Offshore Structural Analysis Using SACS Software

Target Audience:

  • Structural engineers in offshore and marine industries
  • Civil/mechanical engineers transitioning into offshore structural design
  • Professionals involved in fixed platform design, installation, and integrity management
  • Junior engineers seeking proficiency in SACS software

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the fundamentals of offshore structural design
  • Create, model, analyze, and interpret results using SACS
  • Apply relevant industry codes (API RP 2A, ISO) to structural analysis
  • Perform load calculations, static and dynamic analysis
  • Design and assess jacket structures, topsides, and pile foundations

Module Highlight

Introduction to Offshore Structural Engineering

  • Types of offshore structures (fixed platforms, jack-ups, subsea structures)
  • Environmental and operational loadings
  • Structural design codes and standards (API RP 2A-WSD, ISO 19901)
  • Overview of structural design philosophy: Ultimate, Fatigue, Serviceability
  • Concept of redundancy, robustness, and integrity

Introduction to SACS Software Environment

  • Overview of SACS modules (Precede, Structural, Postvue, Seastate, etc.)
  • Interface navigation and file structure
  • Types of analyses SACS can perform
  • Integration with other Bentley tools and software

Building a Structural Model in SACS

  • Creating geometry: Joints, members, and frames
  • Defining member properties and materials
  • Boundary conditions and constraints
  • Importing geometry from CAD or other formats
  • Hands-on: Build a sample 4-leg jacket structure

Load Definitions and Environmental Conditions

  • Dead loads, live loads, equipment loads
  • Wave, current, and wind load generation
  • Seastate module: Applying wave theories (Airy, Stokes, Stream Function)
  • Load combinations and load cases (API RP 2A-based)
  • Hands-on: Define load cases for a shallow water platform

Structural Analysis Types in SACS

  • Static linear and nonlinear analysis
  • P-Delta analysis
  • Modal analysis (natural frequency and mode shapes)
  • Dynamic response analysis (spectral, time history)
  • Hands-on: Run a static and modal analysis on a jacket structure

Pile and Foundation Modeling

  • Introduction to pile-soil interaction
  • P-Y, T-Z, Q-Z curve implementation
  • Modeling pile groups and stiffness
  • SACS Foundation module overview
  • Hands-on: Add piles to a jacket and simulate soil stiffness

Fatigue and Strength Check

  • Fatigue life prediction (SN curves, stress range histograms)
  • Wave scatter and fatigue damage accumulation
  • Joint Can and Tubular joint checks (API RP 2A, ISO 19902)
  • Code checks and utilization ratios
  • Hands-on: Perform fatigue analysis and tubular joint checks

Results Interpretation and Reporting

  • Reviewing displacement, forces, and stresses
  • Interpreting unity checks and warnings
  • Animating deflections and mode shapes
  • Generating engineering reports
  • Exporting results to Excel or Word

Advanced Features and Optimization

  • Loadout, transportation, and lifting checks
  • API RP 2SIM for structural integrity management
  • Aging structures and reserve strength ratio (RSR)
  • Integration with structural reliability tools
  • Brief on collapse analysis and pushover studies

Capstone Project / Case Study

  • Participants analyze a complete platform structure
  • Define loads, apply environmental conditions, run full analysis
  • Evaluate fatigue life and joint strengths
  • Present summary of design and results
  • Review of common modeling and analysis pitfalls
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