Health monitoring system for offshore platform with fiber Bragg grating sensors

Abstract

Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors show superior potential for structural health monitoring of civil structures to ensure their structural integrity, durability, and reliability. In this work, FBG sensors, including strain and temperature sensors, are applied for health monitoring of the oil production offshore platform number CB271, which is located in the Bohai Sea, East China. The procedure of FBG sensor installation during platform construction, as well as model validation in a laboratory under a variety of loading conditions on a seismic simulation shaking table, is also presented. In the tests, FBG strain sensors are placed as a strain rosette on the surface of the platform central pillar, and an FBG temperature sensor is installed close to those strain sensors for temperature compensation. The FBG sensors have been in operation for one year without any significant reduction of working performance. Strain responses induced by the impacts of ocean waves and the ship's hundred tons of weight are monitored on site successfully. The fundamental frequency of the platform identified by the results of the FBG sensors agrees well with that obtained by theoretical analysis. In the monitoring, FBG sensors exhibit excellent performance and higher tolerance to harsh environments in the long-term real-time health monitoring of ocean offshore platforms.