Location-based fatigue damage assessment on an FPSO by the spectral analysis method

Abstract

Floating production storage and offloading ships (FPSOs) are offshore platforms positioned at a location and operating at different loading conditions and corresponding draughts. Due to their static location, they get subjected to continuous fluctuating loads due to the sea environment. For these reasons the fatigue damage prediction of an FPSO is essential. The emphasis of this study is on the effect of fatigue damage at critical joints of critical structural members under the influence of vertical and horizontal bending in isolation and combination. The method considers an FPSO of 320m length for a case study, selecting a total of fourteen such structural member locations along the periphery at its midship section. The analysis considers two necessary loading conditions namely, fully loaded and ballast condition. The study uses spectral fatigue analysis method wherein the bending moment transfer function generates the stress transfer function, which in turn helps to generate the power spectral density function. Combining the spectral moments with Palmgren-Miner rule gives the cumulative fatigue damage of the FPSO. The results provide an insight into the variation in fatigue damage concerning the location of the structural member under the influence of vertical and horizontal bending moments.