MSc Ship & Offshore Structures

This module aims to provide:

• principles and methodologies to analyse and evaluate pertinent issues concerning the use of engineering materials and structural integrity in the marine environment
• practical tools for considering structural integrity and structural fitness-for-service problems throughout the design life cycle in the marine environment

The module will teach the following:

1. Introduction:

1. Structural design philosophies
2. In service failure modes (fracture, fatigue, creep and corrosion) (overview)
3. Application of materials testing (tools of failure analysis)
4. Methodologies of materials and process selection

2. Materials specification and sourcing:

1. Metallic materials (Steels, Aluminium, and Metal Matrix Composite (MMC))
2. Mechanical properties, manufacturing methods, deformation and materials forming, standards and Industrial applications
3. Composite (Polymer Matrix Composite (PMC))
4. Composite materials in offshore structure

3. Joining and welding:

1. Advanced manufacturing process
2. Joining and Welding in metals and composites
3. Residual stress: origins and measurement of residual stress in Metallic and Composite component

4. Fracture mechanics:

1. Stress analysis of cracks
2. Fracture toughness
3. Connecting the fracture theories, critical crack sizes (ductile vs brittle) & NDE
4. Limitations of LEFM, Crack Tip Plasticity
5. Mixed-mode fracture problems, KIc testing
6. Elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM), J-Integral, JIc testing, Application Case Studies
7. Fractography

5. Fatigue:

1. Fatigue life analysis
2. Stress-Life and how to develop and use S-N curve
3. Cyclic stress/strain behaviour leading to hardening or softening (microstructure origins)
4. Fatigue crack initiation, damage tolerant lifetime
5. Corrosion fatigue
6. Notch effects on fatigue, fatigue crack growth testing
7. Fatigue fractography case studies

6. Corrosion:

1. Corrosion prevention and mitigation
2. Embrittlement mechanisms
3. Environmentally assisted crack growth

7. Creep and stress rupture:

1. Time-dependent mechanical behaviour
2. Mechanisms of creep deformation
3. Structural changes during creep
4. Creep-fatigue interaction
5. Creep under combined stresses

8. Nondestructive evaluation:

1. Introduction to methods for determining the presence of defects and their size
2. Structural health monitoring
3. Inspection reliability
4. Defect and remaining life assessment

On completion of the module, you're expected to be able to:

• show a systematic understanding of structural integrity and fitness-for-service issues
• demonstrate an in-depth awareness of the current practice and its limitations in aspects of structural integrity
• develop a critical and analytical approach towards the engineering aspects of structural integrity
• be able to confidently assess the applicability of the tools of structural integrity to new problems and apply them appropriately

Assessment and feedback are in the form of coursework.

This module aims to:

• give an overview of the current deep-water oil and gas developments around the world and the technical challenges in terms of riser and mooring line design
• demonstrate methods for modelling and analysing risers and mooring lines

This module covers:

• oil & gas field development options: platform types, marine riser systems, current design trends and deep-water challenges
• riser systems: flexible pipe structure, typical configurations, top-tensioned vertical risers, hybrid risers.
• flow assurance: multi-phase flow, deposition of solids, thermal management
• riser analysis: governing equations, boundary conditions, natural frequency
• mooring lines: typical mooring configuration, material and construction, anchors and ancillary equipment, static mooring line analysis
• vortex induced vibration: drag, vortex shedding, surface roughness, lift, Strouhal number, VIV assessment, fatigue life calculation

On completion of the module you're expected to have

• an overview of mooring lines and marine risers for deep-water floating offshore platforms
• an understanding of the generic hydrodynamic issues
• a grasp of the analytical/numerical methods for analysing risers and mooring lines

You'll carry out the coursework individually using the knowledge taught during lectures and computer lab sessions.

This module aims to provide you with an insight into the qualitative and quantitative systems’ reliability techniques as well as maintenance methodologies with particular emphasis to the maritime industry. The module will give you the ability to formulate, solve, report and present a comprehensive maintenance strategy based on the application of reliability and criticality analysis and assessment tools. The module will also provide you with an insight of the day-to-day operations of ships as well as explore and present features related to ships dry-dockings, inspection, repair and maintenance scheduling, regulatory regime as well as practical case studies on the above.

This module covers:

• introduction to reliability and maintenance (definition of reliability, hazard, risk, maintenance, maintainability, criticality, availability, etc)
• reliability tools (qualitative and quantitative like FMEA, FMECA, FTA, ETA, BBNs, Markov Analysis, HAZOP, HAZID, etc)
• risk and criticality matrices
• corrective, preventive, predictive, condition-based maintenance
• Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), Risk Based Inspection (RBI) methods. Condition Monitoring (ConMon) tool, Planned Maintenance Systems PMS, Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)
• case studies/applications regarding machinery and hull structure of ships
• regulatory regime in relation to ship operations and maintenance (IMO, IACS, OCIMF, HSE-Safety case/ALARP, etc.)
• research and applications in the maritime sector (i.e. FSA, GBS, TMSA, KPIs etc.)
• preparation for dry-dockings, inspection, maintenance and repairs of ships and offshore structures, quotation lists, etc.
• assessment of ship operational case studies
• seminars/lectures from invited experts (maintenance/condition monitoring experts, ship managers/operators to give seminars on planned maintenance/dry-docking planning, day-to-day ship operations)

At the end of this module you'll be:

• able to understand and apply various reliability software tools, concepts and strategies with application to the maritime/marine industry
• aware of the different maintenance methodologies and their application in the maritime field and carry out maintenance strategy case studies

Assessment and feedback are in the form of the submission of one coursework assignment related to reliability and criticality analysis tools and a final exam associated to the above topics.

This module aims to provide you with a theoretical and practical knowledge of the finite element method and the skills required to analyse marine structures with ANSYS graphical user interface (GUI).

This module covers:

• introduction to finite element analysis and ANSYS GUI
• truss elements and applications
• solid elements and applications
• beam elements and applications
• plane stress, plane strain and axisymmetry concepts
• plane elements and applications
• plate & shell elements and applications
• assembly process and constructing of the global stiffness matrix

At the end of this module you'll be able to:

• understand the basics of finite element analysis
• understand how to perform finite element analysis by using a commercial finite element software
• understand specifying necessary input parameters for the analysis
• understand how to visualize and evaluate the results

There is one exam and one coursework assignment. The exam is during the exam period of the first semester. Exam has a weight of 70% and coursework assignment has a weight of 30%.

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the response of surface ships, at both a global and a local level. Structural analysis and design will both be discussed.

This module will teach the following:

• introduction to ship structures and structural design principles
• loads acting on ship structures
• longitudinal strength of surface ships
• analysis and design of columns and beam-columns
• analysis and design of un-stiffened and stiffened plated structures
• design of hull girder mid-ship section components from first principles

On completion of this module, you'll have gained:

• an understanding of the nature of ship hull structures, the role of various components and ship structural design issues
• an understanding of load action and its effects at a local and a global level
• an understanding of how to analyse the global response of surface ships
• an understanding of the basics of ship hull girder analysis at a local level
• an understanding of a systematic ship structural design procedure at a global level

Assessment and feedback are in the form of a two-hour exam. You need to gain an overall mark of 50% to pass the module.

This module aims to provide knowledge in order to understand the factors influencing the dynamic behaviour of floating offshore structures due to environmental forces. It also aims to develop skills in order to predict the dynamic motion response of floating offshore platforms.

This module will teach the following:

Overview of basic design concepts; environmental design considerations; wave, wind and current induced motions and loads; second-order wave induced forces and responses of floating and complaint structures; soil-structure interaction.

On completion of the module the you're expected to be able to:

• predict the environmental forces and resulting motions of semi-submersibles, floating production, storage and offloading systems, tension leg platforms, SPAR buoys and fixed lattice and gravity type platforms
• determine the soil-structure interaction for the design of a foundation for a gravity base structure

Assessment and feedback is in the form of an exam: problem-solving on prediction of wave excitation forces on and resulting motions of floating structures and/or the assessment of a foundation of a gravity base structure.

This module aims to introduce the shipbuilding technologies and equipment used in the construction of FPSO vessels. It will also provide an introduction to the ship design process as applied to FPSO vessels.

This module will teach the following:

FPSO Construction:

• overview of facilities for shipbuilding
• the shipbuilding process including the integration of hull construction, outfitting and painting
• the role of product definition

FPSO Design:

• functional requirements and design drivers
• typical layouts and sizes
• hullform and marine system arrangements
• platform-topsides interfaces
• comparison of new-build and conversion approaches
• design process and schedules

On completion of the module the you're expected to be able to:

• understand the technologies and processes involved in constructing FPSO vessels
• appreciate the interaction between design and construction of FPSO vessels, especially in relation to conversions
• understand the relationships between functional requirements and design solutions for FPSO vessels
• demonstrate their awareness of the importance of marine systems and the platform-topsides interface in a successful solution

Assessment and feedback are in the form of coursework. You'll carry out the coursework in groups using the knowledge taught during lectures and tutorials and by referring to the other literature resources.

The overall aim of the module is to provide you with an enriched experience in the selection, conceptualisation and designing of a novel vessel or an offshore asset. The group projects will also include a thorough market review, concept and focused design studies and techno-economic analysis in a simulated design project environment. It will also provide you with an opportunity to present their project outputs to a panel involving academic/industry staff.

This module covers:

• development of a broad but nevertheless critical review of prospects for techno-economic growth in maritime related activities in a particular context/area of the world
• proposal and evaluation of specific design-related activities with a view to developing a design project to a concept level but with substantial calculations in at least one design objective
• demonstration of analytical ability and understanding of engineering principles and problem-solving techniques, creativity and self-reflection
• the ability to present and defend the design choices to a panel.

At the end of this module you'll be able to:

• identify and prioritize the key-design issues along with their basic interrelations in the context of naval architecture
• materialize a design project according to a given timeline through design steps along the key-design-issues priority path
• work efficiently and openly in a collaborative context involving different cultures and expertise
• choose at each design step the proper rationally-based computation methods

Assessment and feedback are in the form of either design report or presentation. There will be five tasks: each task may include the submission of a design report or an oral presentation followed by questions from the lecturers and the advisory groups.