Stresses & Strains in Plate Girder with Different Bracing Systems under Combination of Loadings

Lateral buckling is one of the most important factors in the design of steel plate girder. This buckling in the girder can be controlled by many methods. The most popular method is to add the intermediate bracing systems along the length of girder. The unsafely designed intermediate bracing systems can easily lead to serious consequences in the construction stage due to lateral buckling by torsion which happens rapidly and suddenly when the internal force in girder exceeds the ultimate value. Reversely, if the intermediate bracing systems are designed excessively, their specific stiffness will be larger than the required one then it is very costly in both material and installing process In the present study different types of torsional bracing systems are used in twin plate girder of span 8m. As the behavior of plate girders with different type of bracing system changes differently along the length and depth. Changing the layout of bracing systems could also make the design easy and more economical. Keywords: Cross-frame Bracings, Horizontal Bracings, Plate Girder, Finite Element Analysis

Lateral Buckling Mitigation in Deep Waters - A Total Installed Costs Comparison

The paper introduces lateral buckling mitigation techniques (sleepers, distributed buoyancy sections, and residual curvature method or RCM) used in deep water fields and provides a total installed cost comparison of these solutions in relative terms. A hypothetical deep-water scenario is used to compare all techniques within the same site environment. Historic benchmarks have been used to make a relative comparison of these buckle mitigation methods on the engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation fronts. In addition, risks associated with engineering, procurement/fab and installation have been listed to illustrate the risks versus rewards tradeoff. While sleepers and distributed buoyancy have been previously used in deep water, RCM doesn't have a significant track record yet. RCM is a proven and cost-effective buckle mitigation solution in shallow water. This paper compares its application in deep water to the prevailing buckle mitigation methods and confirms if it creates value (savings and reduces risks) for an offshore installation project. It is assumed that each mitigation method is appropriate for the hypothetical deep-water scenario.