Fatigue capacity of side longitudinals in floating structures

Full-scale fatigue testing of five test specimens of side longitudinals of a ship/FPSO was carried out at the structural laboratories of DNV in Oslo. The main results from these tests are presented in this paper. The specimens have also been modelled by finite elements and some of the results from the most complex connections have been compared with measured data. The fatigue test results are compared with a hot spot S-N curve that is recommended for design of plated structures that are subjected to dynamic loading.