A finite element study of stress fields and stress intensity factors in tubular joints

Abstract

This paper reports a study on the determination of stress intensity factors in tubular joints in offshore jacket structures. Using finite elements, information on stress concentration factors and through-thickness stress distributions was first obtained from uncracked geometries. This was correlated with the stress intensity factors in joints containing semi-elliptical cracks which were modelled with line-spring elements. The validity of the numerical models was established, using a simple T-joint, by comparing the results with existing experimental data and results from three-dimensional finite element analyses. Various modelling assumptions used in previous numerical work were critically examined. The multi-planar effects in tubular joints were simulated by subjecting the out-of-plane braces to various loadings and restraints. It was found that a relationship exists between the stress concentration factor, the degree of bending and the stress intensity factor for the various loading and restraint cases considered, and that the stress intensity factors in multi-planar tubular joints can be estimated by suitably modifying an existing empirical equation for surface cracks in plain plates.