Structural Analysis Procedure and Applicability Review of Spudcan Considering Soil Types

Abstract

As interest in eco-friendly energy development continues to rise, the offshore wind turbine market is growing at a high rate of increase every year. In line with this, the demand for installation vessels with large capacity is also increasing rapidly. WTIVs (Wind Turbine Installation Vessels) employ spudcans in the seabed for the installation of wind turbines. Currently, the assessment of spudcans is an important issue in ensuring structural safety in the entire structure system. This study examines the current procedure suggested by classification societies and a new procedure that accounts for the new loading scenarios based on realistic operating conditions. This new procedure is further validated through an FEA (Finite Element Analysis). The current procedure yields maximum stress values below the allowable criteria because it does not consider the effect of the seabed slope, the leg bending moment, and the spudcan shape. However, the results of some load conditions as defined in the new procedure confirm the need for reinforcement under actual preload conditions. Therefore, the new procedure considers a broader range of real-world operating conditions, and the possible problems were verified through a detailed FEA.

Coupled Inversion of Amplitudes and Traveltimes of Primaries and Multiples for Monochannel Seismic Surveys

“…In principle, a different strategy can be defined for the joint inversion of amplitudes and traveltimes, i.e., building a single object function ObAll containing all data and mode parameters. For example, we could simply add the two object Functions ( 6) and (7):…”

“…Offshore engineering and environmental studies require precise knowledge of the lithological properties of shallow marine sediments. Multi-channel seismic profiling or, even better, using ocean-bottom cables [1] can provide high-resolution images over wide areas [2,3]; however, the associated costs can only be borne for large-scale projects such as the construction of platforms for oil and gas exploration [4] or large wind farms [5][6][7][8]. For smaller engineering projects in high-traffic areas such as harbors [9], archeological areas [10] or sensitive environments [11][12][13], the low cost and ease of use of Boomer surveys may be the only viable option [14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”