Ice induced low temperature fatigue crack propagation in offshore structural steel A131

To investigate the low temperature fatigue crack propagation behavior of offshore structural steel A131 under random ice loading, three ice failure modes that are commonly present in the Bohai Gulf are simulated according to the vibration stress responses induced by real ice loading. The test data are processed by a universal software FCPUSL developed on the basis of the theory of fatigue crack propagation and statistics. The fundamental parameter controlling the fatigue crack propagation induced by random ice loading is determined to be the amplitude root mean square stress intensity factor K-arm. The test results are presented on the crack propagation diagram where the crack growth rate da/dN is described as the function of K-arm. It is evident that the ice failure modes have great influence on the fatigue crack propagation behavior of the steel in ice-induced vibration. However, some of the experimental phenomena and test results are hard to be physically explained at present. The work in this paper is an initial attempt to investigate the cause of collapse of offshore structures due to ice loading.

Non-Linear Wave-Induced Transient Response of Soil Around a Trenched Pipeline

Submarine pipelines are always trenched within a seabed for reducing wave loads and thereby enhancing their stability. Based on Biot’s poroelastic theory, a two-dimensional finite element model is developed to investigate non-linear wave-induced responses of soil around a trenched pipeline, which is verified with the flume test results by Sudhan et al. [Sudhan, C.M., Sundar, V., Rao, S.N., 2002. Wave induced forces around buried pipeline. Ocean Engineering, 29, 533–544] and Turcotte et al. [Turcotte, B.R., Liu, P.L.F., Kulhawy, F.H., 1984. Laboratory evaluation of wave tank parameters for wave-sediment interaction. Joseph H. Defree Hydraulic Laboratory Report 84-1, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University]. Non-linear wave-induced transient pore pressure around pipeline at various phases of wave loading is examined firstly. Unlike most previous investigations, in which only a single sediment layer and linear wave loading were concerned, in this study, the influences of the non-linearity of wave loading, the physical properties of backfill materials and the geometry profile of trenches on the excess pore pressures within the soil around pipeline, respectively, were explored, taking into account the in situ conditions of buried pipeline in the shallow ocean zones. Based on the parametric study, it is concluded that the shear modulus and permeability of backfill soils significantly affect the wave-induced excess pore pressures around trenched pipeline, and that the effect of wave non-linearity becomes more pronounced and comparable with that of trench depth, especially at high wave steepness in shallow water.