addition, increased payload was necessitated by more topside equipment required for a tie-in to the Huldra field which was scheduled to start production in 2001. In 1999 the platform was temporarily decommissioned and dry-docked for a comprehensive repair and upgrading program, this was completed in approximately two months. The life extension program was described in the OMAE 2000 conference paper 2954. However, after only one more year of service new cracks were found and subsequent fatigue damage necessitated new repairs. It is noteworthy that cracking this time occurred only in areas of the structure that were left untreated in the 1999 retrofitting program due to assumed low levels of stress in those areas. The paper describes the original repair and strengthening program, and the types of subsequent fatigue damage that required new repairs. Most of the cracks occurred in the hull skin plates and caused water leakage. The objective of the recent life extension program is to ensure safe operation of the platform for a period of another 20 years.

Development of a Micro-Habitat Hyperbaric Welding System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Earl Lee Toups ◽  
Russell James Morrison ◽  
Russell John Harper
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Fatigue Cracks ◽  
Fatigue Cracking ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Acceptance Testing ◽  
Offshore Structure ◽  
The North ◽  
Welding System

Abstract The maturation of North Sea platform jackets coupled with high fatigue stresses, fabrication defects, extensive usage, and low-redundancy design eventually result in fatigue cracking. The high sea states in the North Sea further exacerbate the problem. If not closely monitored, fatigue cracks can propagate into and around the circumference of a brace relatively quickly—ultimately leading to brace severance. When confronted with a loss of structural integrity, operators have two options: conduct expensive subsea repairs or decommission the asset. Realising a market gap, DCN Diving has explored alternate repair strategies, leading to the development of the DCN-patent pending µ-Habitat welding system. The µ-Habitat makes it possible to respond quicker, execute subsea repairs faster and guarantee quality at a fraction of the cost of bespoke or modular habitats. Through size reduction, it is possible to reduce the fabrication, production, and handling costs of µ-Habitat. Furthermore, the smaller footprint reduces installation time while simplifying sealing and de-watering offshore, saving time and money. Using a combination of product development facilitators and process improvement methodologies, such as AGILE, SCRUM, and design thinking, reduces the preparation time, making the system incredibly responsive yet flexible. Additionally, using an experienced and dedicated project team in combination with standardised products further minimises the response time to execute a repair. A dry environment, pre-heating, in-process cleaning/grinding, and unrestricted access are fundamental to ensuring high-quality welds. In addition, prototyping, extensive function testing, and mock-ups validate the habitat design before commissioning via factory acceptance testing and mobilisation to guarantee the failsafe performance of the µ-Habitat offshore. The µ-Habitat can play a crucial role in the overall life extension strategy for any offshore structure, ultimately minimising cost, risk and production downtime associated with future subsea repairs.

Proposed Methodology for Extending the Lives of Steel Catenary Risers Connected to Floating Production Systems

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basim Mekha
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Damage ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Current Status ◽  
New Production ◽  
Detailed Design ◽  
Floating Structures ◽  
Steel Catenary Risers ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Extension Program

Extending the life of steel catenary risers is becoming one of the main subjects of interest nowadays as many steel catenary risers (SCRs) are approaching their design lives. Many of the risers in this situation are export risers, which may require extended design lives due to development of new production fields being tied back to the floating facilities they service. There have been no specific methodologies or defined approaches for dealing with this subject. The conservatism of the design methodology, which is usually adopted for the detailed design of new risers, will have to be adjusted when evaluating existing risers with known environmental and operational history as well as fabrication and installation data. This paper will describe a proposed methodology and potential approach for extending the lives of existing steel catenary risers (SCRs) connected to floating structures in the Gulf of Mexico. It will highlight the essential steps that should be taken to evaluate the risers’ current status and to determine their already consumed fatigue lives. The proposed methodology for calculating the riser consumed fatigue damage will be discussed and compared with the typical but conservative approach that is usually taken during the detailed design of new risers. The next step will then be the calculation of the riser remaining life including the treatment of its already consumed fatigue damage. The proposed methodology will also cover the relationship between the safety factors and availability of actual data during the life of the risers. Fracture mechanics assessment for riser welds and their flaws is another step that needs to be performed to support the fatigue analysis calculation. Internal and external inspection of the risers, including pipe welds, pipe corrosion and possible pitting, is a work in progress at this stage and would probably be essential part of any riser life extension program. Some discussion will also be provided for the risers’ special components (e.g. strakes, coating, cathodic protection, and top termination units) to ensure all aspects are covered in the evaluation of the riser life extension.

Fatigue Life Extension Procedure for Subsea Wells Based on Pressure Testing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Fjeldstad ◽  
Torfinn Hørte ◽  
Gudfinnur Sigurdsson ◽  
Anders Wormsen ◽  
Espen Berg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Life ◽  
Fatigue Damage ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
Fatigue Cracks ◽  
Load Test ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Pressure Test ◽  
Number Of Cycles

Abstract This article presents a fatigue life extension procedure for subsea wells based on fracture mechanics. It makes use of the outcome of an internal pressure test to determine a safe period for drilling and completion. The pressure test is used as a load test and can only reveal deep fatigue cracks. The safe operational period is estimated as the number of cycles required to grow a fatigue crack from the largest fatigue crack that remains stable after the pressure test until it becomes unstable due to an accidental load. The procedure takes into account the probability of the presence of the fatigue crack that can be revealed by the pressure test. This is used to determine design fatigue factors for the procedure. The design fatigue factor is formulated in terms of the (S-N based) accumulated fatigue damage for historical operations. The procedure is illustrated with two case examples (fatigue hot spots) for illustrating the procedure in more detail: wellhead extension girth weld and wellhead profile. Conditions for use are given at the end of the article.

Fatigue crack detection method using analysis of vibration signal

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (20) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Rychlik ◽  
Krzysztof Ligier
Keyword(s):  
Crack Detection ◽  
Fatigue Cracks ◽  
Fatigue Cracking ◽  
Vibration Signal ◽  
Technical Condition ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Signal Characteristics ◽  
Fatigue Crack Detection ◽  
Sample Structure ◽  
Change Identification

This paper discusses the method used to identify the process involving fatigue cracking of samples on the basis of selected vibration signal characteristics. Acceleration of vibrations has been chosen as a diagnostic signal in the analysis of sample cross section. Signal characteristics in form of change in vibration amplitudes and corresponding changes in FFT spectrum have been indicated for the acceleration. The tests were performed on a designed setup, where destruction process was caused by the force of inertia of the sample. Based on the conducted tests, it was found that the demonstrated sample structure change identification method may be applied to identify the technical condition of the structure in the aspect of loss of its continuity and its properties (e.g.: mechanical and fatigue cracks). The vibration analysis results have been verified by penetration and visual methods, using a scanning electron microscope.

Plastic Slip and Early Stage of Fatigue Damage in Polycrystals: Comparison between Experiments and Crystal Plasticity Finite Elements Simulations

2014 ◽  
Vol 891-892 ◽  
pp. 1711-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loic Signor ◽  
Emmanuel Lacoste ◽  
Patrick Villechaise ◽  
Thomas Ghidossi ◽  
Stephan Courtin
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Finite Elements ◽  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Fatigue Damage ◽  
Crystal Plasticity ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Low Cycle Fatigue ◽  
Fatigue Cracks ◽  
Fatigue Crack Initiation ◽  
Plastic Slip

For conventional materials with solid solution, fatigue damage is often related to microplasticity and is largely sensitive to microstructure at different scales concerning dislocations, grains and textures. The present study focuses on slip bands activity and fatigue crack initiation with special attention on the influence of the size, the morphology and the crystal orientation of grains and their neighbours. The local configurations which favour - or prevent - crack initiation are not completely identified. In this work, the identification and the analysis of several crack initiation sites are performed using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction. Crystal plasticity finite elements simulation is employed to evaluate local microplasticity at the scale of the grains. One of the originality of this work is the creation of 3D meshes of polycrystalline aggregates corresponding to zones where fatigue cracks have been observed. 3D data obtained by serial-sectioning are used to reconstruct actual microstructure. The role of the plastic slip activity as a driving force for fatigue crack initiation is discussed according to the comparison between experimental observations and simulations. The approach is applied to 316L type austenitic stainless steels under low-cycle fatigue loading.

scholarly journals Improvement of trawler hull structure under condition of ensuring fatigue strength

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7(112)) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
Leontii Korostylov ◽  
Dmytro Lytvynenko ◽  
Hryhorii Sharun ◽  
Ihor Davydov
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Strength ◽  
Fatigue Damage ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Fatigue Cracks ◽  
Bending Moment ◽  
Theoretical Method ◽  
Corrosive Wear ◽  
Hot Spot Stress ◽  
Hull Structure ◽  
Internal Forces

The structure of the hull of the project 1288 trawler in a region of fore hold was improved to ensure fatigue strength of assemblies of the intersection of main frames with the second bottom. To this end, a study of the fatigue strength of these assemblies was carried out for the original side structure and two versions of its modernization. Values of internal forces at the points of appearance of fatigue cracks in the compartment have been determined for three design versions of the side. It was found that the greatest forces act in the middle of the fore half of the compartment. Calculations of parameters of the long-term distribution of magnitudes of ranges of total equivalent operating stresses according to the Weibull law in the points of occurrence of fatigue cracks for different design versions of the side grillage have been performed. These parameters were determined for the middle of the fore hold of the vessel and for the areas in which maximum values of bending moment ranges are in effect with and without corrosive wear. Values of total fatigue damage and durability of the studied assemblies were determined. Calculations were carried out by nominal stress method, hot spot stress method, and experimental and theoretical method. It was shown that in order to ensure fatigue strength of the assembly under consideration, it is necessary to extend the intermediate frames of the original version of the side structure to the level of the second bottom fixing them to the deck. It is also necessary to attach a cargo platform to the side thus reducing the frame span. As a result, the level of fatigue damage over 25 years of operation will decrease by about 3.5 times. As it was found, approximate consideration of the slamming effect does not significantly increase the amount of fatigue damage to the assembly. The results of the development of recommendations for modernization of the side structure can be implemented both on ships of the 1288 project and on other ships with a transverse side framing system.

Ultrasound and Nonlinear Resonant Testing of Nuclear Reactor Internals Bolts

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. W. Glass ◽  
B. Thigpen ◽  
J. Renshaw
Keyword(s):  
Phased Array ◽  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Safe Operation ◽  
Plant Life ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Bolt Failure ◽  
Reactor Internals

As many nuclear plants approach the end of their initial 40 year license period, inspection or replacement of their reactor internals bolts must be considered. This is consistent with the Materials Reliability Program (MRP 227/228) guideline for plant life extension [1,2]. Assurance of the internals structural integrity is essential for continued safe operation of these plants. If there is no suspicion or indication of bolt failure, simple inspection is normally more cost-effective than replacement. Inspection vendors have inspected thousands of internals bolts with conventional and Phased Array UT but different head configurations and bolt capture mechanisms mandate specific qualifications for each bolt type. In some cases, complex bolt and head geometries coupled with counter-bore and locking bar interferences render classical UT inspections difficult or impossible. A range of solutions to inspect reactor internals including these difficult-to-inspect-by-conventional-UT baffle bolts has been developed by several vendors [3]. This presentation references developments to make bolt inspection a relatively quick and easy task through adaptations to the SUSI submarine inspection platform, the extensive UT qualification work suitable for conventional UT plus more recent advanced nonlinear resonant techniques to distinguish between flawed or loose, vs. acceptable bolts where conventional UT cannot be applied. Initial evaluations show that these advanced techniques may have the ability to reliably detect smaller flaws than previously possible with conventional techniques as well as provide information on bolt tightness.

Initial Implementation of IHI Zone Logic Technology at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

1989 ◽  
Vol 5 (02) ◽  
pp. 79-89
Author(s):  
Koichi Baba ◽  
Takao Wada ◽  
Soichi Kondo ◽  
M. S. O'Hare ◽  
James C. Schaff
Keyword(s):  
Service Life ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Initial Application ◽  
Initial Implementation ◽  
Late Fall ◽  
The Future ◽  
Service Life Extension ◽  
Extension Program ◽  
Technical Services

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard's application of zone logic to ship overhaul is neither small nor isolated. PNSY started its implementation of zone logic in the late fall of 1986, targeting the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) as the initial application. The technical services of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (IHI), Japan were contracted to assist in this transition. This implementation on the Kitty Hawk is not a trial effort but involves about one third of the production man-days and covers over one half of the compartments on the ship. The actual SLEP production work on Kitty Hawk began in January 1988. Even though it is early in the three-year SLEP, zone logic already is proving its worth. This paper explains the zone logic methods and methodology applied at PNSY on Kitty Hawk. It also discusses the future of zone logic at PNSY and its continued application.

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