The problem of requalification of in-service structures has become a topical question within various industrial activities. It is the case in offshore activity where some thousand platforms will be requalified in the coming period. A large number of offshore platforms are operating since 1970. Their initial design was based on safety regulations related to the 20 years lifetime expectation. As far as the oil field remains economically profitable there is a need for justifying the extension of the exploitation duration. The technical, economical and social conditions make the probabilistic system approach more powerful for the requalification process. In this context, there are needs for different basic concepts: probabilistic modelling, system analysis of redundant structures and optimisation techniques as decision aid tools. These concepts are investigated and some illustrations are proposed. The paper gives also general recommendations for carrying through a structural requalification process.
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