Effects of geometrical parameters on the degree of bending (DoB) in two-planar tubular DT-joints of offshore jacket structures subjected to axial and bending loads

Abstract

The fatigue life of tubular joints commonly found in offshore structures is not only dependent on the value of hot-spot stress (HSS), but is also significantly influenced by the through-the-thickness stress distribution characterized by the degree of bending (DoB). In the present research, data extracted from the finite element (FE) analyses carried out on 81 two-planar tubular DT-joint models was used to study the effects of geometrical parameters on the DoB values in DT-joints subjected to six different types of loading including two types of axial loading, two types of in-plane bending (IPB) moment loading, and two types of out-of-plane bending (OPB) moment loading. Generated FE models were validated using available parametric equations. The determination of DoB values in a tubular joint is essential for improving the accuracy of fatigue life estimation using the stress-life (SN) method and particularly for predicting the fatigue crack growth based on the fracture mechanics (FM) approach. Geometrically parametric investigation was followed by a set of nonlinear regression analyses to develop three DoB parametric formulas for the fatigue analysis and design of two-planar DT-joints.