Fatigue Capacity of FPSO Structures

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of a joint industry project, addressing the problem of fatigue capacity of FPSOs (FPSO=ship shaped structures used for floating production storage and offshore loading). Spectral methods are becoming standard methodology for fatigue assessments of FPSOs. This methodology is well suited to numerical methods in combination with finite element representation of the global structure and structural details for response analyses. A proper link between calculated stress and fatigue capacity is required in order to achieve a reliable design. The project has generated significant amounts of numerical data as well as laboratory fatigue test data of typical ship details to improve the design basis for this. An overview of this project together with some links to the main results and recommendations from this project will be presented in this paper.