MARINE & OFFSHORE

The marine and offshore industries are a major player in world trade. There are close to 54000 merchant ships travelling around the world and at present, there are 5000 installed offshore wind turbines in European waters alone.

The challenging environment of the sea poses many difficulties for engineering. For centuries, man has sailed the seas and today we know a lot about designing for the marine and offshore environment. However, we still face obstacles due to building bigger ships and larger span wind turbines. It is the offshore wind turbine structures which will continue to push the boundaries in design, fabrication and operation as we continue to increase and meet our carbon-free initiatives.

Dwan Forensic Engineering through our global bespoke team provide Failure Analysis & Fracture Investigation with special emphasis on weld failure, fatigue weld design and defect assessment. We carry out fatigue design to ensure the proposed design delivers the expected lifetime. As many structures are reaching their design life, emphasis is now focussing on extended life. Fatigue & Fracture Mechanics Assessment is very important so that confidence can be restored, and operations continue. Assessments are undertaken when defects have been found using the various standards BS 7910, API 579-1 & DNVGL-RP-F108.

Welding is the major fabrication method of ships and offshore structures. Weld Failure & Root Cause Analysis is a speciality of ours and with our global team we deliver expert opinion in weld failure analysis in cases of Litigation. Also, design reviews can be conducted to the various standards BS 7608, AWS D1.1 & DNVGL-RP-C203 where fatigue and fracture is of concern. 

Case Study

Weld failure analysis for one of Europe’s large offshore wind farms.

Full weld failure analysis was required due to a severe failure in welded connections. Our metallurgical consulting services were needed in order for construction to continue on this large offshore wind farm.

Offshore Structures Company