Abstract
Guidance for determining a S-N based fatigue capacity (safe life design) for preloaded connectors is included in Section 5.4 of the 2019 edition of DNVGL-RP-C203 (C203-2019). This section includes guidance on the finite element model representation, finite element based fatigue analysis and determination of the connector design fatigue capacity by use of one of the following methods: Method 1 by FEA based fatigue analysis, Method 2 by FEA based fatigue analysis and experimental testing and Method 3 by full-scale connector fatigue testing. The FEA based fatigue analysis makes use of Appendix D.2 in C203-2019 (“S-N curves for high strength steel applications for subsea”). Practical use of Section 5.4 is illustrated with a case study of a fatigue tested wellhead profile connector segment test. Further developments of Section 5.4 of C203-2019 are proposed. This included acceptance criteria for use of a segment test to validate the FEA based fatigue analysis of a full-scale preloaded connector.
