An increasing number of these projects use new construction, rather than conversion from the diminishing supply of existing tanker tonnage of suitable size, configuration and quality, for long-term development of major fields. As of the fall of 2002, 23 FPSOs (11 newbuild and 12 conversions) and 5 FSOs (3 newbuild and 2 conversions) were under construction. Notwithstanding the new construction, the ability to maintain these assets on site and in full production over the long term is very important. Where a typical shuttle tanker may have a day rate of $20,000 to $25,000/day and a deep water Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) may earn $150,000 to $200,000/day, one day of lost production on an FPSO can easily be valued at $2,000,000.

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In 2005 wurde auf Veranlassung des Bundesverkehrsministeriums das Sandwich Plate System (SPS) für den Einsatz an Fahrbahnen im Brückenbau in Deutschland an einem Pilotprojekt qualifiziert. Fünf Jahre vorher wurde diese 1998 patentierte Technologie durch Kontakte zwischen der RWTH Aachen und der Carleton University in Ottawa, Kanada, in Deutschland bekannt und wissenschaftlich untersucht. Für das Pilotprojekt wurde die Verstärkung der orthotropen Fahrbahnplatte einer Autobahnbrücke der A57 bei Krefeld ausgewählt. Die aus den 1960er Jahren stammende stählerne Fahrbahnplatte des Überbaus erhielt eine Fahrbahnverstärkung aus SPS-Overlay. Mit dieser Aktion des Bundesverkehrsministeriums wurde der Start für die baupraktischen Einsätze dieser neuen, innovativen Tragstruktur gelegt. Nun, mehr als zehn Jahre nach dem Pilotprojekt, werden in diesem Bericht die mittlerweile erfolgten Entwicklungen dargestellt und aktuelle Anwendungen der 22 Jahre alten Grundidee aufgezeigt. Reconstruction of bridge decks and walkways by using Steel-Elastomer-Compound Components.On the initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Transport in 2005, the Sandwich Plate System has been qualified for the use on roadways in bridge construction in Germany on a pilot project. Two years before this 1998 patented technology was known in Germany by contacts between the RWTH Aachen and the Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and in the following scientifically examined. For the pilot project, the strengthening of an orthotropic carriageway of a motorway bridge of the A57 near Krefeld was selected. As a native of the 1960s, the steel slab of the bridge superstructure got roadway reinforcement by SPS Overlay. With this action by the Federal Ministry of Transport, the start of the practical building operations of this innovative new support structure was done. Now, more than ten years after the pilot project, present developments and current applications of the 22-year-old basic idea are highlighted in the report.

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It is apparent from a review of the literature and current research related to the design of ice-resisting walls for offshore structures that there is a need for more efficient designs of these structural elements. The object of this study was to examine an alternate structural element for ice-resisting walls, a flexible composite plate system, which is simple in detail, design, and construction and utilizes the capacity of the section.An exploratory experimental program was undertaken to determine the strength and behaviour of flexible steel–concrete composite sandwich plates, without mechanical shear interconnectors, subject to transverse loads. A series of six composite plate elements, continuous over supporting composite bulkheads and axially restrained, were tested with a four-point load system. The primary variables investigated were plate thickness, which varied from 3.18 to 6.35 mm, and section depth which gave span-to-depth ratios from 15 to 25.Three regions of behaviour of the composite plates were observed: flexural, flexural membrane, and membrane. The flexural capacity is limited by the development of a plastic mechanism, and the ultimate capacity is limited by the tensile–shear strength of the double membrane steel plates. The average maximum centre-span deflection at failure exceeded one-sixth of the span. The characteristics of the flexible composite plates make it a favourable alternative to conventional and semi-rigid composite plate construction. Key words: composite, concrete, ductility, energy absorption, flexible, flexural behaviour, membrane behaviour, plates, steel.