An assessment of the fatigue and remaining static strength performance of ring stiffened joints
- Culham Lab., Abingdon (United Kingdom). Marine Technology Support Unit
- TWI, Cambridge (United Kingdom)
Ring-stiffened tubular joints are widely used in the construction of tubular steel jackets for offshore installations. Experimental test data relating to the fatigue performance behavior of these types of joints are limited when compared to the available data for unstiffened tubular joints. A recently completed joint industry funded project involving the fatigue testing of ten full scale ring-stiffened joints at TWI, in which the Health and Safety Executive was a participant, has added significantly to the understanding of the fatigue behavior of these types of joints. The findings from this study revealed significant differences between the fatigue behavior of ring-stiffened and unstiffened joints. As a result of these findings the HSE undertook a further study at TWI to examine in more detail these differences. The study concentrated on evaluating the extent of internal and external cracking that occurred during the fatigue life of the ring stiffened joints and compare this with that obtained from unstiffened joints. From these evaluations further re-assessments were undertaken to evaluate the fatigue and remaining static strength performance of ring-stiffened joints. This paper presents the findings of this study and identifies a number of important features which should be considered when undertaking future assessments to evaluate the fatigue and remaining static strength performance of ring-stiffened joints.
- OSTI ID:
- 403643
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9606279--; ISBN 0-7918-1492-0
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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