Determination of Reserve Strength Ratio for a Jacket Substructure Supporting an

Offshore Wind Turbine

1. Static Pushover Analysis

Static pushover analysis has been widely used as a tool to investigate the ultimate strength of
jacket structures [1]. The value of ultimate strength derived from the pushover analysis in
turn determines the Reserve Strength Ratio (RSR), which serves as an estimate of the
capability of the structure to survive loads in excess of the design values [2]. Ultimate
strength analyses serve as a means to identify the critical structural members of the jacket,
thereby aiding the planning and scheduling of inspection and repair schemes [3]. The RSR is
defined as the ratio of base shear at collapse to that at the 100-year environmental load [4].
Static pushover analyses were conducted, by first applying the time invariant dead loads self-weight of the structure and the static wind toad at the tower top - were first incremented
to a factored value of unity, followed by gradually increasing the lateral environmental (wave
and current) loads, till the structure collapses. [4]. The maximum of wave loads are identified
using Stokes' 5th order wave theory. The RSR was calculated using the following formula
[2]:
RSR

BScollapse
BS100

where BScollapse is the base shear at collapse, and BS100, that at the 100-year design load. The
latter is identified in USFOS with an environmental load factor of 1, while the former is the
maximum base shear corresponding to structural collapse. The operating and storm wave date
for a location off the western coast of India (74m water depth), has been taken from a
published thesis [5].
Wave and Current Data (Reproduced from [5]):
Wave data:- operating case
Direction
All eight directions

Wave height (m)

12.2

Wave period (s)

11.0

Wave data:- extreme load case - 100 year storm

Directio
n
N
N 45 W
W
S 45 W
S
S 45 E
E
N 45 E

Wave height (m)

Wave period (s)

15.09
16.77
17.07
17.68
18.00
14.48
13.26
16.00

13.0
13.7
13.9
14.2
14.4
12.5
11.8
13.8

Current speed data:- operating case

Elevation from mudline (m)
0
25
50
75

Current speed (m/s)

0.45
0.77
0.92
1.10

Current speed data:- extreme load case - 100 year storm

Direction
N
N 45 W
W
S 45 W
S
S 45 E
E
N 45 E

Current speed (m/s) and elevation from mudline (m)

0 (m)
25 (m)
50 (m)
75 (m)
0.51
0.97
1.19
1.40
0.31
0.69
0.86
1.02
0.21
0.61
0.75
0.90
0.27
0.66
0.82
0.99
0.37
0.81
1.02
1.21
0.31
0.72
1.08
1.20
0.25
0.65
0.83
0.95
0.25
0.65
0.82
0.98

2. Results
The maximum base shear on the platform, for operating and extreme load cases, considering
the directionality of waves and currents are tabulated below.
Base shear for operating and extreme load cases:Direction
N
N 45 W
W
S 45 W
S
S 45 E
E
N 45 E

Operating Condition (MN)

Fixed
Piles
6.28
2.67
5.92
2.44
5.28
1.91
4.35
1.07
4.03
0.42
4.35
1.07
5.28
1.91
5.92
2.44

Extreme Condition (MN)

Fixed
Piles
11.00
4.81
9.31
4.03
8.16
3.26
8.19
2.60
9.74
2.76
6.67
2.05
5.72
2.47
8.50
3.75

Pushover analyses performed with respect to the 100-year loading (wave and current), yield
the ultimate strength. This can in turn be used to determine the RSR, using the equation given
in section1. In the present analysis, the wind load is represented as a static point load acting
on the top of the tower, representing the parked condition of the OWT. USFOS detects the
collapse regime using a current stiffness parameter, which will be negative in the postcollapse range, with an accompanying sign-reversal for the load increment [6]. The values of
ultimate strength along with the calculated RSRs are given in the table below.

RSR:Direction
N
N 45 W
W
S 45 W
S
S 45 E
E
N 45 E

Extreme Condition (MN)

Fixed
Piles
11.00
4.81
9.31
4.03
8.16
3.26
8.19
2.60
9.74
2.76
6.67
2.05
5.72
2.47
8.50
3.75

Ultimate Strength (MN)

Fixed
Piles
57.16
30.65
51.60
21.32
52.73
28.28
53.30
23.19
57.05
29.44
53.31
23.50
56.93
27.70
51.78
21.22

RSR
Fixed
Piles
5.20
6.37
5.54
5.29
6.46
8.67
6.51
8.92
5.86
10.67
8.00
11.46
9.95
11.21
6.09
5.66

3. References
1. Golafshani, A.A, Bagheri, V., Ebrahimian, H. and Holmas, T. (2011), Incremental wave
analysis and its application to performance-based assessment of jacket platforms, Journal
of Constructional Steel Research, 67, 1649 - 1657
2. Kurian, V. J., Voon, M.C., Wahab, M.M.A. and Liew, M.S. (2013), Reliability of Jacket
Platforms in Malaysian Waters - Pushover and Regression Analysis Methods in Obtaining
Reserve Strength Ratio, IEEE Symposium on Business, Engineering and Industrial
Applications, Kuching, Malaysia
3. Potty, N.S., and Akram, M.K.B.M., (2009), Structural Integrity Management for Fixed
Offshore Platforms in Malaysia, World Academy of Science, Engineering and
Technology, 58, 1079 - 1087
4. Solland, G., Hellan, O., Bolt, H., Fuglum, I. and Yasseri, S. (1999), Best Practice
Guidelines for Use of Non-linear Analysis Methods in Documentation of Ultimate Limit
States for Jacket Type Offshore Structures, DNV-SINTEF -BOMEL
5. Vishnu, C. (2013), Pushover Analysis of Wellhead Platform in Mumbai High, Masters'
Thesis of the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, India
6. SINTEF Group (2001). USFOS Getting Started. Structural Engineering, Marintek,
SINTEF Group