This paper demonstrates the implementation of an integrated workflow for the finite element-based structural assessment/optimization of a 3D midship segment of RoPax vessel within the contract design phase. Commercial software such as AVEVA Marine ® , ANSYS ® and modeFRONTIER ® and newly developed in-house tools/modules have been integrated under an automated iterative routine. The structural optimisation carried out with an aim to reduce the structural weight of the ship with least value for vertical centre of gravity. Constraints implemented in the optimization include relevant BV rules and shipyard requirements.The work is performed within the framework of European Union's HOLISHIP (2016-2020) project.
In the context of achieving a decarbonized economy, wind farms installed farther offshore provide the opportunity of harnessing more stable wind energy. Exposed to the combined cyclic loading of wind and waves, offshore wind substructures withstand, however, harsh fatigue and corrosion deterioration mechanisms throughout their operational life. In this scenario, Inspection and Maintenance (I&M) planning methods enable efficient control of structural failure risks by timely allocating inspection and maintenance interventions. In this work, we discuss the benefits of approaching I&M planning at the system level, thus determining strategies that are influenced by system risk metrics. To support the discussion, I&M policies are identified for an offshore wind support structure composed of 12 fatigue hotspots located at three weld connections and exposed to varying corrosion-fatigue deterioration intensities. Within the numerical experiments, the heuristics-based policy search is conducted both at component and system levels, exploring various structural redundancy settings. The results demonstrate that a systematic treatment of structural reliability can only be achieved by modelling the entire structural system, assigning and considering global failure risk metrics during the policy search. Independently of the investigated structural reliability model, system-based I&M policies outperform component-based strategies.
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