Structural reliability assessment of offshore wind turbine support structures subjected to pitting corrosion-fatigue : a damage tolerance modelling approach

The structural integrity of offshore wind turbine (OWT) support structures is affected by one of the most severe damage mechanisms known as pitting corrosion-fatigue. In this study, the structural reliability of such structures subjected to pitting corrosion-fatigue is assessed using a damage tolerance modelling approach. A probabilistic model that ascertains the reliability of the structure is presented, incorporating the randomness in cyclic load and corrosive environment as well as uncertainties in shape factor, pit size and aspect ratio. A non-intrusive formulation is proposed consisting of a sequence of steps. First, a stochastic parametric Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is performed using SMAR