Introduction

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

Circular Hollow Sections (CHS) are widely used as structural elements in buildings,

bridges, railway stations, airports and offshore platforms. The broad application of CHS

elements attributes to its excellent properties in resisting compression, tension, bending

and torsion loadings. The circular sections have been proved to provide the optimal shape

for wind and wave loadings due to their low drag coefficients. The aesthetic

characteristics of circular sections often please many architects. Furthermore, the

significantly smaller surface area of CHS members requires less protection and

maintenance against corrosion as compared to open sections.

Jacket platforms, consisting of an open tubular steel space-frame construction supported

by a pile foundation, are mostly built from circular or rectangular hollow sections due to

the above-mentioned properties. Steel space frames, as exemplified in Fig. 1.1, take the

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 Introduction

dominant form for permanent platforms since the first modern offshore structure was

built in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast in 1947 in a water depth of 6 m. Since

then, more than thousands of jacket platforms have been erected in water depth of around

30 m to over 400 m around the world.

Fig. 1.1 Typical offshore platforms: jackets and jack-ups.

The choice of bracing systems in jacket/jack-up structures depends on the expected

dominant loading conditions. For jackets installed in seismic active regions, a bracing

scheme with sufficient redundancy is required. There are several basic bracing schemes

frequently adopted in practice, as shown in Fig. 1.2. Different bracing patterns are

selected to cater for different loading conditions. For example, K-braces are preferred

when the vertical forces are large, while X-braces offer additional redundancy.

Diagonal brace K-brace X-brace

Fig. 1.2 Basic bracing systems in offshore platforms.

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 Introduction

The ultimate response of a jacket or jack-up platform under extreme environmental

conditions depends primarily on the strength and stiffness of local components, which

include joints and members. An accurate evaluation of the global frame behavior requires

correct representations of the local joint and member. The historical development of

nonlinear frame analysis has formed a strong basis to analyze the nonlinear member

behavior (Hellan, 1995; Skallerud and Amdahl, 2002). Nonlinear CHS joint responses

under static loading have been investigated over the last four decades. However, the

understanding up to now is still not complete. The established joint databases world-wide

do not encompass sufficient geometric ranges for connections in real structures.

1.2. Motivation

The offshore platforms are conventionally designed for extreme environmental loading

caused by wave, wind and current. The current practice for analyzing offshore structures

is based on a linear-elastic analysis of the global structure. An ultimate strength criterion

is then applied on the component (joint or member) level. The structural failure is defined

with reference to the first component failure. This practice ignores the reserve strength

offered by many sources such as alternative load paths, simplifications of frame stability

by column stability, strain hardening, member plastic bending capacity, etc.

Most of the operating offshore platforms were designed with a lifetime of twenty years.

Yet, many of them are still in operation after thirty or forty years of service. Re-

assessment and repair of these older platform structures require advanced nonlinear frame

analysis, in which accuracy is the primary objective.

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 Introduction

An accurate evaluation of nonlinear frame response offers a more economical design for

new platforms and an appropriate approach for re-assessment and repair of aged

structures. The essence of the frame analysis, however, relies on accurate representations

of the nonlinear joint behavior, which is not fully understood at present.

CHS joints are constructed by welding the secondary member, the brace, onto the

primary member, the chord. Figure 1.3 denotes the configuration of a typical CHS K-

joint, with the practical non-dimensional geometric parameters listed. CHS joints are

traditionally classified based on both their geometry and loading conditions. The common

types of uni-planar CHS joints include: X-, T-, K- and DK- (double K) joints.

d1 t1 β = d1 /d0;
Brace γ = d0 /2t0;
τ = t1 /t0;
α = 2l0 /d0;
g g’ = g /t0
θ t0
Crown point

d0
Saddle point

l0 Chord

Fig. 1.3 Configuration of a typical CHS K-joint.

The joint capacity and stiffness can be evaluated based on the non-dimensional

parameters listed in Fig. 1.3. The brace to chord diameter ratio, β, directly determines the

brace-chord intersection area, and the possible load paths under different loading

conditions. The chord radius to wall thickness ratio, γ, contributes to the chord wall

resistance to bending, membrane action and shearing. The brace to chord wall thickness

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 Introduction

ratio, τ, affects the stress distribution from the brace to chord around the brace-chord

intersection. A very small τ value may cause ‘pre-mature’ brace local buckling before the

full joint capacity could be mobilized. The chord length to radius ratio, α, may induce

chord bending effect for T-joints under brace axial load and for K-joints with unbalanced

brace axial load. A smaller α also introduces chord end constraining effect on the joint

regardless of the joint configuration. The gap ratio for K-joint, g’, has an effect on the

load transfer within the gap, which is the critical load path for K-joints.

Joint capacity provisions in design codes are generally empirical due to the complicated

interaction between shell bending, punching shear and membrane action which forms the

basis of tubular joint strength. The code formulations develop from screened joint

databases worldwide. However, the available databases do not include sufficient data for

thick-walled joints, which is defined in the present study as joints with chord radius to

thickness ratio (γ ) less than 10.

Tubular joints under compression loading generally comply with the assumption of

continuum mechanics, on which many finite element (FE) codes are based. However, in

joints where the dominant action is tension, the potential development of fracture failure

may destroy the continuity in material and geometry. The primary assumption of

continuum mechanics is therefore no longer valid. Alternative approaches need to be

employed before the FE results could be relied upon with a sufficient level of confidence.

The initiation and propagation of crack remain as a “black-box” to the design engineers

and researchers world-wide at present.

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 Introduction

As failure of joints redistributes the load in the global frame system, the frame stiffness

and capacity relies on the critical joint components. The generalization of load-

deformation characteristics for different joint configurations is therefore the key to

successful frame analyses.

1.3. Objectives and Scope of Research

The primary objective of the current thesis is to integrate the nonlinear CHS joint

characteristics in the global structural behavior under predominantly static loading

condition. Cyclic and fatigue loadings are not within the scope of the current study. The

objectives of the research work are:

• To investigate the static strength and nonlinear joint behavior for different types

of joint configurations: X-, T-, K- and DK- joints;

• To generalize the load-deformation characteristics of different types of joints;

• To investigate the global frame behavior with appropriate account of the local

joint flexibility.

Figure 1.4 illustrates the scope of the research work. In the joint study, the verification

study ensures the accuracy of FE models built by an automatic mesh generating program

developed using Patran Command Language (PCL). The new joint strength definition

proposed based on Gerdeen’s plastic load approach minimizes uncertainties among

different joint strength definitions. The Gurson model, which simulates the plastic

behavior of porous metal, addresses the ductile fracture failure of tubular joints under
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 Introduction

brace tensile loads. These approaches have been incorporated into the study for four

different types of joints.

Thick-walled

Joint load-deformation
X- joint
Verification of FE

Phenomenological
characteristics –

representation
models

Frame Study
Thick-walled
Joint study

T- joint New strength

Thick-walled definition
K- joint Gurson’s model
for fracture failure
Thick-walled
DK- joint

Fig. 1.4 Scope of the research work

1.4. Contents of the Current Thesis

Chapter Two summarizes the previous experimental and numerical research on the

offshore structural frames and CHS tubular joints. Chapter Three verifies the finite

element approach for the nonlinear analyses of circular hollow section joints. Chapter

Four presents the new joint strength definition based on the Gerdeen’s plastic limit load

approach. Chapter Five addresses the Gurson model simulation on ductile fracture failure

for different tubular joints. Chapters Six and Seven illustrate the FE findings on CHS X-,

T-, K- and DK-joints. Chapter Eight presents the nonlinear joint spring model based on

the results in Chapters Six and Seven. The verification study based on BOMEL and

Kurobane’s frames is carried out. Realistic jacket structures are analyzed with the

proposed joint model.

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