A SIMPLIFIED ANALYTICAL METHOD FOR COLLISION RESISTANCE OF TUBULAR MEMBERS OF JACKET PLATFORM

The collision between jacket platforms and bypassing ships may cause serious economic loss and environmental pollution. The anti-collision capability of the tubular steel members of jacket platforms is of great concern during structure design phase. By using the simplified analytical method to predict the anti-collision capability of tubular members, the efficiency of structure design can be significantly improved. In this paper, a simplified analytical method for the prediction of anti-collision capability of tubular members is proposed considering the global bending of tubular members subject to collision, based on the study of collision mechanism between tubular steel members and ships. Using this method, the structural deformation and resistance of the damaged tubular member can be calculated when the tubular steel members are subjected to accidental collisions. The method is verified by drop-weight test and numerical simulations, and is can be applied to the jacket platform structural design.