COMPARISON OF FATIGUE DESIGN CODES WITH FOCUS ON OFFSHORE STRUCTURES

摘要

Different codes are used in the industry for the fatigue design of offshore structures. Because the fatigue phenomenon is very sensitive to different design conditions, standards select those with higher impact and try to cover all other unpredictable factors making use of safety factors. To the authors' knowledge there is not any comparison of fatigue codes with focus on analyzing the strength and limitations of the design approaches and safety factors included in each one available. This paper has the aim of comparing a number of recognized fatigue design codes for this purpose. Based on this review BS (British Standard) presents the most complete information for offshore design applying the fracture mechanics approach while DNV (Det Norske Veritas) offers the most updated and complete information for fatigue design applying the endurance approach. The safety factors contemplated in the codes are not always comparable and consequently it is not possible to confirm whether one standard is more or less conservative than the others.