Jack-up platforms are critical for offshore oil and gas operations, yet their structural integrity under complex environmental and operational loads remains a primary design challenge. This study presents a systematic investigation into the structural behavior of a jack-up platform, uniquely incorporating lateral forces from the drilling rig alongside extreme environmental loads and a mooring system. Utilizing a comprehensive finite element model in SACS software, we conducted extensive parametric analyses to hierarchically quantify the influence of wave height, wave period, wind speed, and current speed. A key finding is the non-negligible role of current speed, whose impact on structural stress is demonstrated to be comparable to that of wind speed. The results clearly show that wave height is the dominant factor governing leg strength. Furthermore, the study provides a quantitative comparison between idealized pinned supports and more realistic pile-soil interaction (PSI) models, offering a practical framework for selecting appropriate boundary conditions at different design stages. We also reveal that the introduction of a mooring system profoundly alters the load-bearing mechanism, significantly reducing stress on the legs and spudcans but concentrating risk onto the mooring lines themselves.
Yang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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