A modified numerical calculation method of collapse pressure for thick-walled offshore pipelines

Considering the shear deformation and thickness stretching of large deformation, a modified numerical calculation method based on the thick shell theory is established to determine the collapse pressure of thick-walled pipes. Verification experiments are conducted on ten pipe specimens in hyperbaric chambers. The good agreement between experimental results and numerical predictions shows the validity and reliability of the new numerical calculation method. Combining DNV specification, the characteristic collapse pressure is also calculated for comparison. The difference between experimental results and DNV calculations illustrates the latter one is much conservative in predicting collapse pressure for thick-walled pipes. Sensitivity analysis on manufacturing imperfections and material properties is investigated for pipes with different D/t ratios. Thick-walled pipes are easier to be affected by initial ovality, residual stress and hardening factor. Based on the stress distribution at the moment of collapse, a novel discovery is found that the collapse pressure of thick-walled pipes is dominated by material plastic behavior.     

A design chart for the plastic collapse of corrugated cylinders under external pressure

The paper presents a theoretical and an experimental investigation into the plastic collapse of circular steel corrugated cylinders under external hydrostatic pressure. The experimental investigation gives a detailed study of 9 steel corrugated cylinders which were tested to destruction. Six of these cylinders failed by plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling and three failed by plastic axisymmetric deformation. The results of these tests were used, together with the results obtained from previous tests, to present a design chart for the plastic collapse of these vessels. The design chart was obtained by a semi-empirical approach, where the thinness ratios of the vessels were plotted against their plastic knockdown factors. The process of using the design chart is to calculate the theoretical elastic instability pressure for a perfect vessel by the finite element method and also to calculate the thinness ratio for this vessel. Using the appropriate value of the thinness ratio, the plastic knockdown factors are obtained from the design chart. To obtain the actual collapse pressure of the vessel, the theoretical elastic instability pressure for a perfect vessel is divided by the plastic knockdown factor. This work is of importance in ocean engineering. A large safety factor must also be introduced.     

Discrete-element numerical modelling method for studying mechanical response of methane-hydrate-bearing specimens

Abstract

It is important to understand the deformation mechanism of methane-hydrate specimens (MHSs) to avoid deforming the seabed during methane-hydrate production. For this purpose, discrete-element method (DEM) modelling is advantageous because it requires much less cost and effort compared to artificial specimens and in situ sediments. In this study, a method for generating DEM numerical simulation models of MHSs is proposed to study the deformation mechanism of MHSs. First, numerical models that consider the saturation of methane hydrate (S_MH), following which the bi-axial compression of these models is simulated. The mechanisms controlling the shear strength of MHSs are verified and modified by investigating the stress–strain response behavior, crack-development process, and evolution of the void change rate (E_change) of MHSs. The increases of the peak strength and secant elastic modulus of the MHS with the increment of confining pressure follow parabolic relationships. Under different loading rates, the peak strength tends to increase parabolically with the increment of loading rate, while the relationship between the secant elastic modulus and loading rate is linear. Based on the testing results, empirical formulas of peak stress and elastic modulus are proposed for different confining-pressure and strain-rate conditions.     

Inelastic shell instability of thin-walled circular cylinders under external hydrostatic pressure

This paper reports on experimental work carried out on nine thin-walled circular cylinders which were tested to destruction under external hydrostatic pressure. Seven of the cylinders failed through non-symmetric bifurcation buckling and two failed through axisymmetric collapse. The results were used from these tests, together with the results from other experiments, to produce a design chart which could be used for designing against the occurence of elastic and inelastic shell instability.     

Plastic buckling of ring-stiffened conical shells under external hydrostatic pressure

The paper describes experimental tests carried out on three ring-stiffened cones that were tested to destruction under external hydrostatic pressure. The cones were carefully machined from EN1A Steel. All three cones failed by plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling in a mode commonly known as general instability. In this mode the entire ring-shell combination buckles bodily.The paper also provides a design chart using the results obtained from these three vessels, together with the results of six other vessels obtained from other tests. The design chart allows the possibility of obtaining a plastic knock down factor, so that the theoretical buckling pressures, based on elastic theory, can be divided by the plastic knockdown factor, to give the predicted buckling pressure. This method can also be used for the design of full-scale vessels.     

初始几何缺陷对管道极限承载力影响研究

初始几何缺陷被认为是影响管道极限承载力和稳定性的重要因素,但是大部分的管道力学特性研究都没有考虑初始缺陷的影响。基于管道几何尺寸测量机,获得管道的壁厚和直径沿轴向以及环向的分布规律。据此建立了四个三维实体有限元模型,分别为完好管道模型、只考虑直径缺陷的管道模型、只考虑壁厚缺陷的管道模型以及考虑所有缺陷的管道模型。分析了初始缺陷对管道的极限内压承载力、极限轴力承载力和极限弯矩承载力的影响。结果表明,直径缺陷对管道的极限内压承载力影响较大;壁厚缺陷对管道在复杂荷载作用下的极限弯矩承载力影响较大。     

Large-eddy simulation of the turbulent near wake behind a circular cylinder: Reynolds number effect

The purpose of the present work is <!–<query>The highlights are in an incorrect format. Hence they have been deleted. Please refer the online instructions: http://www.elsevier.com/highlights and provide 3-5 bullet points.</query>–>to study the effect of the Reynolds number on the near-wake structure and separating shear layers behind a circular cylinder. Three-dimensional unsteady large-eddy simulation is carried out and two different subgrid scale models are applied in order to evaluate the turbulent wake reasonably. The Reynolds number based on the free-stream velocity and the cylinder diameter is ranging from Re = 5500–41,300, corresponding to the full development of the shear-layer instability in the intermediate subcritical flow regime. For a complete validation of this numerical study, hydrodynamic bulk coefficients are computed and compared to experimental measurements and numerical studies in the literature. Special focus is made on the variations of both the large-scale near-wake structure and the small-scale shear-layer instability with increasing Reynolds numbers. The present numerical study clearly shows the broadband nature of the shear-layer instability as well as the dependence of the shear-layer frequency especially on the high Reynolds numbers.     

The buckling of a corrugated carbon fibre cylinder under external hydrostatic pressure

A theoretical and an experimental investigation was carried out, where a carbon fibre corrugated circular cylinder was tested to destuction under external hydrostatic pressure. The theoretical investigation was via the finite element method, where the structure was modelled with several orthotropic axisymmetric thin-walled shell elements. The experimental observations were aided with strategically placed strain gauges. Comparison between theory and experiment showed that the experimentally observed buckling pressure was a little lower than the theoretical prediction. This may have been due to the fact that the model had slight initial geometrical imperfections in the circumferenential direction.     

双拱初始缺陷海底管线水平向整体屈曲数值模拟分析

为了研究具有双拱反对称初始缺陷海底管线的整体屈曲特性,采用模态分析法将最可能出现的缺陷形态引入数值分析模型中。针对管线在高温高压作用下发生整体屈曲的动态变形特征,运用显式动力数值模拟方法研究了管线整体屈曲过程中水平向变形与轴向变形随温度和内压的变化规律,建立了在整体屈曲过程中屈曲管段与滑动管段轴力的变化过程与初始缺陷形态的关系。将数值模拟结果同经典解析解和室内模型实验结果进行对比,验证了本方法的可靠性。工程算例的分析结果表明,管线整体屈曲的发生是一个由低阶向高阶发展的过程,具有双拱缺陷的管线首先发生二阶模态的整体屈曲,而后过渡到四阶模态;管线整体屈曲的变形包括屈曲段的水平向变形和滑动管段的轴向缩进,其中水平变形释放了管壁内的轴力,轴力的释放量随初始缺陷尖锐程度的降低而增大;轴向缩进变形由于受到地基土的摩阻力使滑动管段内的轴力发生累积,轴力的累积量随初始缺陷的尖锐程度的降低而增加。以上研究成果对指导实际工程具有现实意义。     

A numerical and experimental study on tank wall influences in drag estimation

This study has been undertaken to quantify the tank wall effects on resistance estimation of ship models. Given the finite width of a tank, the flow around a ship model has been numerically modelled and the pressure and pressure related drag have been estimated.Since the model runs at speeds essentially in the laminar and transient speed range, an inviscid model has been chosen for obtaining the pressure drag component in the numerical studies. Grid dependency study has been done to optimize the mesh in the control volume for the numerical studies. An unstructured grid consisting of hexahedral cells has been used in the volume of fluid (VOF) model. The model chosen is a medium speed, ocean going barge and the residuary resistance has been obtained for different tank width conditions. The tank width has been defined using a non-dimensionalized parameter W/B (tank width W, model width B) ratio. The study shows that the residuary resistance obtained at W/B=5.0 is free from tank wall influence for the chosen model. The findings of the study have been compared by testing two geosim models under the same tank width conditions. The residuary resistance values have been compared with numerical results. The combined numerical experimental approach provides interesting results of consistency for comparison. The tank wall influences suggested by the numerical study are well quantified in the experimental study and give useful guideline for limiting wall influences.     

Numerical simulation of wave damping over porous seabeds

This paper presents a study of wave damping over porous seabeds by using a two-dimensional numerical model. In this model, the flow outside of porous media is described by the Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The spatially averaged Navier–Stokes equations, in which the presence of porous media is considered by including additional inertia and nonlinear friction forces, is derived and implemented for the porous flow. Unlike the earlier models, the present model explicitly represents the flow resistance dependency on Reynolds number in order to cover wider ranges of porous flows. The numerical model is validated against available theories and experimental data. The comparison between the numerical results and the theoretical results indicates that the omission or linearization of the nonlinear resistance terms in porous flow models, which is the common practice in most of analytical models, can lead to significant errors in estimating wave damping rate. The present numerical model is used to simulate nonlinear wave interaction with porous seabeds and it is found that the numerical results compare well with the experimental data for different wave nonlinearity. The additional numerical tests are also conducted to study the effects of wavelength, seabed thickness and Reynolds number on wave damping.     

Numerical Simulation of Sloshing Using the MPS-FSI Method with Large Eddy Simulation

A numerical model has been developed to study sloshing of turbulent flow in a tank with elastic baffles. The Moving-Particle Semi-implicit method(MPS) is a kind of meshless Lagrangian calculation method. The large eddy simulation(LES) approach is employed to model the turbulence by using the Smagorinsky Sub-Particle Scale(SPS)closure model. This paper uses MPS-FSI method with LES to simulate the interaction between free surface flow and a thin elastic baffle in sloshing. Then, the numerical model is validated, and the numerical solution has good agreement with experimental data for sloshing in a tank with elastic baffles. Furthermore, under external excitations,the MPS is applied to viscous laminar flow and turbulent flow, with both the deformation of elastic baffles and the wave height of the free surface are compared with each other. Besides, the impact pressure with/without baffles and wave height of free surface are investigated and discussed in detail. Finally, preliminary simulations are carried out in the damage problem of elastic baffles, taking the advantage of the MPS-FSI method in computations of the fluid–structure interaction with large deformation.     

Laboratory Investigation on the Effects of Overconsolidation and Saturation on Undrained Monotonic Shear Behavior of Granular Material

In order to study pore water response and static liquefaction characteristics of silty sand, which has previously experienced liquefaction, two series of monotonic triaxial tests were run on medium dense sand specimens (RD = 50%) at confining pressure of 100 kPa. In the first test series, the influence of the soil saturation under undrained static loading has been studied. It summarizes results of monotonic tests performed on Chlef sand at various values of the Skempton's pore pressure coefficient. Analysis of experimental results gives valuable insights on the effect of soil saturation on sand response to undrained monotonic paths. In the second series of tests, the overconsolidation influence on the resistance to the sands liquefaction has been realized on samples at various values of overconsolidation ratios (OCR). It was found that the increase of overconsolidation ratio (OCR) increases the resistance of sands to liquefaction.     

A coupled debris flow–turbidity current model

In the last decade, offshore pipeline engineering extended its action field to very deep waters and continental slopes. This implied the necessity to deal with continental slope instability and mass gravity flows. Mass gravity flows are rare and have random occurrence; therefore, considering also the technical difficulties, the direct measurement of the phenomena is practically impossible. This has encouraged the development of physical and numerical models for investigating the characteristics and intensity of the phenomena (Proc. OTC Conf., Houston, TX (2000); Proc. 19th OMAE Conference, New Orleans, LA (2000)). In order to provide design activities with reliable predictive tools, two numerical models, one for debris flows and the other for turbidity currents, have been developed. The two models are coupled by the bottom boundary conditions of the turbidity current model that depends on the instantaneous velocity of the debris flow model. The two models used together provide a tool for the evaluation of a mass gravity flow event starting as a debris flow and evolving into a turbidity current.     

Experimental study on strength characteristics and microscopic mechanism of marine soft clays

Abstract

The effect of microstructure on shear strength of saturated marine clays was investigated by conducting a series of consolidated-drained (CD), consolidated-undrained (CU) triaxial shear tests and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests on undisturbed and reconstitute specimens. The valuable findings from the experimental study are follows: (1) The shear strength of undisturbed specimens is lower than that of corresponding reconstituted specimens due to larger void ratio at the same confining pressure. However, undisturbed specimens have higher strength than reconstituted specimens when their void ratios are the same. (2) The main reason for the lower shear strength of reconstituted specimens with the same void ratio as undisturbed specimens is that more volume of inter-aggregate pores exists in the reconstituted specimens according to the MIP test results. And the difference in shear strength between undisturbed and reconstituted specimens is mainly caused by the difference in soil fabric. (3) The shear test results dealt with a reference void ratio, as a fabric index, show that there is a unique linear relation between strength and void ratio at failure to the reference void ratio. Moreover, the linear relation is suitable for other marine clays from the literature. Therefore, the reference void ratio can be used as a soil fabric index to normalize the strength characteristics of marine soft clays.     

In situ tests for ice strength measurements

Ice effects have caused extensive damage. Enormous forces have been recorded. On the other hand, ice has been used as a structural material under various situations. To use ice beneficially and to assess the danger of ice forces, it is necessary to know the mechanical properties of ice.Results from the large number of ice tests carried out in laboratories show the difficulties of sampling and testing procedures. Most of the tests have not reproduced faithfully enough the conditions existing in nature. To obtain adequate results, laborious and slow samplings and preparations of test specimens have been necessary. Recently, extensive use has been made of in situ tests in order to reduce the number of factors whixh can induce errors in measurements. Large scale tests have simulated actual structures. General ice properties have become available from small-scale in situ tests. Since these tests give rapid results, a large number are already available with a good coverage of field conditions.A theoretical basis has been devised for these in situ tests which measure essentially the unconfined and confined compressive strengths of ice, and practical devices have been developed to execute these tests. A correlation of measurements from laboratory tests and in situ tests has established a link between natural and artificial environments. Brittle elastic and clastic theories have been applied, to find the best correlations for ice tests. Test results have been related to the mechanical properties as used in engineering practice.A very summary conclusion of results is that cold sea ice and cold fresh water ice are both very strong. However, depending on the load rate, ice can be quite brittle, which mitigates dangerous effects from ice action against massive structures.     

水化作用对南海东部泥页岩地层井壁坍塌的影响分析

在我国南海东部油气田钻遇韩江组和珠江组的钻井过程中,常遇到泥页岩井壁坍塌问题,制约了钻井速度,造成了一定的经济损失。为此,分析了该地区泥页岩地层井壁失稳机理,通过试验确定了泥页岩吸水扩散系数,研究了泥页岩吸水对其抗压强度、弹性模量等力学参数的影响规律,根据Molar．Coulomb准则计算了泥页岩水化后井壁坍塌压力随井眼钻开时间的变化规律。这对解决该海域泥页岩地层井壁坍塌问题有较大的指导意义。     

Numerical simulations of Rossby–Haurwitz waves

Simulations of Rossby–Haurwitz waves have been carried out using four different high‐resolution numerical shallow water models: a spectral model, two semi‐Langrangian models predicting wind components and potential vorticity respectively, and a finite‐volume model on a hexagonal–icosahedral grid. The simulations show that (i) unlike the nondivergent case, the shallow water Rossby–Haurwitz wave locally generates small‐scale features and so has a potential enstrophy cascade, and (ii) contrary to common belief, the zonal wavenumber 4 Rossby–Haurwitz wave is dynamically unstable and will eventually break down if initially perturbed. Implications of these results for the use of the Rossby–Haurwitz wave as a numerical model test case are discussed. The four models tested give very similar results, giving confidence in the accuracy and robustness of the results. The most noticeable difference between the models is that truncation errors in the hexagonal–icosahedral grid model excite the Rossby–Haurwitz wave instability, causing the wave to break down quickly, whereas for the other models in the configurations tested the instability is excited only by roundoff error at worst, and the Rossby–Haurwitz wave breaks down much more slowly or not at all.     

Numerical simulation of the hydrodynamic behaviour of submerged plane nets in current

The aim of this paper is to investigate the shape and tension distribution of fishing nets in current. A numerical model is developed, based on lumped mass method to simplify the net. The motion equation is set up for each lumped mass. The Runge–Kutta–Verner fifth-order and sixth-order method is used to solve these simultaneous equations, and then the displacement and tension of each lumped mass are obtained. In order to verify the validity of the numerical method, model tests have been carried out. The results by the numerical simulation agree well with the experimental data.     

Characteristic of tsunami force acting on shelter with mooring

Tsunami shelter has been designed and built as a refuges in case tsunami occurs. In recent year, different kinds of tsunami shelter have been proposed and developed, which is either a building type or a floating one. The main purpose of this research is to propose a new type of tsunami shelter with elastic mooring in comparison with a fixed type of shelter and to investigate tsunami force acting on the shelter and motions due to tsunami wave. Three different kinds of tsunami shelter were compared, rectangular, trapezoid and streamline type, with two conditions such as fixed on the ground and floating with elastic mooring. To compute interaction between run-up tsunami wave and the tsunami shelters with mooring, the numerical model has been developed by using particle based method, Smooth Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) coupling with Extended Discrete Element Method (EDEM) for elastic mooring. Based on the validation of tsunami force and shelter motions with experimental results, the numerical results indicated that the model can simulate interactions between tsunami wave and shelter in fixed and mooring case. The result also shows that the tsunami force on the fixed tsunami shelter can be higher than that on the tsunami shelter with elastic mooring and then the mooring system can reduce tsunami force, 35% for averaged value and 50% for maximum one and the surge and pitch motions can be also reduced. The tsunami shelter with elastic mooring system could be a useful option for evacuating from tsunami attacking.