Course syllabus

This course is offered by the Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences

• Examiner and Lecturer: Wengang Mao

     Phone: 031–772 1483; E-mail: Wengang.Mao@chalmers.se

• Tutorials, Computer excercises and Assignments:

Course purpose and learning objectives

The course gives the student knowledge and tools how to design marine structures with regard to limit state based approaches by means of probability and risk analysis approaches. A variety of simplistic and advanced methodologies are compared with objective to demonstrate their advantages and limitations. Realistic and typical examples for marine structures are used throughout the course in order to introduce the student to real examples with their challenges of complexity which require solid and well-motivated assumptions.

After finishing the course, the student will have good knowledge and understanding how a reliability analysis of a marine structure should be carried out. After completion of this course, the student should be able to:

• use and interpret classification rules in order to design marine structures according to given design criteria and safety measures,
• carry out a reliability analysis of a part of a ship or an offshore structure,
• demonstrate which is the most appropriate methodology to use in a reliability analysis of an arbitrary part of a marine structure,
• understand and discuss the advantages and limitations using a FORM, SORM and other simulation method for probabilistic analysis,
• and critically evaluate and compare various design concepts with respect to reliability and safety measures.

Course literature

The course literature is a compendium which can be bought at KOKBOKEN at Chalmers Campus Lindholmen.
-Tutorial examples, Tutorials-R computer exercises and Assignments will be handed out on the first lecture (free of charge).
-One old written exam with solutions will be handed out to the students.
-Ditlevsen, O. and Madsen, H.O. (2005). Structural Reliability Methods (online reference).

Course design

The following types of scheduled activities are used in the course (room within parenthesis): 

• Lecture & Tutorial:presentation of theory with reference to chapters in the compendium, and examples suitable for hand calculations.
• Computer exercises: These occasions are “warm-ups” for the Assignments. Active participation and preparations in advance is strongly recommended!
• Assignments: practical engineering projects.

Examination

A passed course gives the student 7.5 hp. The examination is performed through three different formats (without written examination). Different grades are given based on the following criteria:

 To pass the course and get the grade 3:

• All hand calculation homework should be handed in.
• All computer exercises should be handed in.
• Report of at least one project within each assignment should be handed in and with score Pass. (There will be 3 assignments. For each report, the score will be Fail, Pass and Good.)
• Final presentation of one project report.

 In addition to above mandatory tasks, to get the grade 4:

• At least in one of the three assignments, you need to finish two projects within this assignment.
• All the three assignment reports must be scored with Good.

 In addition to above mandatory tasks, to get the grade 5:

• You need to finish two projects within all the three assignments.
• All the three assignment reports must be scored with Good.