A stop-hole method for marine and offshore structures

Abstract Stop holes have been widely used as temporary repair means in marine and offshore engineering to extend the service life of cracked structural components that cannot be immediately replaced. However, there is a lack of guidance with respect to the appropriate size of a stop hole that is usually determined based on the judgment of the attending surveyor/inspector. In the present paper, a method is proposed for determining the appropriate size of a stop hole for cracked marine and offshore structures. In addition to the traditional concerns over the size and nature of the crack, the proposed method incorporates high-cycle and low-cycle fatigue analyses into remain service life prediction taking into account both long-term and short term wave-induced loading. The effects of the return period of the potential severest sea condition, the crack length, and the environmental severity factor on the remaining service life of a stop hole are investigated.