Posters
Come meet the poster presenters to ask them questions and discuss their work
We would like to invite you to come and see the posters at our upcoming conference. The posters will showcase a diverse range of research topics, and will give delegates an opportunity to engage with the authors and learn more about their work. Whether you are a seasoned researcher or simply curious about the latest developments in your field, we believe that the posters will offer something of interest to everyone. So please join us at the conference and take advantage of this opportunity to learn and engage with your peers in industry and the academic community.
PO448: Improving cost efficiency and output of foundation construction using single-sided welds
Marc Vanderschueren, Head of Business Development R&D Partnerships, OCAS
Abstract
Offshore foundations are large welded steel structures. Details of these constructions can be either single-sided or double-sided welds. In the last case, constraints are placed on the logistics of the construction of the structure, leading to reduced throughput and higher manufacturing costs. Although preferred for construction efficiency, single-sided welds have the drawback of possibly having a shorter fatigue life. Indeed, a defect at the root of a single-sided weld is potentially a critical surface defect which is not always detected by non-destructive testing and can initiate a fatigue crack. But there is no published evidence that failed tubular joints in fatigue exhibited cracks initiated at the on single-sided welds. There is therefore a potential excess of conservatism in the fatigue design of these joints. In order to demonstrate this excess of conservatism, the Joint Industry Project ASSISI (fatigue ASsesment of Single-SIded welds) was launched in the framework of the Offshore Wind Accelerator of the Carbon Trust with the support of the companies Smulders, OCAS, EDF Renouvelables, Parkwind, Scottish Power Renewables, Shell, SSE Renewables, TotalEnergies and Vattenfall. The project is investigating the fatigue strength of tubular joints fabricated with single-sided welds. Full scale joints are produced with intentional defects at the weld root, representative of potential production flaws and tested in fatigue. The first results demonstrate that the current guidelines for fatigue design of single-sided welds of tubular joints are overconservative, opening the possibility to decrease the manufacturing costs of this type of geometry.
No recording available for this poster.
