scholarly journals Spectral Method for Fatigue Damage Assessment of Structures with Uncertain Parameters

Author(s):  
Zhu Ying ◽  
Tian Yuji

This study presents a spectral method for fatigue damage evaluation of linear structures with uncertain-but-bounded parameters subjected to the stationary multi-correlated Gaussian random excitation. The first step of the proposed method is to model uncertain parameters by introducing interval theory. Within the framework of interval analysis, the approximate expressions of the bounds of spectral moments of generic response are obtained by the improved interval analysis via the Extra Unitary Interval and Interval Rational Series Expansion. Based on the cumulative damage theory and the Tovo-Benasciutti method, the lower and upper bounds of expected fatigue damage rate are accurately evaluated by properly combining the bounds of the spectral parameters of the power density spectral function of stress of critical points. Finally, a numerical example concerning a truss under random excitation is used to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method by comparing with the vertex method.

Author(s):  
Y. Liu ◽  
C. Shi ◽  
Z. Liu ◽  
J. Wang ◽  
X. Bao

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) excited by current is a major contributor to the fatigue accumulation of marine risers. For deepwater operations, several risers are often arranged together in an array configuration. In this study, a set of four identical flexible pipes of a rectangular arrangement were tested in a water tunnel. By comparing the dynamic responses of a pipe in an array with that of a single isolated pipe, the effects of the current speed and the center-to-center distance between the up-stream and downstream pipes on their dynamic responses were investigated. Fatigue damages accumulated on each pipe in an array was calculated and a factor, termed “fatigue damage amplification factor”, was defined as a ratio between the fatigue damage rate of pipe in an array and the fatigue damage rate of a single pipe at a same current condition. The results showed that for bare pipes (i.e., without helical strakes), the downstream pipes in an array configuration may have larger dynamic responses and fatigue damage rates than those of a single pipe; and, it is not always conservative to assume that the fatigue damage rate estimated for a single pipe can be used to represent the fatigue damage rates of pipes in an array. This preliminary study provided some meaningful results for the design, analysis and operation of marine riser arrays.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1096 ◽  
pp. 562-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Yu ◽  
Tao Hong ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Qing Yu Liang

Due to the superior structure style, orthotropic steel bridge deck has been getting more and more widely practical application. The static and fatigue tests of the orthotropic steel bridge deck models were carried out in this research paper, which presented the fatigue damage developing laws, compared the test results with homogeneous test results in existing documents, and according to the relative fatigue accumulative damage theory, the fatigue accumulative damage equations of the sectional specimen and the whole specimen are respectively studied.


Author(s):  
J. Kim Vandiver ◽  
Susan B. Swithenbank ◽  
Vivek Jaiswal ◽  
Vikas Jhingran

This paper presents results from two field experiments using long flexible cylinders, suspended vertically from surface vessels. The experiments were designed to investigate vortex-induced vibration (VIV) at higher than tenth mode in uniform and sheared flows. The results of both experiments revealed significant vibration energy at the expected Strouhal frequency (referred to in this paper as the fundamental frequency) and also at two and three times the Strouhal frequency. Although higher harmonics have been reported before, this was the first time that the contribution to fatigue damage, resulting from the third harmonic, could be estimated with some certainty. This was enabled by the direct measurement of closely spaced strain gauges in one of the experiments. In some circumstances the largest RMS stress and fatigue damage due to VIV are caused by these higher harmonics. The total fatigue damage rate including the third harmonic is shown to be up to forty times greater than the damage rate due to the vibration at the fundamental vortex-shedding frequency alone. This dramatic increase in damage rate due to the third harmonic appears to be associated with a narrow range of reduced velocities in regions of the pipe associated with significant flow-induced excitation.


Author(s):  
C. Shi ◽  
L. Manuel ◽  
M. A. Tognarelli

Slender marine risers used in deepwater applications can experience vortex-induced vibration (VIV). It is becoming increasingly common for field monitoring campaigns to be undertaken wherein data loggers such as strain sensors and/or accelerometers are installed on such risers to aid in VIV-related fatigue damage estimation. Such damage estimation relies on the application of empirical procedures that make use of the collected data. This type of damage estimation can be undertaken for different current profiles encountered. The empirical techniques employed make direct use of the measurements and key components in the analyszes (such as participating riser modes selected for use in damage estimation) are intrinsically dependent on the actual current profiles. Fatigue damage predicted in this manner is in contrast to analytical approaches that rely on simplifying assumptions on both the flow conditions and the response characteristics. Empirical fatigue damage estimates conditional on current profile type can account explicitly even for complex response characteristics, participating riser modes, etc. With significant amounts of data, it is possible to establish “short-term” fatigue damage rate distributions conditional on current type. If the relative frequency of different current types is known from metocean studies, the short-term fatigue distributions can be combined with the current distributions to yield integrated “long-term” fatigue damage rate distributions. Such a study is carried out using data from the Norwegian Deepwater Programme (NDP) model riser subject to several sheared and uniform current profiles and with assumed probabilities for different current conditions. From this study, we seek to demonstrate the effectiveness of empirical techniques utilized in combination with field measurements to predict the long-term fatigue damage and the fatigue failure probability.


1983 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Nash

A reasonably safe reliability approach to a fatigue damage theory can be based on the fact that, in most cases involving the public safety, the designer can accept only very low probabilities of failure by fatigue. Thus we must be almost exclusively concerned with the lower left-hand tails of the associated distribution functions. An approach to damage theory is presented based on this concept and its possible utility reviewed. The Weibull distribution is utilized with three parameters. Suggestions are made as to needed fatigue testing.


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