Fatigue Design of Roller Bearing for Large FPSO Turrets

The present report presents the fatigue design and a fatigue life prediction method for large roller bearings applied in the turret turn table for large Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units. The contact point between wheel and rail in these bearings is subjected to a multi-axial stress situation and both surface wear and fatigue cracking may occur. Stress analyses with contact elements are carried out and a methodology based on the Dang Van fatigue criterion is adopted. The criterion is based on an equivalent stress defined as a combination of the fluctuation of the shear stress from its mean value and the associated hydrostatic stress at a critical plane at any time. The…