• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.387-393
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• 2021

In this study, finite element analysis was performed to evaluate a method of increasing the fatigue life of the pipe connection structure commonly used in the topside structure of offshore platforms. MSC Patran/Nastran, a commercial analysis program, was used, and the critical structural model was selected from the global analysis. To realize the stress concentration phenomenon according to the load, modeling using 8-node solid elements was implemented. The main loads were considered to be two lateral loads and a tensile load on a diagonal pipe. To check the hotspot stress at the main location, a 0.01 mm dummy shell element was applied. After calculating the main stress at the 0.5-t and 1.5-t locations, the stress generated in the weld was estimated through extrapolation. In some sections, this stress was observed to be below the fatigue life that should be satisfied, and reinforcement was required. For reinforcement, a bracket was added to reduce the stress concentration factor where the fatigue life was insufficient without changing the thickness or diameter of the previously designed pipe. Regarding the tensile load, the stress in the bracket toe increased by 23 %, whereas the stress inside and outside of the pipe, which was a problem, decreased by approximately 8 %. Regarding the flexural load, the stress at the bracket toe increased by 3 %, whereas the stress inside and outside of the pipe, which was also a problem, decreased by approximately 48 %. Owing to the new bracket reinforcement, the stress in the bracket toe increased, but the S-N curve itself was better than that of the pipe joint, so it was not a significant problem. The improvement method of fatigue life is expected to be useful; it can efficiently increase the fatigue life while minimizing changes to the initial design.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.5A
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• pp.407-415
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• 2010

In Korea, more than 90% of the total number of steel bridges built for 40~70 m span length is a steel box-girder bridge type. A steel box-girder bridge is suitable for long span or curved bridges with outstanding flexural and torsional rigidity as well as good constructability and safety. However, a steel box-girder bridge is uneconomical, requiring many secondary members and workmanship such as stiffeners and ribs requiring welding attachments to flanges or webs. Therefore, in US and Japan, a plate girder bridge, which is relatively cheap and easy to construct is generally used. One type of the plate girder bridge is the two- or three-main girder plate bridge, which is a composite plate girder bridge that minimizes the number of required main girders by increasing the distance between the adjacent girders. Also, for the simplification of girder section, the stiffener which requires attachment to the web is not required. The two-main steel girder plate bridge is a representative type of plate girder bridges, which is suitable for bridges with 10 m effective width and has been developed in the early 1960s in France. To ensure greater safety of two- or three-main girder plate bridges, a larger steel section is used in the bridge domestically than in Europe or Japan. Also, the total number of two- or three-main girder plate bridge constructed in Korea is significantly less than the steel box girder bridge due to a lack of designers' familiarity with more complex design detailing of the bridge compare to that of a steel box girder bridge design. In this study, a new construction method called Turn Over method is proposed to minimize the steel section size used in a two- or three-main girder plate bridge by applying prestressing force to the member using confining concrete section's weight to reduce construction cost. Also, a full scale 20 m Turn Over girder specimen and a Turn Over girder bridge specimen were tested to evaluate constructability and structural safety of the members constructed using Turn Over process.