ABSTRACT
Modern offshore structures, including ships, require high-strength structural girders/plates/tubulars/ shells and other lightweight structural components, over large portions of the structural envelope for weight reduction, better stability, increased payload, increased mobility, and survivability. During their service lives, offshore structures are subject to a complex spectrum of loads and degenerative environments, and the structural and the joining materials used in the structural/hull fabrication must possess high durability and fracture toughness under these extreme conditions. The expected dynamic/other loads in service include wave loading, sea slap, slamming, water current load, structural vibration, thermal variation effects (in both tropical and Arctic seas), structural/cargo buoyancy, aircraft/helicopter landing impacts, and accidental/incidental fire hazard and impacts/ explosions. The integrity of these structures must be assured for continuous ocean operation under these adverse and severe corrosive environments, as well as in their response to the effects of accidental/incidental fire/collisions/explosions.
