Challenge:
Hopper Engineering spearheaded the assessment and remediation of an offshore oil platform, located in Alaska, which was found to have a seven foot diameter tubular brace separated from the main jacket structure of the platform. Our primary tasks included quantifying the existing damage to the platform, providing options to secure the severed tubular brace, and quantifying the impact of future postulated brace failures considering system redundancy.
Resolution:
The separation of the brace was caused by fatigue failure from repeated ice loads acting on the platform. Rigorous static and push over analysis were performed to demonstrate that the separated tubular brace does not compromise the structural integrity of the platform. Further, a redundancy analysis was undertaken to show that the platform remains structurally safe even in the event of additional brace failures. Nevertheless, recommendations were made to prevent other braces from being damaged because excessive deflection of the braces could break internal pipelines running throughout the platform.
