Abstract
Abstract This study suggests relevant finite element (FE) formulations for the structural analysis of offshore blast walls subjected to blast loadings due to hydrocarbon explosions. The present blast wall model adopted from HSE (2003) consists of a corrugated panel and supporting members, and was modelled with shell, thick-shell, and solid element combinations in LS-DYNA, an explicit finite element analysis (FEA) solver. Stainless and mild steels were employed as materials for the blast wall model, with consideration of strain rate effect throughout ten (10) pulse pressure load regimes. The obtained FEA results were validated by experimental data from HSE (2003) with decent agreement. In the present study, recommended FE formulations with additional hourglass control functions were widely discussed from the perspectives of solution accuracy and computational cost based on a statistical approach. The obtained outcomes could be used for the structural analysis and design of offshore blast walls in the estimations of maximum and permanent deformations under blast loadings.
Highlights
Among the most significant historical incidents are Piper Alpha in 1988, which sacrificed the lives of 167 crew members and Deepwater Horizon in 2010, during which approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) resulting in a long-term environmental damage
APPLIED EXAMPLE In the present section, performance of pre-selected LS-DYNA element types, i.e. thin-shell, thick-shell and solid for modelling of the target blast wall were investigated through which relevant finite element (FE) formulations were selected for further numerical studies with recommendations
Reduced integration (RI) elements are favourable in explicit dynamics analyses, given its high speed and robustness under high structural distortions, whereas full integration (FI) elements are more typical in implicit analyses
Summary
Kim et al Recommended Finite Element Formulations for the Analysis of Offshore Blast Walls in an Explosion steel corrugated blast walls, through experimentation, analytical, and numerical studies. Louca et al (2004) summarized the advantages and limitations of analytical single degree of freedom (SDOF) or the Biggs’ method (Biggs, 1964) and numerical nonlinear finite element method (NLFEM) for structural blast analyses The performance of both methods was compared and highlighted by Sohn et al (2013) based on pressure-impulse (P-I) diagrams. The aim of the present study is to recommend relevant finite element (FE) formulations for blast simulation of a corrugated blast wall model by assessing the performance of the shell and solid elements with the aid of hourglass control functions in LS-DYNA. Ng and Hwang (2017) conducted research on FE formulations on limited number of scenarios and extended results can be provided by the present study
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