Structural Health Monitoring of Offshore Jackets

Abstract

The aim of what is reported is to explore how developments within SHM can be applied as a tool for assessing the structural integrity of offshore jackets. More specifically develop a proposal for monitoring an existing jacket in a cost-effective manner. New research has been evaluated with regards to both local and global damage detection methods. The suitability of combining those two methods is investigated. The work done in this thesis was primarily based on available articles and conference papers. This thesis covers a literature survey of SHM in general and for jacket structures, including a proposed methodology describing how to set up a monitoring system on an offshore jacket structure. This methodology is thereafter implemented and used to design a monitoring system for a fictional platform on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

It is concluded that due to increased research there is possible to make more cost effective and more robust SHM systems in the near future. However, even though there is an increased research effort in SHM of offshore jacket structures, real experiments have to be done to verify their applicability. Also, it should be focused on further development and tests regarding measurement methods and sensor technologies.