Structural behaviour prediction for jack-up units during jacking operations

For a self-elevated jack up unit, localized failure and collapse may take place during installation phase under severe sea state conditions. In order to minimize the loss, an innovative method is proposed and incorporated in finite element analysis to predict the structural behaviours before construction. With a full model of a jack-up unit being built, numerical simulations could be carried out under different load and boundary conditions. A lot of information such as displacement and member force etc. during jacking operations could be obtained from simulation results and these valuable data would be much helpful for re-design of the structure and could be used as guidance for site installation as well.