Strength of Minimum Structure Platforms Under Ship Impact

This paper presents the findings of a numerical investigation into the strength of minimum structure platforms subject to a ship impact. The study has identified important design issues that should be addressed in order to improve the survivability and continued serviceability of minimum structures after a ship impact. It was found that, due to a lack of research effort, design guidelines governing ship impact on minimum structures are lacking in comparison with conventional jacket platforms. In particular, requirements governing the minimum amount of plastic energy absorption in minimum structures are not clearly defined. Ship impact analyses were therefore carried out in order to compare their structural integrity with that for a jacket under ship collision conditions and to evaluate the effects on their ultimate strength. The study not only established any degradation of system strength, but has also determined the amount of plastic energy absorption under various impact scenarios.