Structural Design Considerations

Dr. Eng. Rudi W. Prastianto

 Materi

• Definisi Lambung (Hull) dan Geladak (Deck)

• Pertimbangan dalam Disain Struktur:
➢ Umum
➢ Kekuatan Lokal (Local Strength)
➢ Kekuatan Global (Global Strength)
➢ Kekuatan Tekuk (Buckling Strength)
➢ Kelelahan (Fatigue)
1. Definisi Lambung (Hull) dan Geladak (Deck)
• Istilah Lambung (“hull”) → umumnya berarti bagian dari struktur
anjungan/bangunan laut (platform) yang memiliki daya apung
(buoyancy).
• Di dunia industri lepas pantai → istilah geladak (“deck”) umumnya
berarti bangunan atas (superstructure) yg berfungsi untuk menyangga.
• Tetapi dalam konteks pembahasan dalam “hull” → istilah geladak juga
digunakan untuk menyebut permukaan horisontal datar yg memisahkan
kompartemen di dalam hull.
• Untuk membedakan dalam pembahasan hull structures , maka →
• Deck structure above and between the columns will be referred to as the
“superstructure.”
• The term “deck” will be reserved to refer to the horizontal, local parts of the
superstructure.
Note:
• Most production structures, spars, TLPs, & most semi-submersibles → the
superstructure deck is a physically separate structure.
• Semi-submersibles and TLPs → the pontoons, columns, deck and bracing system
compose a single, integral structural system.
2. Structural Design Considerations

a) General
• Structural design of floating platforms can be broken down in
two fundamental levels:
1. Local Strength
2. Global Strength
• The buckling strength → stresses from both global and local
effects.
• The fatigue strength → usually related to global environmental
loading → also possible fatigue situations related to local
loading (both environmental & functional loads).
a) General (cont. …)
• The design of most structural steel on floating platforms is based
upon local loading and most of this is based upon
gravity/buoyancy loading.
• Buoyancy loading, while distinct, is a gravitational load. The
demands of global loading are primarily met with reinforcement
(increased thickness) of plating otherwise in-place for local load.
With braces on semisubmersibles, however, given their purpose,
the global load governs their design.
• As with the rest of the hull, most superstructure design is based
upon local load, however, many of the main girders are part of the
space frame bracing and subject to considerable global loading,
particularly with hull-type superstructures.
b) Local Strength
• Design for local loading is mostly based upon empirical, classification rules and
gravity buoyancy loading, although stress-based checks are made for some
components.
• Steel sized according to these rules is generally referred to as “basic scantlings.”
The empirical equations given in the scantling rules have been long established
and are the product of considerable service experience and research. They
reflect the intended service, including effects of environmental loading,
dynamics, corrosion and maintenance.
• Loading on the pontoons and the columns is generally expressed as an
equivalent hydrostatic head. Local design in the superstructure is primarily
based upon rated, distributed deck load. Regardless of load, a number of
minimums are specified, the superstructure bulkheads being an example.
b) Local Strength (cont. …)
• The loaded structure functions also in a global context. Pontoons and the
column shell plating, while locally designed for hydrostatic loading, assembled
as a hull element, are the primary strength elements too. Figure A shows the
assembled hull element as part of the hull global strength system of several
typical floating offshore structure forms.
• Hull elements, given their large cross-sectional size, have sufficient sectional
properties to keep global stresses very low. Only the column-to-pontoon and
the superstructure-to-column connection have high stresses, and these are
usually concentrations due to internal structure that are moderated with
reinforcements.
• The most important global stress related area interacting with the local design
is the connections of the braces with the columns, with the superstructure, and
with each other.
Structural Design
Considerations
c) Global Strength
• Consideration of global strength uses stress-based, rational analysis
to examine the entire structure as a space frame or, in the case of a
ship-type hull or a spar, as a single slender beam. Both the
distributed gravity buoyancy loading and the combination with
environmental loading are applied.
• In addition to the effects of wind, current, and wave load,
environmental loading includes the inertial forces due to vessel
motions and also the reactions of mooring lines or tendons. The
wave loading and the corresponding inertia load are the most
important environmental load on floating structures.
• In some cases, transportation and/or installation loading can form
controlling design loads. This is particularly the case for spar
platforms, in that they are built and transported horizontally, and
upended offshore. In this case, the wave loads during transportation
and gravitational and buoyancy loads during upending may be the
most critical global loads.
c) Global Strength (cont. …)

• The Classification Rules (ABS, DnV) lay out a rational, allowable

stress-based design basis which is, in essence, an adoption of
the 1967 AISC Code (both since evolved).
• Particularly notable are the separate factors of safety for
gravity load only and the combination of extreme
environmental loading with gravity load, the latter allowing
an elevated allowable stress.
c) Global Strength (cont. …)
d) Buckling Strength
• Buckling load is the compressive load applied to a structural
member from opposite sides.
Normally, pillars are subject to buckling load when load is
applied axially. Also in-plane compressive loads on welded
structures such as stanchions, stiffeners and plated structures
are also subjected to buckling due to in-plane compressive
loading.
• Most floating platform designs are controlled by the local and
global strength considerations. Buckling may be controlled in
special cases of slender chords and braces in truss structures
and the upper deck of a ship shaped vessel that is subjected to
a hogging condition under still water loading conditions.
d) Buckling Strength (cont. …)

• The DnV Classification Note 30.1 (or its most recent designation)
is widely used for the buckling analysis of stiffened plate.
• A structure can withstand a certain amount of deformation due
to buckling before failure when compressive stress crosses the
material yield stress.
• In case of ships, members are subject to complex buckling load
situations such as eccentric loading, uncertain in-plane loading
and bi-axial compression. Such cases are conventionally taken
care of by taking adequate factor of safety.
e) Fatigue
• Except for designs that do not rely on space frame bracing, fatigue is almost
invariably in the bracing connections to the columns or to other braces,
invariably at a weld, and usually associated with a known form of stress
raiser.
• Connections of the superstructure at the column tops can be critical to
fatigue loading. Brace connections to the superstructure sometimes
experience a form of low cycle fatigue, but this is not amenable to the
conventional fatigue analysis, only the highest waves cause the problem
and the relationship to waves is highly non-linear.
• Fatigue constitutes a major source of local damage in marine structures.
The local damage can be initiation of a crack which can spread and
subsequently form a brittle fracture causing major structural failure. The
effects of fatigue are especially severe in regions of high stress
concentration.
• High stress concentration can be due to design inadequacy or due to
faulty production process or degradation of material due to corrosion.
Fatigue damage can be avoided by taking proper care at the design stage
and regular inspection of vulnerable regions for detection and repair of
fatigue cracks.
e) Fatigue (cont. …)
• Most of the 4th generation drilling semis and almost all the
production semis are not braced and resist global loading mostly
by frame bending, with moment/shear transfer at the column
ends. This is more prevalent in the longitudinal direction, where
it is found that the pontoons provide adequate shear strength.
Where such high moment connections are employed, stress
concentration and local analyses with respect to global strength
as well as fatigue become more problematic. However, section
geometry tends to provide considerable strength with moderate
plating thickness.
e) Fatigue (cont. …)
• Fatigue design is important for ships and spars in the framing close to the waterline.
Also, the transition between the truss and “hard tank” of a truss spar is a critical area
for fatigue. This is identical to the connection of the superstructure to the hull
structure in many respects.
• In a ship considered to be a girder in longitudinal bending, there are hot spots which
are subject to failure due to cyclic loading. Such hot spots are generally the joints of
primary members with longitudinal stiffeners and other areas of stress concentration
such as corners of hatch openings. At such locations, hot spot stresses are assessed.
Such stresses are amplified for notch toughness, for corrosive environment, type of
local loading such as type of dry bulk cargo, liquids such as fuel oil, water ballast or
cargo oil and material based on thickness of plating used. This amplified stress is the
equivalent fatigue stress for which corresponding cycles for failure can be determined.
• Taking the life of the ship into consideration, a damage parameter is estimated for a
particular loading condition. This process is repeated for different loading conditions
at the end of which a cumulative damage parameter is established which should be
within a predefined limit for the life of the product considered.