J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(11), 2081; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13112081 (registering DOI) - 1 Nov 2025
Abstract
In this paper, the nonlinear bending of the slender flexible cable connected to floating offshore energy platforms is considered. The aim is to find accurate values for the bending stress in the catenaries that lead to fatigue and short lifetime. A new approach
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In this paper, the nonlinear bending of the slender flexible cable connected to floating offshore energy platforms is considered. The aim is to find accurate values for the bending stress in the catenaries that lead to fatigue and short lifetime. A new approach called Extended Stiffened Catenary Theory (ESCT) is described and outlined, which accurately predicts the bending stresses such that they can be validated by high-fidelity FEM software, e.g., ABAQUS 2024. It is found that some widely used software, such as Orcaflex 11.4, underestimates these bending stresses. Although the Orcaflex uses built-in FEM software to analyse the stresses, there are substantial differences between the results. Since the stresses are underestimated, it can lead to a wrongly estimated higher fatigue lifetime. Therefore, a critical review of stress analysis in Orcaflex is carried out to find the origins of such underestimation. It is shown that the explicit integration of equations of motion in Orcaflex is the reason for such underestimation, even in static analysis. The ABAQUS can predict accurately because of implicit (standard) integration. It is concluded that using this ESCT allows us to estimate a more realistic and reliable stress, thereby leading to a realistic lifetime for catenary umbilicals and cables for floating platforms.
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(This article belongs to the Section Ocean Engineering)
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