This paper presents a computational fatigue assessment method of mooring chains under tensile loading, it is composed of a mechanical analysis followed by a fatigue analysis. The mechanical analysis is performed in two steps: residual stress prediction and service loading. From this analysis, the shakedown cycle is extracted at the critical points, ie: the asymptotically stabilized stress-strain cycles. As the mooring chain under service loading is under elastic shakedown, the Dang Van fatigue criterion is applied for the fatigue analysis. The accuracy of the proposed fatigue assessment method is proved by comparing with the experimental results from full-scale fatigue testing of mooring chain in seawater. The numerical results match both the experimental observations with respect to the localization of the damage zone and the lifetime.

Evaluation of corroded chain link for continued use or life extension is a challenging task for the industry. ABS, together with fifteen (15) participating organizations, initiated the Fatigue of Corroded Chains (FoCCs) Joint Industry Project (JIP) in 2016. The objective of the FoCCs JIP is to investigate methodologies for assessing remaining fatigue life of the corroded mooring chain used for floating production systems. The JIP scope includes fatigue testing in labs and finite element analysis (FEA) of corroded chain samples retrieved from six floating production facilities in West Africa and the North Sea. The participating organizations include oil majors, chain manufactures, consulting firms, and classification societies, which represent a pool of broad range of mooring knowledge and experience. Knowledge gained from the JIP will be summarized and used toward the development of guidance notes for assessing fatigue life of corroded mooring chain for the industry. Six sets of mooring chain samples with different corrosion conditions have been collected, cleaned and digitally scanned for fatigue testing and FEA. Procedures for testing and analysis have been developed with the objective of establishing commonly accepted methods. Different FEA procedures have been studied for making a better prediction of stress ranges of the corroded chain links. The findings from the fatigue testing and FEA will be utilized as basis for further development of the methods for fatigue assessment of corroded mooring chain. This paper summarizes the tests and FE analysis work for the selected chain samples. The JIP research work has found that corrosion, either general corrosion or local/pitting corrosion, can significantly reduce the chain fatigue capacity. The location and the geometry of corrosion pits have more impact on fatigue lives than the pit size. The JIP study has shown that FE analysis is an effective tool to capture the hot spot of corroded chain links and can provide insight in their fatigue performance. Different methods on the assessment of the stress range of a hot spot are compared and discussed.

Current standards (as an example, DNV-OS-E301[1] and API-RP-2SK[2]) do not account for mean load in the fatigue assessment of mooring chains. Both standards, provide S-N curves derived from experimental work without specifying the mean load for which they have been obtained or proposing a mean load correction function. This paper reports a fatigue analysis study of mooring chains under Tension Loading using a multiaxial fatigue criterion for two different mean loads. Multiaxial fatigue criteria enable to account directly for complex phenomena, such as residual stresses, non-proportionality of the stress tensor, among others. This paper presents an example of the implementation of the Dang Van fatigue criterion for studying the fatigue behavior of mooring chains under tension. It quantifies the effect of the mean load on the fatigue lifetime and the failure location. Furthermore, it also proposes a simplified approach to reduce the complexity and the computational time of the fatigue analysis using Dang Van fatigue criterion. The paper is organized as follows: in the first part an example of the fatigue assessment is reported. Two different loading conditions with the same load amplitude but different mean loads are studied. The assessment method is based on two steps: a mechanical analysis and a fatigue analysis. In the second part, a simplified fatigue assessment method is proposed. As part of this method, a ratio between the fatigue lifetimes of two loading conditions, which have the same load amplitude but different mean load, is formulated. This ratio has been obtained analytically using the geometric representation of the Dang Van fatigue Criterion. Finally, the paper ends with a discussion, based on recent works, regarding the formulation of the locus of the Dang Van criterion and the fatigue properties used for the calibration of this criterion.

This paper reports the results of a study conducted to investigate how residual stresses generated during the manufacturing process and subsequent proof loading may affect the fatigue life of mooring chains. The present paper shows the quantitative predictions of residual stress field obtained from finite element models of the fabrication process, and discusses their effect on the fatigue life of chain links depending on the loading mode. The models combine heat transfer analyses for the prediction of temperature histories during heat treatment (quenching and tempering), and stress analyses accounting for the thermo-mechanical history, including proof loading. The manufacturing conditions assumed for the models correspond to data obtained from a chain manufacturer. The predicted residual stress distribution is then combined with the fatigue stress range in service, due to either tension-tension loading or Out-of-Plane Bending (OPB). The effect of the residual stress distribution on the fatigue damage is discussed, and a sensitivity study on the assumptions used in the residual stress prediction is carried out. This determines for which loading conditions the modeling of the heat treatment stage can be neglected so that modeling of the proof loading step is sufficient for assessing the effect on fatigue life.

The last decade Equinor has taken a significant amount of mooring chains out of service. Typically, one mooring line for an offshore installation has been replaced. Purpose has been to assess whether current chain condition (corrosion and wear), make the remaining chains fit for further use. The chains have been subject to thorough inspection, break load testing and fatigue testing. Depending on results of the inspection and tests, the remaining mooring chains have either been replaced or found fit for further use. From one installation, smaller cracks on the inside of the crown of chain links have been observed. These cracks do not coincide with known fatigue hot spots or fatigue breakages from fatigue testing of chains. Many cracks are visible with the bare eye, and NDT techniques are not necessary for detection. Chains with such cracks have been subject to both break load testing and fatigue testing. Overload breakage and fatigue cracks have not occurred or developed from the cracks. Chain links with cracks have been dissected to investigate crack depth. Dissection has also aimed to assess the age of the cracks. Both chain links that have and have not been subject to full scale fatigue testing have been dissected. This paper presents example of the observed cracks, including details on link location in the mooring line, crack positions in links, and measured depth and length of cracks. The paper also discusses the different possible causes of the cracks, and whether the cracks are critical for the endurance of the chains.