Reliability Analysis of a Mono-Tower Platform

Abstract

In this paper, a reliability analysis of a Mono-tower platform is presented. The failure modes considered are yielding in the tube cross sections and fatigue failure in the butt welds. The fatigue failure mode is investigated with a fatigue model, where the fatigue strength is expressed through SN relations. In determining the cumulative fatigue damage, Palmgren-Miner’s rule is applied. Element reliability, as well as systems reliability, is estimated using first-order reliability methods (FORM). The sensitivity of the systems reliability to various parameters is investigated. It is shown that the fatigue limit state is a significant failure mode for the Mono-tower platform. Further, it is shown for the fatigue failure mode that the largest contributions to the overall uncertainty are due to the damping ratio, the inertia coefficient, the stress concentration factor, the model uncertainties, and the parameters describing the fatigue strength.