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MP4J02
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
SEMESTER 2 EXAMINATION 2009-2010
MP4J02 - MARINE AND OFFSHORE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
Time Allowed: 21/2 hours

April/May 2010
INSTRUCTIONS
1.

This paper contains FOUR (4) questions and comprises FOUR (4) pages.

2.

Answer ALL questions.

3.

This is a closed-book examination.

4.
All questions carry equal marks.
___________________________________________________________________________
1.

A rectangular plate is simply supported along x = 0 and x = a, and clamped along

y = 0 and y = b. The plate is loaded by edge forces Nx as shown in Figure 1.
x

Fixed
Simplysupported

Simplysupported

Nx

Nx
b

Fixed
a
y
Figure 1 Rectangular plate subjected to edge Loading Nx
(a)

Show that the deformed shape of the plate upon buckling can be given by the
following Fourier series that satisfies the boundary conditions of the problem.

w=

m =1

am sin

2y
mx
1 cos

a
b
(5 marks)

(b)

Find the buckling load of the plate.

(15 marks)

(c)

Why is buckling load of plate an important design consideration as compared to

excessive plastic yielding and fracture and fatigue?
(5 marks)

Note: Question 1 continues on page 2.

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MP4J02
The strain energy stored in the deformed plate is:

D
S .E. =
2 A

2 w 2 w 2
2 w 2 w 2 w 2

dx dy

2 + 2 2(1 ) 2
2

All the above symbols have their usual meanings.

2(a)

A 100 m long box-shaped barge may be assumed to have a rectangular, box-shaped

cross section of beam 18 m. The barge is subjected to a trapezoidal load shown in the
Figure 2. The water line (WL) is indicated in the figure.
(i)

Draw the load, shearing force and bending moment diagram for the loaded
craft.
(15 marks)

(ii)

Determine the position and value of maximum bending moment acting on the
craft.
(5 marks)
50 m
30 T/m

WL

100 m
Figure 2
(b)

Explain why the high strength steel is not favorable to the low strength steel when
considering the fatigue strength of a welded joint.
(5 marks)

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MP4J02
3(a)

A 4340 steel bar is subjected to a fluctuating axial load that varies from a maximum
of 300 kN in tension to a minimum of 100 kN in compression. The mechanical
properties of the steel are as follows:
Tensile strength, ts = 1090 MPa,
Yield strength, ys = 1010 MPa,
Fatigue strength for complete reversed loading, fat = 510 MPa.
Determine the diameter of the bar to give infinite fatigue life based on a safety factor
of 2.5.
(13 marks)

(b)

For design purposes master diagrams are used to represent the influence of mean
stress on fatigue. Explain how a designer might utilize a master diagram as shown in
Figure 3.

Figure 3
(12 marks)

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MP4J02
4(a)

In fatigue analysis and design procedures, three separate phases are defined in the
fatigue process. List these three phases and briefly describe the analytical approach to
dealing with each of these phases.
(12 marks)

(b)

A 2 cm long through thickness crack is discovered in a steel plate. If the plate

experiences a stress of 50 MPa that is repeated at a frequency of 30 cycles per
minute, how long would it take to grow a crack, corresponding to the design limit
where K limit = K IC / 3. Assume that da/dN = 4 x 10 -37 K 4 , with da/dN and K
being given in the units of m/cycle and Pa m .
(13 marks)

End of Paper