Offshore Steel Structures Research Articles

Study of Plasma Arc Underwater Penetration Processes in Steel Structures Covered with Non-conductive Materials

Recently, plenty of offshore platforms have faced decommissioning. Offshore steel structures covered with rust, mud, and barnacles require suitable cutting methods for their removal. The non-transferred plasma arc is highly efficient in cutting both conductive and non-conductive materials and is expected to play an important role in offshore demolition operations. This work aims to investigate the underwater penetration process of non-transferred plasma arcs on steel structures covered with non-conductive substances. The workpiece consisted of a 5 mm cement layer and a 10 mm steel plate, whose removal mass and hole morphology were recorded at several moments. It was found that the hole of the cement layer was larger than that of the steel plate, while the mass removal rate of the steel plate was much higher than that of the cement layer. The hole in the cement layer gradually changes from an inverted cone to a drum, and the hole in the steel plate is always an inverted cone. A combined heat source model with time variation is proposed based on the experimental results, and a 2D axisymmetric simulation model is developed. The error between the simulated and experimental hole dimensions was within 3.1%, proving that the proposed heat source model can reflect the heat process of the workpiece well.

Assessment of corrosion fatigue in welded joints using 3D surface scans, digital image correlation, hardness measurements, and residual stress analysis

Corrosion can significantly reduce fatigue resistance of steel constructions including offshore support structures. This can be attributed to either localized stress concentration caused by pitting corrosion or to embrittlement of the material during the corrosion process. In addition to the stress concentrations that can arise from pitting corrosion, offshore steel structures are characterized by a significant number of notches at weld seams, which may also cause stress concentrations. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the interaction between the pre-existing notches from welds and the notches from corrosion. Thus, reference material specimens as well as butt- and fillet-welded specimens from a mild steel S355 were investigated in this study. Before being stored in a salt spray chamber, the specimens were clean blasted as usually carried out for offshore support structures. After one month of exposure, the specimens were tested against fatigue and monitored by digital image correlation (DIC). The specimens were scanned with high-resolution 3D-scanners before and after corrosion exposure. In addition, material hardness and residual stresses were investigated to quantify the influence of corrosion on the material side and the influence from the welding process. It is shown that corrosion strongly influences the weld geometry. Both, individual pits and uniform corrosion are observed at the weld toe, which is relevant for fatigue. It was also shown that the fatigue strength of welded specimens depends not only on the geometry and its degradation by corrosion, but to a greater extent on the residual stresses present after corrosion. The residual compressive stresses applied by clean blasting were partly relieved by corrosion. The fatigue tests have shown increased fatigue strength after clean blasting and subsequent reduction due to corrosion. The fatigue strength of fillet welded specimen, for example, were increased from 74 N/mm2 in its as-welded condition to 158 N/mm2 through clean blasting. However, due to corrosion, fatigue strength decreases to 98 N/mm2.

Study of underwater plasma arc ignition and cutting process for surface nonconductive steel structures for offshore decommissioning

Plasma cutting is expected to play a significant role as a highly efficient thermal cutting method in offshore decommissioning. Offshore steel structures get covered with nonconductive substances such as rust, mud, and barnacles, which affect the ignition and maintenance of the plasma arcs. This study aimed to determine a suitable method for cutting steel structures covered with nonconductive substances. The entire process of the underwater plasma arc, including ignition, piercing, and cutting, was systematically studied experimentally. A multi-arc root state occurred during the ignition of the transferred plasma arc. In this state, the workpiece current is a significant signal for characterizing the piercing of nonconductive substances on the steel structure. The composite plasma arc exhibits better resistance to interference and a longer ignition distance. In lateral water flow, which was used to simulate ocean currents, the composite plasma arc pierced through 12-mm thick mild steel. Based on the experimental results, a novel cutting strategy was proposed, and a double-layered workpiece consisting of 8-mm thick cement and 12-mm thick mild steel was successfully cut. These findings may drive the application of plasma arc cutting in offshore decommissioning.

Fatigue strength assessment of welded joints in the marine environment

Welding is a commonly applied joining method in many applications in arctic and marine conditions, e.g., in ship and offshore structures, and energy production equipment. Such applications are usually subjected to fluctuating load conditions, and during a decades-long service, they may experience millions of load cycles. Consequently, fatigue strength design and acceptable flaw sizes in the welded details of these structures are among the most important design criteria. Multiple fatigue strength assessment approaches exist for assessing the fatigue strength of a welded detail. The present study introduces a numerical and analytical fatigue strength assessment, conducted on a non-load-carrying X-joint, which is a representative joint type used in many steel constructions. Fatigue analyses are carried out following the DNVGL-RP-C203 and BS7910:2013 fatigue design guidelines for offshore steel structures. The stress intensity factors (SIFs) for linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) analyses were obtained using three different methods: the weight function approach, the analytical equations provided in the IIW Recommendations, and by conducting numerical crack propagation analysis using the Franc2D software. All three methods had a good agreement particularly for short crack depths, indicating the applicability of the analytical approaches for the fatigue analyses. The results showed that the consideration of degree of bending at the welded detail is crucial due to the distinguishing notch stress factors of membrane and bending loading, and different stress distributions in the through-thickness direction. In addition, it was found that the LEFM-based fatigue life assessments are significantly more conservative than the life predictions obtained using the structural hot-spot and effective notch stress approaches.

Numerical Analysis on The Effect of Barge Motion to Jacket Lifting Process During Decommissioning

Offshore structure decommissioning is mandatory when an offshore oil and gas platform reaches the end of its service life. There are no less than 450 fixed offshore steel structures in Southeast Asia, and by 2030, more than 200 offshore fields will be terminated and need to be decommissioned. From an operational aspect, the decommissioning process is simply an inverse of installation. However, due to the structures' age and the uncertainties of the structural performance, the simple operation can be an obfuscating process. This paper discusses one of the most crucial processes during decommissioning: lifting. The dynamic performance of a lifted jacket in several rigging variations is investigated. We use a standard stern crane HLV (Heavy Lift Vessel) to simulate the process, with several wave attack angles. Sea condition is according to DNVGL benign wave during marine operation, with random waves generated using the JONSWAP spectrum. Coupled dynamics of HLV and jacket motion are analyzed .

Review of Fire-Related Damage of Steel Offshore Structures

Fixed offshore structures are continuously exposed to risk of hydrocarbon fire or cellulosic fire. Hydrocarbon fire generally causes more detrimental effect than cellulosic fire because the rapid increment of temperature gives little response time for people to evacuate the location or to put off the fire. Metallography tests have demonstrated that steel structures continuously exposed to temperature escalation from fires will lose their mechanical properties such as yield strength, tensile strength, toughness, hardenability and elastic modulus. Thus, to understand the structural response during fire, structural integrity assessment with revised steel mechanical properties is advised to be performed. The outcome of the analysis helps to identify the hotspots of the steel structures due to the fire and allow the investigation team to further perform detailed inspection and proposed structural repair to reinstate the integrity of the steel structures.

Assessment of Dynamic Effects of Wave Loads in Fatigue Analysis for Fixed Steel Offshore Structures

This paper presents an algorithm and develops a formula to evaluate the dynamic effect of wave loading on fixed steel offshore structures (jacket structures) through the fatigue damage ratio. Applying the algorithm and formula proposed in this paper to evaluate the dynamic effect of wave loads in fatigue analysis for 03 Jacket structures built at increasing water depth under one specific marine condition and provide specific recommendations on the limits of application of quasi-static and dynamic methods in the fatigue analysis of the jacket structures. This research is really necessary because currently, the current standards (API, DnV) only stop at evaluating the dynamic effects of wave loads acting on the Jacket structure in the strength analysis. These standards propose a limit for quasi-static or dynamic analysis based on the "3.0 s or 2.5 s rule" (use the quasi-static method when Tmax≤ 3.0 s or ≤ 2.5 s), and it is advised that they only apply to waters within the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This paper has demonstrated that it is not appropriate to use the specified standards for the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico to select the method of fatigue analysis of the jacket structure in marine conditions outside the study area of the standard. Hoped that this paper will be a reference for engineers when choosing a fatigue analysis method for jacket structures in specific marine conditions at the location where the jacket structure has been installed. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-02-016 Full Text: PDF

Effect of Damage on the Corrosion Performance of Thermal Spray Aluminium (TSA) Coating in Synthetic Seawater

A widely used coating system for corrosion mitigation of offshore steel structures is thermally sprayed aluminium (TSA). Even though these coatings have been used for decades, it is not always clear how they perform in service over long periods, particularly if damaged during installation or in service. To understand the corrosion behaviour of damaged TSA coatings in seawater and their tolerance to levels of damage, TSA coatings (1050 Al) were prepared on carbon steel substrates using wire arc spray and tested in synthetic seawater. Prior to testing, various levels of holidays or damage (~5%, 10%, 15% and 18%) reaching the steel substrate were drilled on the front surface of the coated specimens. Open circuit potential was measured and linear polarization resistance technique was used to calculate the corrosion rate. The work showed that the TSA coatings polarised steel to potentials below −800 mV (Ag/AgCl) at 25 °C, even in the presence of damage or holiday (up to ~18%). The SEM/EDX and XRD data confirmed the presence of brucite and aragonite in the damage region. The presence of damage impacted the short-term corrosion rate at the start, but did not significantly affect the overall corrosion performance of the TSA coatings in 420 days of testing.

Model Reference Adaptive Vibration Control of an Offshore Platform Considering Marine Environment Approximation

Adaptive control methods are suitable for offshore steel structures subject to harmful vibrations, as they employ reference models to adapt to coastal and nearshore physics. To decrease the dependence on the accurate characteristics of the offshore platform, a compensating measure containing the ocean environment is proposed in the adaptive control scheme. With incomplete states as the driving input, external loads are approximated using a wavelet neural network frame. Numerical experiments are conducted on a platform model with varying parameters to test the performance of the proposed adaptive controller. It is shown that the adaptive weights derived from the chosen Lyapunov function are qualified both theoretically and practically. The system-output-based adaptive controller overcomes the disadvantage of state loss. The compensated disturbance environment guarantees the reliability of the restored reference system based on mismatched physics. The designed estimator as a part of the adaptive controller compensates for the deviations of the environment between the reference and the practical, resulting in a desirable reduction in the excessive vibration.

Development of a new approach for corrosion-fatigue analysis of offshore steel structures

Corrosion-fatigue is known to be the dominant failure mechanism in offshore structures, such as offshore wind turbines, due to the constant exertion of cyclic loads in highly corrosive environments. In the present study, the existing corrosion-fatigue crack growth (CFCG) theories and models have been firstly reviewed and discussed, and subsequently a new approach has been proposed to accurately describe the corrosion-fatigue behaviour under various loading conditions and frequencies. To examine the validity of the proposed approach, fatigue crack growth experiments were conducted on S355G10+M medium strength steel compact tension, C(T), specimens at different load levels and frequencies. The experimental data were initially analysed using the traditional fracture mechanics parameter ΔK which was shown to have limitations at elucidating the effects of frequency on CFCG rates in the range of 0.2–0.5 Hz. Therefore, a new fracture mechanics parameter was developed that allows these effects to be seen and accounted for more clearly. Furthermore, a new CFCG model was developed, using the introduced fracture mechanics parameter, for predicting the crack growth rates in seawater from the short-term test data in air. The proposed model has been found to correlate well with experimental data from corrosion-fatigue experiments on S355G10+M from this study and S355J2+N structural steel data available in the literature.

Investigation of the effect of offshore fixed wind turbine blades on fatigue damage of bases in the Hengam region in Iran

Today, wind energy is considered as one of the most used types of renewable energy for electricity production. Over the past two decades, wind energy has been a major source of electricity, and electricity supply has been drastically increasing. Among the technologies available to generate electricity from wind, wind turbines play a major role, with offshore wind turbines playing a significant part. Offshore structures such as wind turbines, unlike other types of structures, are in a dynamic environment, the main forces generating this dynamic wave and wind environment, which impose significant structural vibrations, fatigue loads and significant loads on the blades, the turbine, structural platform, and other components import it. Welded joints and points in offshore structures are vulnerable to fatigue failure due to stress concentrations and intermittent environmental loading. Offshore structures have been exposed to shock forces and cyclic loads throughout their lifetimes, which cause the cyclic loads to cause fatigue in the joints. The dynamic forces of the waves gradually cause small cracks in the structural joints over time, and the expansion of these cracks at the weld foot and joints of the structural members reduces the overall stiffness of the joint and in some cases even removes the member from the location of connection. Much research has been done on the use of offshore wind energy, but despite the special attention of the worldwide scientific community on offshore wind energy extraction, there are still few studies domestically. Considering the water levels in the south of Iran and the platforms in the area will add to the importance of this study. The turbine structure will be examined to perform the research by using and inspiring DNV and API by-laws when the method is nonlinear. The case study will also cover the Strait of Hormuz and the time zone. This research is carried out using coding in Matlab as well as analysis in Bentley SACS finite element software which is dedicated to the design of offshore steel structures. The results indicate that the presence of the turbine blade geometry has a significant effect on the fatigue life of the retaining structure and the entire structure.

A Multidisciplinary Computational Framework for Topology Optimisation of Offshore Helidecks

Maintaining offshore steel structures is challenging and not environmentally friendly due to the frequent visits for inspection and repairs. Some offshore lighthouses are equipped with carbon steel helidecks fixed onto their lantern galleries in the 1970s to provide easy and safe access to maintenance staff and inspectors. Even though the helidecks supporting structures have maintained their integrity and are still functional in the offshore harsh environmental conditions, their inspection and maintenance remains a challenge due to the need of frequent visits which requires flying to the location of the lighthouse to bring the maintenance staff and equipment. We have developed a multidisciplinary computational framework to design new generation of aluminium helidecks for offshore lighthouses. We calculated the wind speed at the location of the Bishop Rock lighthouse based on the meteorological data, and the load distribution on the helideck due to such a wind condition, using computational fluid dynamic analysis. Then, we used the calculated wind load with other mechanical loads in the events of normal and emergency landings of a helicopter on this structure to find the best design configuration for this helideck. We generated a design space for different configurations of a beam structure and carried out, static, transient and buckling analysis to assess each case using finite element method. The selection criterion was set to find the structure with the minimum volume fraction and compliance while keeping the stress below the allowable stress. We found the structure with eight vertical and circumferential sections featuring two rows of diagonal bracing with one at the base and the other one at the third section from the base of the helideck was the optimum design for the considered loading in this work. This framework can be adopted for the design and optimisation of other offshore structures by other researchers and designers.

A data-driven prediction model for maximum pitting corrosion depth of subsea oil pipelines using SSA-LSTM approach

Pitting corrosion is considered to be one of the most dangerous failure forms of offshore steel structures, and corrosion depth is treated as an important indicator of corrosion condition. This paper presents a data-driven model to predict maximum pitting corrosion depth of subsea oil pipelines using the integrated SSA and LSTM approach. LSTM is utilized to learn the relationship between pipeline corrosion depth and its influencing factors. SSA with the strong global search ability and the fast convergence speed is used to optimize hyperparameters of LSTM model to improve its prediction accuracy. A total of 300 samples of maximum pitting corrosion depth of subsea oil pipelines are used to develop the data-driven model. These data are divided into training set and testing set to train and verify the model, respectively. The developed model is compared with LSTM alone and SSA-BP model. The results indicate that SSA-LSTM model performed superior in the prediction accuracy and robustness which evaluation parameters are the smallest values in these models (MAE = 8.84%; RMSE = 0.0607; MSE = 0.36%; MAPE = 9.58%). The developed model can serve as a useful online tool to support the digitalized safety of subsea process systems.

Corrosion-fatigue crack growth behaviour of wire arc additively manufactured ER70S-6 steel parts in marine environments

A crucial part of the structural integrity assessment of marine structures is the analysis of the fatigue crack growth behaviour of the welded joints in seawater environments, where the cracks often initiate and propagate under corrosion-fatigue loading conditions. In recent years, technological developments have facilitated the fabrication of steel components and structures using additive manufacturing technologies. Among the existing technologies, the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) technique has proven to offer great potentials for fabrication of large-scale structures. The present study investigates the corrosion-fatigue crack growth (CFCG) behaviour of the WAAM parts fabricated using ER70S-6 low carbon steel wire to assess the suitability of this technology for future marine structures. In this experimental study, the cracking behaviour and test duration in corrosion-fatigue tests were investigated and analysed in conjunction with the microstructural examination of the tested specimens. Moreover, the obtained results were compared with the recommended trends available in BS7910 standard for conventional welded joints and the data available in the literature on widely used offshore structural steel weldments. The CFCG results obtained from this study contribute to the overall knowledge and design requirements for the new optimised functionally graded structures made with WAAM technology for marine applications.

Influence of pitting corrosion on the fatigue strength of offshore steel structures based on 3D surface scans

Support structures for offshore wind turbines and the corresponding transformer platforms are highly susceptible to corrosion. In particular, the phenomenon of pitting is crucial, as it leads to local stress concentrations and thus affects the fatigue life of structures. Despite corrosion protection systems, corrosion cannot be completely avoided, which can lead to pitting corrosion on the steel surface. This leads to fatigue life reduction, since the structures are exposed to high dynamic loads. Local stress concentrations can be considered in local concepts but so far, corrosion effects in local concepts are insufficiently defined. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the impact of pitting corrosion and the corresponding stress concentration on the fatigue life endurance of structural steel, used for offshore wind support structures. For this purpose, a total of 36 pre-corroded specimens with pitting were tested against fatigue failure and monitored with Digital Image Correlation. In addition, the specimens were scanned with a high-resolution 3D scanner and converted to numerical models by reverse engineering, to determine the stress concentrations on the surface. In most cases the hotspots from the numerical model coincide with the crack location detected with Digital Image Correlation. The notch effect has a significant impact on the crack location and crack path.

The Formation Mechanisms and Evolution of Multi-Phase Inclusions in Ti-Ca Deoxidized Offshore Structural Steel

To understand and clarify the formation mechanisms and evolution of complex inclusions in Ti-Ca deoxidized offshore structural steel, inclusions in industrial steel were systematically investigated. The number density of total inclusions generally decreased from Ladle Furnace (LF), Vacuum Degassing (VD), Tundish to the final product except for Ti and Ca addition. The major inclusions during the refining process were CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-(MgO)-TiOx and CaO-Al2O3-SiO2. CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-(MgO)-TiOx inclusion initially originated from the combination of CaO-SiO2-(MgO) in refining slag or refractory and deoxidization product Al2O3 and TiO2. With the refining process proceeding and Ca addition, the Al2O3 concentration in the CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-(MgO)-TiOx inclusions gradually dropped while the CaO and TiO2 concentrations gradually increased. The CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 inclusions originally came from refining slag, existing as 2CaO∙ Al2O3∙ SiO2, and maintained a liquid state during the early stage of LF. After Ca treatment, it was gradually transferred to 2CaO∙ SiO2 due to Al2O3 continuously being reduced by Ca. The liquidus of 2CaO∙ SiO2 inclusion was higher than that of molten steel, so they presented as a solid-state during the refining process. After welding thermal simulation, CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-(MgO)-TiOx inclusions were proven effective for inducing intragranular acicular ferrite (IAF) while CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 was inert for IAF promotion. Additionally, Al2O3-MgO spinel in multiphase CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-(MgO)-TiOx inclusion has different formation mechanisms: (1) initial formation as individual Al2O3-MgO spinel as a solid-state in molten steel; (2) and it presented as a part of liquid inclusion CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-(MgO)-TiOx and firstly precipitated due to its low solubility.

Underwater strengthening and repairing of tubular offshore structural members using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers with different consolidation methods

Offshore structural steel members will need strengthening or repairing due to various reasons. Strengthening is often required due to work over demands or increased environmental loads. Repairing becomes essential as the steel members are usually severely corroded due to the marine conditions. Conventional hot work strengthening and repairing solutions become very expensive and retrofitting using Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) is an economical alternative. This paper investigates strengthening and repairing of offshore steel tubular members using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) with the help of experimental testing and an analytical study. Two different specimen sizes which were representative of members in offshore structures namely leg and brace were examined in the study. Partial length strengthening of steel tubular members subject to combined loading of axial compression and bending was carried out using different curing environments (in air and underwater curing). Strengthening and repairing of leg and brace specimens with multiple layers of CFRP retrofitted in underwater conditions were also investigated. Two different consolidation methods (underwater vacuum consolidation and underwater stricture consolidation) were compared with the help of full length strengthening of leg specimens. Although partial length strengthening proved to be less effective, partial length repairing of corroded tubular members were successful in restoring their intact capacity. Full length strengthening for underwater leg specimens were experimentally tested and it was found to improve the structural behaviour in many aspects like ultimate strength, load displacement behaviour, elastic slope, energy absorption, and ductility. A novel technique of underwater vacuum consolidation of retrofit laminates was demonstrated through a set of full length strengthened leg specimens. Underwater vacuum consolidation proved to be advantageous compared to the normal underwater stricture consolidation. An analytical check to identify whether a retrofitted tubular member would reach its target section properties was also introduced. Overall, the paper demonstrates multiple successful applications of FRP composites for underwater strengthening and repairing of offshore steel tubular members. Studies like this expanding the current knowledge on how the FRP retrofitted steel tubular behave within a real offshore structure are essential to increase the uptake of this technology in the oil and gas industry.

Estimation of Overall Fatigue Life of Jack-up Leg Structure

Jack-up platforms are designed to work in three conditions: Transit, Preloading and Operating. The fatigue life of the jack-up platforms in operating condition will be determined to be similar to that of offshore fixed steel structures. In preloading conditions, fatigue damage is usually ignored. Up to now, the fatigue damage of the jack-up leg structure in transit conditions has been calculated at approximately 20% of the total fatigue damage of the jack-up leg structure in two conditions (transit and operating). The approximate calculation method is usually accepted by consultants and register agencies. If the approximation is used, the fatigue life of the jack-up leg structure will be calculated only as for the jacket structure of the fixed offshore structure, with 80% of the allowable fatigue life based on standards. The approximation proved to have many disadvantages: the different travel times of each jack-up rig cannot be mentioned; hot spots that need to be maintained during the transit condition have not been pointed out; it is difficult to guarantee the safety of the jack-up leg structures in the transit condition. In order to overcome the limitations of the approximation method, this paper will propose a method to predict the overall fatigue life of the jack-up leg structure in three main problems. Firstly, we use the analysis method of fatigue of fixed steel offshore structures for jack-up leg structures in operating conditions. Secondly, we suggest a method to analyze the fatigue of the structures in transit conditions. Herein, motion analysis and determination of inertia forces on the leg structure are performed by the Boundary Element Model (BEM) in SACS software. Then the inertia forces are assigned to a Finite Element Model (FEM) in SACS to decide the internal forces of the structures. Hotspot stresses are determined by combining nominal stress from FE analysis results with a concentrated stress factor from the analysis of joint local models in the ANSYS program. Then, fatigue damage and fatigue life of hotspots of the structure are determined in the transit condition. Finally, a formula is suggested to determine total fatigue damage in operating conditions and transit conditions with different cases in relation to different fraction factors. These results are used to predict fatigue life corresponding to the most dangerous cases of structural joints. These new suggestions are applied to fatigue analysis for jack-up Tam Dao 05. Currently, the Tam Dao 05 platform has been operating in the Vietnam East Sea. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-03-06 Full Text: PDF

Corrosion in marine and offshore steel structures: Classification and overview

Marine services and industry have emerged as one of the most significant pillars of global economic growth. Corrosion of materials, on the other hand, is still the most important issue for marine structures and equipment. Corrosion is a major contributor to the degradation of marine and offshore structures. It has an effect on the life of process equipment, and might lead to structural failure, leakage, product degradation, contamination, and even death. It is important to investigate the mechanisms of material corrosion in the marine environment, as well as corrosion prevention methods, in order to make effective use of marine resources. Various mitigation techniques, like the utilization of coatings, cathodic protection, and corrosion allowance are utilized to protect offshore structures against corrosion. In general, the marine environment has a significant impact on the protection of offshore structures. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to give an overview about corrosion of marine structures, how it happens and some of the current prevention techniques.

Simultaneous Improvement in Mechanical Properties and Fatigue Crack Propagation Resistance of Low Carbon Offshore Structural Steel EH36 by Cu–Cr Microalloying

Improving the mechanical performance of low-carbon offshore steel is of great significance in shipbuilding applications. In this paper, a new Cu-Cr microalloyed offshore structural steel (FH36) was developed based on EH36. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and fatigue crack propagation properties of rolled plates of FH36, EH36, and normalizing rolled EH36 plates (EH36N) manufactured by a thermo-mechanical control process (TMCP) were analyzed and compared (to simplify, the two rolled specimens are signified by FH36T and EH36T, respectively). FH36T showed an obvious advantage in elongation with the value of 29%, 52.2% higher than the EH36T plates. The normalizing process led to a relatively lower yield stress (338 MPa), but substantially increased the elongation (33%) and lessened the yield ratio from 0.77 to 0.67. Electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis showed that SFs of the deformation texture of FH36T and EH36N along the transverse direction (TD) and normal direction (ND) were much higher than those of the EH36T plate, which enhanced the lateral movement ability in the width and thickness direction, enhancing the ductility. Moreover, FH36 plates showed a better fatigue crack propagation resistance than rolled EH36 plates. The formation of the jagged shape grain boundaries is believed to induce a decrease of effective stress intensity factor during the fatigue crack propagation process.