Preliminary assessment of the mooring fatigue performance of a semi-submersible platform in time-domain utilizing fracture mechanics-based approach

Abstract

• Fully coupled dynamic analysis of platform-mooring system is performed in time-domain. • A self-integrated program is developed for mooring fatigue analysis through fracture mechanics-based approach. • Mooring fatigue performance of a submerged platform is studied through the remaining fatigue life at different positions of diverse lines. • The influence of corrosion on fatigue performance is investigated through a finite element model with gradual degradation. This paper aims to propose a universal time-domain fatigue evaluation method for mooring fatigue analysis of marine structures utilizing a fracture mechanics-based approach. First, the tension history of the mooring lines is calculated in the time-domain through hydrodynamic analysis and converted into mooring tension cycles with corresponding ranges via the rain-flow counting method. Subsequently, mooring fatigue performance is characterized through a self-integrated program which can realize the automatic crack propagation, Stress Intensify Factor (SIF) calculation and fatigue life prediction. Finally, a comparative study is implemented to further investigate the fatigue performance at different evaluation positions of various mooring lines under various corrosion rates. Results illustrate that fatigue life is relatively longer for mooring lines on the wave-ward side and greater at both ends of each line for the applied semi-taut mooring system. Most residual mooring fatigue life is more than 129 years with an initial surface crack of a = 0.5 mm, and the crack growth rate accelerates dramatically when reaching about 2.1% of the chain diameter. Remaining fatigue life decreases significantly under increasing corrosion rates, which is typically reduced by 39.4%, 48%, 47.8% and 38.6% for mooring lines 2, 5, 8, and 11 at 0.2 mm/year corrosion rate.