Dynamic Characteristics of Deteriorating Engineering Structures

Abstract

The monitoring of energy production and distribution systems with a view to predicting their future performance and service life is a difficult but increasingly important exercise. Specific interest here concerns the behavior of aging offshore oil and gas structures. The maintenance and safety of these systems is a major challenge considering their generally deteriorating nature and harsh operating environment. The dynamic response of a structural component or structure can be used to assess properties such as mass, stiffness and damping. If periodic assessment is conducted then any changes, specifically deterioration, during the lifetime of a structure can be monitored using vibration measurement methods. This information can then be used to predict the useful life of the structure given a constant rate of deterioration or provide the basis for remedial action to be taken to strengthen the structure. The prevention of catastrophic failure is included in this scenario. Suggestions for possible research directions are made with regard to nonlinear behavior.