Collapse comparison of offshore platforms before and after fire using plastic analysis and genetic algorithm

Abstract

PurposeOffshore structures are among the structures exposed to fire more often. Most of these structures are likely to be associated with flammable materials. In this research, some of the structures constructed on top of marine decks have been studied.Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose, the upper-bound theory of plastic analysis has been used to investigate its collapse behavior. In this way, genetic algorithm has been used for application of the combination of elementary mechanisms in the classic plastic analysis problem.FindingsThe studied structures are optimized by plastic analysis theory before and after the fire and their failure modes are compared with each other. The comparison of the results indicates significant changes in the load factor value, as well as the critical collapse mode of the structure before and after the fire.Originality/valueResults indicate that the combination of plastic analysis and a genetic algorithm can predict the collapse mode of the structure before and after the fire accurately.