Simplified Approximation of Peak Fatigue Damage in the Touchdown Area of Steel Catenary Risers Based on Seabed Soil Rigidity

摘要

Estimation of the fatigue damage in the touchdown area of steelcatenary risers is a time consuming process with hard computationalefforts. The process includes applying various sea states on the systemcapturing the history of Von Mises stress. A quick approximation ofthe fatigue life based on the soil rigidity even in elastic seabed in theearly stages of the projects is still an important need of industry. Thispaper further explores the origins of fatigue damage generation in thetouchdown area achieving a simple methodology to link the seabedsoil stiffness to peak fatigue damage in the touchdown area.