Offshore structures monitoring: What is at stake?
Offshore and marine structures are exposed to complex environmental conditions, which can lead to structural failure. It is important to anticipate these failures before they occur so that safety can be improved and any possible risk to the environment reduced. Another objective is to calibrate durability models to predict the remaining service life of the structure.
VSL’s philosophy is to match what is technically feasible with what makes sense from an engineering point of view to provide best value for money. We provide decision-making tools to enable engineers to make data readable and we use data for updating life-cycle models in performance-based design, particularly in relation to deployed specialist systems such as stays, bearings etc.
One example is jetties: their operation is usually critical for the logistics of the industrial facility. Monitoring can be offered to extend or better predict the design life and to choose the correct moment to carry out any necessary intervention.
What are the VSL offshore structures monitoring solutions?
Hardware:
– Load cells (HC 160)
Software:
– Vibratest
– In-house developed software to process the field data with online storage for data collection. The latter isoptional but adds value for the client.
Processes:
– Sensor hardware specifications
– Data recording
– Evaluation
– Reporting
– SHMS (Structural Health Monitoring Solution)
Third-party suppliers for sensors and other hardware (cables etc.)