any old EU or UK reports on the failures of oil rigs of the 60's and 70's ??

[davefitz]

I am researching the basis of fatigue failure of weldments and the use of fracture mechanics on weld failures, and I understand the watershed events that led to modern advances in this field were based on the failure analyses of the failures that led to hundreds of dead workers on the offshore oil rigs in the 60's and 70's. Can anyone advise the references to the formal gov't reports of these failures? thanks.

"...when logic, and proportion, have fallen, sloppy dead..." Grace Slick

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

you won't get anything, As such the Health and safety executive wasn't formed until the 70's. Euroatom was on the go but the Eu was only a pipe dream.


Back in my day we used Liberty ships from WW2 as the corner stone for progress on the subject.

Nuclear in the 50/60's was also a driving force for research into the subject.

Might be able to get some rig accidents/failures from the 80's online from HSE and the Norwiegens.

UK government Hansard you will need to search for the UK sector reports until the HSE came to be.

The famous one off shore is the Alexander Kielland where a leg broke off due fatigue failure causing a capsize but that was in 1981. I remember it because a kid in my primary school class dad got killed on it.

I would start with the liberty boats and move forward from there.


Then have a search for Sea Gem. Which i think was in the sixtys. It was some bastadised barge that was stuck on piles and unsuprisingly two them fell off.

 

[LittleInch]

Dave.

Where were these failures?

GOM, North Sea? USSR?

Any names of the rigs you refer to?

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[Paperandpencil]

Alexander L. Kielland was a Norwegian rig that capsized due to a weld crack growing and one of the main legs came away. I would guess that there may be a Norwegian Government report.

 

[LittleInch]

Try searching UK HSE weld fatigue and a number of reports turn up e.g. below.

The references often have further reports and links to follow

https://www.hse.gov.uk/research/otopdf/1999/oto99058a.pdf

https://www.hse.gov.uk/researcH/othpdf/200-399/oth356.pdf

https://www.hse.gov.uk/research/otopdf/2001/oto01015.pdf

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[Settingsun]

Somewhat related, the Merrison Inquiry into steel box girder bridge collapses/design would be appreciated if anyone has a copy. Early 1970s.

 

[davefitz]

Thanks, LittleInch

"...when logic, and proportion, have fallen, sloppy dead..." Grace Slick

 

[LittleInch]

There's plenty of reading material there....

Not that I understand any of it mind.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.