Practical Considerations for the Structural Analysis of Offshore Topside Structures Under Gas Explosion Accidents

Abstract

Gas explosion accidents have been recognized as a major hazard of offshore facilities in oil & gas industries. Due to the nature of offshore topside structures, even a single collapse of structural members or equipments may lead to enormous economic and environmental losses. Therefore, such potential hazards that cause the accidental collapse need to be evaluated closely. Gas explosion has been categorized as an important issue of the design of offshore structures regarding the severity of the accident. This paper presents practical considerations for the nonlinear dynamic structural analysis of offshore structures under blast loadings from gas explosion accidents. Numerical investigations including modeling of blast loads and idealization of structural materials and members have been conducted for the overall topside structures. As a design step for offshore structures under blast loadings, an applicable guidance on the finite element analysis (FEA) is described in this study.