repair and strengthening of offshore plate girders using fibre-reinforced polymers 

Supervisors

• Mehrdad Kimiaei
  Lecturer, Oceans Graduate School

• Mohamed Elchalakani
  Senior Lecturer, Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering

Project Description

The main aims of this project it to study numerically and experimentally structural load bearing capacity and failure mechanism of typical plate girders (usually used as main structural components for offshore topsides) in the intact,  corroded and FRP wrapped conditions. Effects of different types of fibers (glass or carbon) , different techniques for wrapping the sections  and different loading scenarios (axial or bending) will be studied in this project. This project is suitable for the students who are interested in structural engineering, mechanics of materials and offshore/coastal engineering.

This project will be done in collaboration with IAS-Group pty ltd, a company located in Perth with a wide expertise in the oil and gas industry and a major contractor for FRP repair of structural systems. They will donate the required materials and adhesive for the project. They will work closely with UWA academics and MPE students.