Offshore structures are subjected to various environmental and service loads. Many offshore structures are facing ageing and corrosion problems. Replacement or repair of the damaged structure is vital for the facility's safe operation. The replacement may be costly and practically impossible. Traditionally, strengthening was accomplished by welding or clamping extra plates to the vulnerable area. Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) are being used for steel structure reinforcement, following decades of successful utilization for the reinforcement of concrete structures. Various occasional and routine inspections are made to notice any defect in the structure. Possible defects can occur everywhere, including the joining point to two or more tubular members, reducing the load-bearing capability of the entire system. The weld line of the joints is the most vulnerable portion of an offshore structure, prone to crack initiation and growth. Rehabilitation of tubular joints with a crack at the interface of mating members using FRP has rarely been investigated. KT-joint is among the most widely utilized joints in offshore structures. Rehabilitation of KT-joint in a typical circular hollow sectioned structure having a known defect has been investigated in this study. Fracture parameters for crack before and after reinforcement proves the capability of this rehabilitation technique. This research leads to a better understanding of FRP utilization for crack mitigation in tubular joints. Experimental investigation of cracked tubular joints with FRP reinforcement can impart further confidence in the findings of this study.
Please reduce the size of figure 1, figure 5,6,&7.
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