In steel structures, a lot of attention is paid to lightweight structure, i.e. reduction of dead load without compromising structural safety, integrity and performance as well as cost-effectiveness. Thanks to modern steel aluminium sandwich panel manufacturing technology a new possibility became available for lightweight structural design.The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the application of sandwich panels in the construction of steel structures with the aim of weight reduction without affecting other parameters like safety, performance, cost, etc. In this thesis, both column and plate buckling theories are considered and applied to the sandwich panel to evaluate its behaviour under in-plane compressive load. Effects of various material models and imperfections on buckling strength of sandwich panel are evaluated. Stiffened plate and sandwich panel is compared in terms of buckling resistance and self-weight. Three different sandwich panels made from faceplates of steel grade, S355, S690 & S1100, are used for replacement of S355 stiffened plate. Efforts made to understand the effect of various physical parameters on buckling resistance of sandwich panel in both column and plate buckling theories.Finally, as a case study, sandwich panel technology is used to redesign the Huisman structure. The objective is to investigate whether applying sandwich panels in redesign makes it possible to obtain a sufficient weight reduction without losing its performance. For this case study, sandwich panels with faceplates of steel grade S355, S690 and S1100 are used. Static and buckling strength of the new design is evaluated. Also, the cost of new design and original design is evaluated and results are compared. Cost analysis is done to evaluate whether a sandwich panel is an economical solution.Findings of this thesis are that in future it is possible to use sandwich panels in offshore structures to save a significant amount of weight while taking considerations into account. Sandwich panels can be successfully used to replace stiffened plates. Sandwich panels with faceplates made from extra high strength steel can give significant weight reduction. But the use of sandwich panels also results in an increase in the overall cost of the structure. So in terms of costs, it is questioned whether or not using sandwich panels is economically beneficial for offshore equipment.

Wind turbine industry is growing and future predictions are promising. However, a shortage of installation vessels could influence this growth in offshore wind industry. Commonly, wind turbines are installed in components using a jack-up vessel. Occasionally, wind turbines are installed fully assembled. The center of gravity of a fully assembled wind turbine is relatively low and thus lifting above the wind turbine is not necessarily for fully assembled wind turbine installation. Wind turbines can be installed fully assembled using cranes in twin lift configuration to reduce required lifting capacities. The flexibility and scalability of the vessel depends on the location of the cranes on the vessel. Different vessels can install wind turbines with their advantages and disadvantages. To identify these solutions, principles are proposed and compared with state-of-the-art vessels for wind turbine installations. A morphological analysis is used to identify promising solutions for fully assembled wind turbine installation. Eight concepts are compared in a scenario comparison with varying distance between nearby marshalling ports and the wind turbine park location. Several solutions show subsequent improvement in installation rates. One new concept, the PWT installation vessel, shows overall improvement in installation rates. This solution, developed by the author of this report, is proposed for flexible and scalable fully assembled wind turbine installation.

The aim of this thesis is to determine the influence of the Y/T, yield to tensile strength, ratio on the stress fields of high strength steels. This is relevant to the offshore industry as regulations restrict the use of steels with a high yield to tensile strength ratio, which is a characteristic of high­-strength and ultra high­-strength steels. Identifying the influence of these parameters on behavior could lead to a scientific underpinning and review of the rules. The focus of this thesis is on stress concentrations at circular cutouts under uniform tension. The local stress and strain was found, which could be used to assess the risk of strain localization and fracture. Analytical models of Stowell, Neuber and Irwin are used to establish new relationships between the Y/T ratio and the stress field. The analytical methods of Stowell and Neuber were able to account for strain hardening, while the Irwin analytical relationship only provides a elastic-­perfectly plastic solution. Besides the stress field, an analytical formulation for the local strain based on Stowell’s theory is also established. Numerical simulations were carried out for S690, S960, and S1100 materials. The numerical material models are later used in the research to validate analytical approaches. Also, an infinite plate approach is applied to the specimens by scaling the ligaments of the specimens by a factor of 6. A parametric study has been carried out to gain insights into the influence of the governing parameters in relation to local strain. The parameters studied are the Y/T, yield strength, strain hardening exponent, and strength coefficient. Each parameter is varied separately. The main conclusions are that a high Y/T ratio causes a slight decrease in plastic stress concentration factor, resulting in a slight increase in local strain. The strain hardening exponent shows the same trend, but the changes are even less significant. The yield strength and strength coefficient have no effect on the stress concentration factor or local strain. None of the parameters show any influence on the extent of the plastic zone of the material.