Experimental Investigation on Internally Ring-stiffened

Joints of Offshore Platforms

Dr T S Thandavamoorthy, Non-member

This paper presents results of the experimental investigation on tubular joints that are stiffened internally with three
annular rings. The focus is mainly on the behaviour and strength of these types of joints subjected to axial brace compres-
sion loading. The nominal chord diameter of the tested joint was 324 mm and its thickness 12 mm. The corresponding
dimensions of the brace were 219 mm and 8 mm, respectively. The joints tested were approximately one-fourth the size
of the largest joints in the platforms built in a shallow water depth of 80 m in the Bombay High field. Some of the joints
were actually fabricated by a leading offshore agency directly involved in the fabrication of prototype structures. Bend-
ing of the chord as a whole was observed to be the predominant mode of deformation of the internally ring-stiffened
joints in contrast to ovaling and punching shear of the unstiffened joints. Strengths of the internally ring-stiffened joints
were found to be almost twice that of unstiffened joints of the same dimensions.

Keywords: Offshore platforms; Tubular joints; Internally ring-stiffened; Strength; Bending

INTRODUCTION forms a joint called welded tubular joint. Because of welding,

Steel tubular framed structures are installed on the sea bed for
the exploration and production of oil from the sea bottom.
They are called offshore platforms which serve as artificial
bases, supporting drilling and production facilities above the
level of waves. While a variety of platforms have been utilized
offshore for exploration and production 1, the most popular
structure for shallow water depth is the ‘jacket’ or ‘template’
platform that is fabricated mostly out of cylindrical steel
tubular sections because of their merit over other structural
shapes2. In the past four decades thousands of large tubular
structures have been built for offshore oil drilling and
production. At present there are more than 7000 offshore
platforms worldwide3. There are about 148 platforms4 in the
Bombay and other fields in the Arabian Sea and 10 platforms
in the Ravvaa field of Bay of Bengal.
The typical structure consists of a deck, a substructure, and
foundation piles. The substructure is a prefabricated tubular
space frame, which extends from the sea floor to just above
the sea surface, and is usually fabricated in one piece onshore,
transported by barge, launched at sea, and upended on site by
partial flooding. Tubular pilings are driven through the main
legs to fix the structure to the sea bottom, provide support for
the deck, and resist the lateral loads due to wind, waves and
currents.
In the tubular frame, the intersection between two or more
members, at least one of which is a tubular member, is called a
tubular connection. In the tubular connection, the
intersection between various members is welded and thus
Dr T S Thandavamoorthy is with Shock and Vibration Laboratory,
Structural Engineering Research Centre Madras, CSIR Campus, Chennai
600 113.
This paper (revised) was received on August 2, 2002. Written discussion on the
paper will be entertained till October 31, 2003.
enormous heat is generated and hence the intersection
becomes a heat-affected zone. Welding process involves
deposition of metal at the intersection. Therefore, the joint in
addition to the segments of various members, also consists of
the weld deposit, heat-affected zone and the base metal at the
intersection5. The main member is denoted as chord and the
secondary member as brace or branch. The outside diameter
of the brace is less than or equal to that of the chord. A joint
reinforced with welding of annular rings inside the chord at
the welding intersection is called internally ring-stiffened
joint.
Internally ring-stiffened tubular joints are used widely in the
construction of fixed steel platforms6 and it is estimated that
there are at least 2000 ring-stiffened joints in North Sea struc-
tures7. However, techniques for assessing the capacity of
internally ring-stiffened joints are still lacking. Therefore,
more research is needed over a wide range of geometric
parameters before formulating guidelines to assess the capacity
of internally ring-stiffened tubular joints.
This paper presents in detail the experimental investigation
carried out on tubular joints that are stiffened internally with
three annular rings. Results of the static tests on internally
ring-stiffened T and Y joints under axial brace compression
loadings are presented. Comparison of the behaviour of the
internally ring-stiffened joints under axial brace compression
loadings has been made with that of the unstiffened joints of
the same dimensions and configurations under identical
loadings, published elsewhere8.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
The geometrical configuration of the internally ring-stiffened
tubular T joint is shown in Figure 1 while Figure 2 shows the
geometry of the Y joint. In each joint, three annular rings, each
of 12 mm thickness and 75 mm width, have been welded to the

86 IE (I) Journal—CV
Figure 1 Typical dimensions of stiffened T joint

Figure 2 Typical dimensions of stiffened Y joint

inside of the chord member at the intersection of the brace. The dimensions chosen for the tubular joints, correspond to a
While one of the rings has been welded at the centre of the large number of the joints in the platforms of the Bombay
brace, each of the other two is welded at either face of the brace High field. This field with 148 fixed platforms is the biggest
as shown in Figure 1. The dimensions of both types of tubular
joints are given in Table 1. The ends of the chord and brace Table 1 Dimensions of tubular joints
members were sealed by 32 mm thick flange plates to facilitate
mounting of the specimen in the test set-up. Specimen Dimensions of Joints, mm Remarks
In all, two internally ring-stiffened tubular joints were tested No Chord Brace
under axial brace compression loading. One of them was a T Diameter Thickness Diameter Thickness
and the other a y-joint. The material qualities of both chord UDT1b 323.08 12 221.54 8 Stiffened
and brace members conform to AP15L GB9 and IS:22610 with UDT1a 327.22 12 221.23 8 Stiffened
yield strength of 240 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength of
Note: a : AP15L GB Steel; b : IS226 Steel
415 MPa.

Vol 84, August 2003 87

Indian oil and gas field in the Arabian Sea. Compared with the
largest joints in these platforms, the actual test joints were
approximately one-fourth in size.
In the fabrication of the tubular joint test specimens, the
fabrication procedures, dimensions, materials, welding,
quality control, etc, correspond as precisely as possible to
actual offshore structures. Some of the tested joints were, in
fact, fabricated with the same grade of steel used for offshore
structures by M/s Mazagaon Dock Ltd, Bombay, which is
directly involved in the fabrication of the prototype
structures. This means that the tubular joints tested can be
considered to be representative of a large number of platforms
built in the Bombay High in shallow water depths of up to
80 m and also similar other environments elsewhere in the
world.
The joints were fixed to the pedestals by bolting. The pedestals
were, in turn, fixed to the strong concrete floor by means of 60
mm size mild steel bolts. The entire assembly was placed
under a reaction frame (Figure 3). On the flange of the brace
member, and between the horizontal cross beam of the
reaction frame and the flange, a built-up steel joist assembly
and two numbers of 2000 kN Enerpack hydraulic jacks were
placed as shown in Figure 3. Another 1000 kN hydraulic jack
and a 1000 kN Proceq load cell were placed in a self-straining
frame that was kept by the side of the reaction frame on the
test floor. All the three hydraulic jacks were connected
through distributors to the electrical pumping unit by means
of high pressure rubber hoses. Axial brace compression
loading was applied on the joints by means of the hydraulic
jacks mounted on the brace. Load was applied on the specimen
in equal increments11.
Three dial gauges, with a least count of 0.01 mm, were
mounted beneath the joint (Figure 3), one directly at mid-span
Figure 3 Typical set-up for axial brace compression loading
88
Table 2 Measured loads
Specimen No Experimental Ultimate Loads, kN
UDT1 1887.60
UDY1 1834.00
under the load point and others approximately at third points,
to facilitate measurement of the deflection under load. In the
case of Y joint, dial gauges were fixed perpendicular to the
chord member. For each load increment, deflection readings
of all the three gauges were recorded. Load was monotonically
increased till the joint reached its ultimate strength. The
ultimate loads sustained by the T joint (UDT1) and Y joint
(UDY1) are given in Table 2. Typical load—mid-span
deflection curve for UDT1 is depicted in Figure 4. In the case
of Y joints, the component of the deflection along the
direction of loading was resolved from the measured values.
Corresponding load-deflection curve for the mid-span for
UDY1 is illustrated in Figure 5.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The experimentally measured ultimate load for UDT1 was
1887.6 kN. The maximum load sustained by UDY1 was
1834.0 kN. When compared to the already published8 ultimate
load of unstiffened joints, the internally ring stiffened joint is
almost twice strong as the unstiffened joint of the same
configuration and dimensions. With the addition of three
internal rings to the chord member the capacity of joint has
increased to a great extent.
The shapes of the load-deflection curve of the stiffened joints is
similar to that of a typical prismatic beam subjected to flexural
loading. They clearly exhibit the strain hardening
characteristics of steel. The load-deflection curve is linear upto
IE (I) Journal—CV
Figure 4 Load-midspan deflection curve for T joint UDT 1

about 900 kN in the case of T joint (Figure 4). Afterwards the

curve is non-linear with larger increase in deflection with load.
Near ultimate load the curve shows a plateau indicating
excessive deflection of the joint. The chord member as a whole
was bent like a prismatic member. Figure 6 shows clearly the Figure 5 Load-midspan deflection curve for Y joint UDY 1
bending and excessive deflection of the chord of an internally
ring-stiffened joint tested under a simply supported condition
as part of a preliminary investigation carried out at the Fatigue
Testing Laboratory of the Structural Engineering Research
Centre. Absolutely no deformation of the chord wall and
consequent ovaling in the vicinity of the welded intersection
of the internally ring-stiffened joints were observed in this
experimental investigation. In the case of Y joint, the load-
deflection curve is linear upto about 600 kN (Figure 5), and
then the curve is non-linear upto ultimate load. The plateau
observed in the case of T joint is absent in this case. Because of
the inclination of the brace, a horizontal force is created in the
chord, which limits the deflection of the chord.
Load-deflection curves of both T and Y joints are compared in
Figure 7. It is observed that, in general, there is a close
agreement in the behaviour of both the joints. Initially upto a
load of 1000 kN the behaviour of the Y joint is slightly stiffer
than that of the T joint. Above the load of 1000 kN and upto Figure 6 Bending of internally ring stiffened joint
about 1800 kN, the T joint behaves in a stiffer manner than the
Y joint. Right from the start of the loading till failure, bending realistic global behaviour of the structure which is quite
was observed to be the predominant mode of deformation evident from global frame responses obtained from the
under axial brace compression loading. This predominant collapse tests conducted by Bolt et al12 on large scale tubular
flexural behaviour of the ring-stiffened joints, quite different frames representative of offshore jacket structures initiated
from that of the unstiffened joints, truly represents the under the Frames project in 1987.

Vol 84, August 2003 89


Figure 7 Superposition of deflections of stiffened T and Y joints
CONCLUSIONS
Two internally ring-stiffened joints were tested under axial
brace compression loadings. The normal chord and brace
diameters of the joints were 324 mm and 219 mm. The
nominal thickness of these joints were 12 mm and 8 mm,
respectively. From this experimental investigation, it has been
observed that the strength of internally ring stiffened joints
was almost twice that of the unstiffened joints of the same
dimensions and configuration, the results of which have been
published elsewhere8.
Experimental results, obtained from the testing internally
ring-stiffened tubular joints under axial brace compression
loading, clearly show bending to be the predominant mode of
deformation. This is similar to that of a prismatic member
subjected to flexural loading and is in contrast to the primary
mode of failure of ovaling and punching of the chord member
of the unstiffened joints. However, the change in behaviour of
the internally ring-stiffened tubular joints has not been
reported earlier.
It has been observed from the experimental investigation that
welding of three annular ring stiffeners to the inside of the
chord member has resulted in completely eliminating the local
bending and ovaling of the chord wall in the vicinity of the
welded intersection. This arrangement has also imparted
enormous bending stiffness to the chord as a whole with the
result the behaviour of the internally ring-stiffened joints has
drastically changed from the punching shear to flexure. The
predominant bending behaviour of the chord member truly
represented the realistic global behaviour of the structure as
90
the prototype structure behaves in a similar manner, as is
evident from the results of tests on large scale tubular frames,
representing offshore structures, published in the literature 12.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is published with permission of the Director, Struc-
tural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai, India.
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