The combination of structural health monitoring (SHM) and finite element modeling (FEM) methods can possibly extend the life of offshore structures by providing accurate descriptions of the structural condition. If successful, the combined method has wider application potential in major civil engineering structures, such as bridges and tall buildings.
Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a method used in the oil and gas industry to determine the age of offshore structures in the Danish North Sea. However, the visual inspections in a SHM program do not allow establishing a reliable relation between the observed damage and the actual condition of the structure. To help accomplish this, finite element modeling (FEM) updating can be used as a key tool, tells PhD student Alejandro Luis Caballero Arcos. He recently began his PhD studies at DTU Civil Engineering in collaboration with Danish Hydrocarbon Research and Technology Centre.
“The application of operational modal analysis (OMA) on the acceleration measurements of an offshore platform provides modal parameters at a given time. With the extracted modal parameters, it would be possible to apply FEM updating techniques to shed light on the structural condition of the platform”, explains Alejandro.
In his PhD project, he aims at studying the shortcomings of the two main groups of FEM updating, sensitivity and perturbation, in order to find adequate combinations of both with the purpose of obtaining realistic structural models after the updating process.
If the combination of methods turn out to be successful, the new method has the potential for application in areas of civil engineering structures, e.g. bridges, towers, stadiums, etc.
If you are interested in learning more about Alejandro’s PhD project, you can read an interview with him here.