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Dynamic Buckling of Steel Scaffolds Under Periodic Wind Load In Offshore Platforms
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Mechanical Engineering
Abstract
Steel scaffolds are critical temporary structures used for maintenance and construction on offshore oil and gas platforms. These scaffolds are frequently exposed to fluctuating wind loads, yet their susceptibility to dynamic buckling under periodic harmonic excitation remains poorly characterized in existing design frameworks. This study presents a comprehensive numerical simulation of the dynamic buckling behavior of steel scaffolds subjected to sinusoidal offshore wind loads using a MATLAB-based time-domain solver. The scaffold is idealized as a damped single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system, incorporating mass, stiffness, and viscous damping representative of offshore deployment conditions. The analysis revealed that, the peak lateral displacement reached about 15.0 mm, exceeding the scaffold?s safe deformation threshold of 5-10 mm, thus indicating a clear buckling risk. The accumulated strain energy peaked about 30.0 J. Damping dissipated about 18.0 J of energy, underscoring its crucial role in moderating the system?s vibration amplitude. Additionally, the amplitude-to-load ratio (ALR) rose to 0.042 mm/N. The load-displacement trajectory revealed pronounced softening behavior, consistent with nonlinear geometric effects during large deformations. These results demonstrated that dynamic buckling, particularly under harmonic wind loading near resonance, poses a substantial failure risk for offshore scaffolding. Static analysis alone is insufficient for safety assurance. The developed simulation framework provides a predictive tool for identifying dangerous excitation frequencies and guiding safer scaffold design and deployment. This work contributes actionable insights for improving offshore construction practices and informing regulatory safety standards.
Keywords
Steel Scaffold, Dynamic Buckling, Periodic Wind Load, Offshore Platform
How to cite this paper
@article{1710050,
author = {Raphael Okosiemiema, Friday Sorka Bright},
title = {Dynamic Buckling of Steel Scaffolds Under Periodic Wind Load In Offshore Platforms},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2025},
volume = {9},
number = {2},
pages = {227-233},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1710050.pdf},
abstract = {Steel scaffolds are critical temporary structures used for maintenance and construction on offshore oil and gas platforms. These scaffolds are frequently exposed to fluctuating wind loads, yet their susceptibility to dynamic buckling under periodic harmonic excitation remains poorly characterized in existing design frameworks. This study presents a comprehensive numerical simulation of the dynamic buckling behavior of steel scaffolds subjected to sinusoidal offshore wind loads using a MATLAB-based time-domain solver. The scaffold is idealized as a damped single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system, incorporating mass, stiffness, and viscous damping representative of offshore deployment conditions. The analysis revealed that, the peak lateral displacement reached about 15.0 mm, exceeding the scaffold?s safe deformation threshold of 5-10 mm, thus indicating a clear buckling risk. The accumulated strain energy peaked about 30.0 J. Damping dissipated about 18.0 J of energy, underscoring its crucial role in moderating the system?s vibration amplitude. Additionally, the amplitude-to-load ratio (ALR) rose to 0.042 mm/N. The load-displacement trajectory revealed pronounced softening behavior, consistent with nonlinear geometric effects during large deformations. These results demonstrated that dynamic buckling, particularly under harmonic wind loading near resonance, poses a substantial failure risk for offshore scaffolding. Static analysis alone is insufficient for safety assurance. The developed simulation framework provides a predictive tool for identifying dangerous excitation frequencies and guiding safer scaffold design and deployment. This work contributes actionable insights for improving offshore construction practices and informing regulatory safety standards.},
keywords = {Steel Scaffold, Dynamic Buckling, Periodic Wind Load, Offshore Platform},
month = {August},
}