Wave pressures and uplift forces on and scour around submarine pipeline in clayey soil

Experimental investigations are carried out on wave-induced pressures and uplift forces on a submarine pipeline (exposed, half buried and fully buried) in clayey soil of different consistency index both in regular and random waves. A study on scour under the pipeline resting on the clay bed is also carried out. It is found that the uplift force can be reduced by about 70%, if the pipeline is just buried in clay soil. The equilibrium scour depth below the pipeline is estimated as 42% of the pipe diameter for consistency index of 0.17 and is 34% of the pipe diameter for consistency index of 0.23. The results of the present investigations are compared with the results on sandy soil by Cheng and Liu (Appl. Ocean Res., 8(1986) 22) to acknowledge the benefit of cohesive soil in reducing the high pore pressure on buried pipeline compared to cohesionless soil.     

An experimental study of seabed responses around a marine pipeline under wave and current conditions

Experiments on three types of soil (d₅₀=0.287, 0.057 and 0.034 mm) with pipeline(D=4 cm) either half buried or resting on the seabed under regular wave or combined with current actions were conducted in a large wave flume to investigate characteristics of soil responses. The pore pressures were measured through the soil depth and across the pipeline. When pipeline is present the measured pore pressures in sandy soil nearby the pipeline deviate considerably from that predicted by the poro-elasticity theory. The buried pipeline seems to provide a degree of resistance to soil liquefaction in the two finer soil seabeds. In the silt bed, a negative power relationship was found between maximum values of excess pore pressure p_max and test intervals under the same wave conditions due to soil densification and dissipation of the pore pressure. In the case of wave combined with current, pore pressures in sandy soil show slightly decrease with time, whereas in silt soil, the current causes an increase in the excess pore pressure build-up, especially at the deeper depth. Comparing liquefaction depth with scour depth underneath the pipeline indicates that the occurrence of liquefaction is accompanied with larger scour depth under the same pipeline-bed configuration.     

Wave-induced uplift force on a submarine pipeline buried in a compressible seabed

A two-dimensional finite-element simulation of the wave-induced hydrodynamic uplift force acting on a submarine pipeline buried in sandy seabed sediments subject to continuous loading of sinusoidal surface waves is presented. Neglecting inertia forces, a linear-elastic stress-strain relationship for the soil and Darcy's law for the flow of pore fluid are assumed. The model takes into account the compressibility of both components (i.e., pore fluid and soil skeleton) of the two-phase medium.The results of numerical analysis are presented and discussed with respect to soil and pore fluid parameters where special attention is paid to the question of soil saturation conditions. The meaning of the results is also related to surface wave conditions. As a general conclusion, the practical, engineering recommendation is given in order to make a realistic, safe and economic estimation of the wave-induced uplift force acting on a buried submarine pipeline.     

Experimental investigation on the wave-induced pore pressure around shallowly embedded pipelines

A series of regular wave experiments have been done in a large-scale wave flume to investigate the wave-induced pore pressure around the submarine shallowly embedded pipelines.The model pipelines are buried in three kinds of soils,including gravel,sand and silt with different burial depth.The input waves change with height and period.The results show that the amplitudes of wave-induced pore pressure increase as the wave period increase,and decay from the surface to the bottom of seabed.Higher pore pressures are recorded at the pipeline top and the lower pore pressures at the bottom,especially in the sand seabed.The normalized pressure around pipeline decreases as the relative water depth,burial depth or scattering parameters increase.For the silt seabed,the wavelet transform has been successfully used to analyze the signals of wave-induced pore pressure,and the oscillatory and residual pore pressure can be extracted by wavelet analysis.Higher oscillatory pressures are recorded at the bottom and the lower pressures at the top of the pipeline.However,higher residual pressures are recorded at the top and the lower pressures at the bottom of the pipeline.     

Wave induced forces around buried pipelines

This work refers to an experimental investigation carried out to analyze wave induced pressures on a pipeline buried in a permeable seabed. In this investigation, the model tests were performed on a pipeline buried in the soil test bed. The wave flume used was 30 m long, 2 m wide and 1.7 m deep, 96 number of tests were conducted with waves generated for different wave heights. A pipeline 200 mm in diameter was buried in the sandy bed at different burial depth ratios. The pipeline was laid perpendicular to the wave direction, pressure was measured with 12 transducers along the outer circumference of the pipeline. The results show that wave induced pressures are significantly controlled by the wave period analyzed in terms of the scattering parameter (ka). Higher pressures were recorded at the top and the lower pressures were recorded at the bottom.     

Numerical simulation of a partially buried pipeline in a permeable seabed subject to combined oscillatory flow and steady current

Hydrodynamic forces exerting on a pipeline partially buried in a permeable seabed subjected to combined oscillatory flow and steady current are investigated numerically. Two-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with a k−ω turbulent model closure are solved to simulate the flow around the pipeline. The Laplace equation is solved to calculate the pore pressure below the seabed with the simulated seabed hydrodynamic pressure as boundary conditions. The numerical model is validated against the experimental data of a fully exposed pipeline resting on a plane boundary under various flow conditions. Then the flow with different embedment depths, steady current ratios and KC numbers is simulated. The amplitude of seepage velocity is much smaller than the amplitude of free stream velocity as expected. The normalized Morison inertia, drag and lift coefficients based on the corresponding force coefficients of a fully exposed pipeline are investigated. The normalized Morison force coefficients reduce almost linearly with the increase of embedment depth and that the KC only has minor effect on the normalized Morison coefficients. It is also found that the permeable seabed condition causes a slight increase on the inline force and has a little effect on the lift force, compared with corresponding conditions in an impermeable bed.     

Non-linear wave-induced transient response of soil around a trenched pipeline

Submarine pipelines are always trenched within a seabed for reducing wave loads and thereby enhancing their stability. Based on Biot's poroelastic theory, a two-dimensional finite element model is developed to investigate non-linear wave-induced responses of soil around a trenched pipeline, which is verified with the flume test results by Sudhan et al. [Sudhan, C.M., Sundar, V., Rao, S.N., 2002. Wave induced forces around buried pipeline. Ocean Engineering, 29, 533–544] and Turcotte et al. [Turcotte, B.R., Liu, P.L.F., Kulhawy, F.H., 1984. Laboratory evaluation of wave tank parameters for wave-sediment interaction. Joseph H. Defree Hydraulic Laboratory Report 84-1, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University]. Non-linear wave-induced transient pore pressure around pipeline at various phases of wave loading is examined firstly. Unlike most previous investigations, in which only a single sediment layer and linear wave loading were concerned, in this study, the influences of the non-linearity of wave loading, the physical properties of backfill materials and the geometry profile of trenches on the excess pore pressures within the soil around pipeline, respectively, were explored, taking into account the in situ conditions of buried pipeline in the shallow ocean zones. Based on the parametric study, it is concluded that the shear modulus and permeability of backfill soils significantly affect the wave-induced excess pore pressures around trenched pipeline, and that the effect of wave non-linearity becomes more pronounced and comparable with that of trench depth, especially at high wave steepness in shallow water.     

Parametric study of the wave-induced residual liquefaction around an embedded pipeline

Wave-induced liquefaction in a porous seabed around submarine pipeline may cause catastrophic consequences such as large horizontal displacements of pipelines on the seabed, sinking or floatation of buried pipelines. Most previous studies in relation to the wave and seabed interactions with embedded pipeline dealt with the wave-induced instaneous seabed response and possible resulting momentary liquefaction (where the soil is liquefied instantaneously during the passage of a wave trough), using theory of poro-elasticity. Studies for the interactions between a buried pipeline and a soil undergoing build-up of pore pressure and residual liquefaction have been comparatively rare. In this paper, this complicated process was investigated by using a new developed integrated numerical model with RANS (Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes) equations used for governing the incompressible flow in the wave field and Biot consolidation equations used for linking the solid–pore fluid interactions in a porous seabed with embedded pipeline. Regarding the wave-induced residual soil response, a two-dimensional poro-elastoplastic solution with the new definition of the source term was developed, where the pre-consolidation analysis of seabed foundation under gravitational forces including the body forces of a pipeline was incorporated. The proposed numerical model was verified with laboratory experiment to demonstrate its accuracy and effectiveness. The numerical results indicate that residual liquefaction is more likely to occur in the vicinity of the pipeline compared to that in the far-field. The inclusion of body forces of a pipeline in the pre-consolidation analysis of seabed foundation significantly affects the potential for residual liquefaction in the vicinity of the pipeline, especially for a shallow-embedded case. Parametric studies reveal that the gradients of maximum liquefaction depth with various wave and soil characteristics become steeper as pipeline burial depth decreases.     

Three-dimensional poro-elastic integrated model for wave and current-induced oscillatory soil liquefaction around an offshore pipeline

To obtain a better understanding of the oscillatory soil liquefaction around an offshore pipeline, a three-dimensional integrated model for the wave–seabed–pipeline interaction (WSPI) is proposed by combining the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes equations for flow simulations and the dynamic Biot’s equation (“u-p” approximation) for the poro-elastic seabed model. Compared with previous investigations, the wave–current interaction is included in the present WSPI system. At a given time step, the wave pressure extracted from the flow model is applied on the seabed surface to determine the corresponding oscillatory seabed response around an offshore pipeline. The integrated numerical model is first validated using previous laboratory experiments. Then, a parametric study is conducted to examine the effects of flow obliquity and pipeline burial depth on the soil response around an offshore pipeline. Numerical results indicate that the soil under the pipeline is more susceptible to liquefaction at a reduced flow obliquity and pipeline burial depth. Moreover, the liquefaction depth in the case where the wave travels along the current can increase by 10%–30% compared to that in the case where the wave travels against the current, when the magnitude of the current velocity is 1 m/s.     

Experimental study on the performance of twin plate breakwater

The wave transmission characteristics and wave induced pressures on twin plate breakwater are investigated experimentally in regular and random waves.A total of twenty pressure transducers are fixed on four surfaces of twin plate to measure the wave induced dynamic pressures.The spatial distribution of dynamic wave pressure is given along the surface of the twin plate.The uplift wave force obtained by integrating the hydrodynamic pressure along the structure is presented.Discussed are the influence of different incident wave parameters including the relative plate width B /L,relative wave height /i H a and relative submergence depth s /a on the non-dimensional dynamic wave pressures and total wave forces.From the investigation,it is found that the optimum transmission coefficient,t K occurs around B /L 0.41 ~ 0.43,and the twin plate breakwater is more effective in different water depths.The maximum of pressure ratio decreases from 1.8 to 1.1 when the relative submergence depth of top plate is increased from 0.8to +0.8.     

Numerical Analysis of Seismic Dynamic Response of Saturated Porous Seabed Around a Buried Pipeline

The stability of submarine pipelines has been extensively studied by coastal engineers in recent years. Seismic-induced pore pressure and effective stresses in the saturated porous seabed and pipeline are the main important factors in the analysis of foundation stability around submarine pipelines. The majority research of the seismic-induced dynamic response around an offshore pipeline has been limited to two-dimension cases. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element model including buried pipeline is established by extending DYNE3WAC. Based on the proposed numerical model, a parametric study is conducted to examine the effects of soil characteristics and pipeline configurations on the seismic-induced soil response around offshore pipelines.     

波浪作用下粉土海床中的孔压响应试验研究

海床在波浪作用下是否稳定对海底工程的安全至关重要,海床的稳定性与土体中的孔压响应密切相关。水槽模拟试验表明:在波浪的作用下,黄河三角洲粉土海床中将产生振荡孔隙水压力和累积孔隙水压力。振荡孔隙水压力大小与土层深度、波高和粘粒含量有关,其振幅(能量)在土层中随深度的增加呈指数衰减,且粘粒含量越高衰减越快;加载波高越大,能量衰减越快。而累积孔压响应模式表现为在波浪作用最初的一段时间内,孔隙水压力快速上升,然后逐渐减小而趋于稳定,其大小和速率也与波高、粘粒含量、土层埋深有关,粘粒含量越高,孔压累积速度越低。     

Scour depth under pipelines placed on weakly cohesive soils

We here study the scouring processes that evolve around a submarine pipeline placed on a weakly cohesive seabed. We first analyze some laboratory tests carried out by Vijaya Kumar et al. [21], Xu et al. [25] and Zhou et al. [28] that focused on the scouring around a horizontal cylinder lying on a cohesive bed, subject to waves and currents. The specific purpose is that of finding a new formula for the prediction of the equilibrium scour depth under submarine pipelines. After a theoretical analysis of the main parameters, the sought formula has been found to be a function of: (i) the hydrodynamic forces acting on the cylinder (through the Keulegan–Carpenter parameter KC), (ii) the clay content of the soil C_c, and (iii) the burial depth e₀/D. In the presence of small amounts of clay (C_c< 5 %), the scour depth depends directly on KC (as confirmed by many literature works for pipelines lying on sandy soils, e.g. [18]) and inversely on C_c (as already seen for bridge abutments on cohesive soils, e.g. [1]), the best-fit law being characterized by a coefficient of determination R² = 0.62. If some burial depth is accounted for, this being a novelty of the present work, a more general formulation can be used, valid in the presence of weakly-cohesive soils and with burial depths of the pipe smaller than 0.5 (R² = 0.79). For large clay-content ranges (2% < C_c < 75 %), the scour depth depends directly on both KC and C_c, this giving R² = 0.79 (no burial depth) and 0.91 (some burial depth). However, this finding is at odds with the main literature, because, for large amounts of clay, it is fundamental to consider the liquidity index LI, which accounts for some important clay properties, like the plasticity. We argue that the absence of LI is balanced by the direct dependence of the scour depth on C_c. Notwithstanding the small number of available data, a formula for the prediction of the scour depth under pipelines lying on cohesive soils is fundamental for several engineering applications. The present contribution represents the first attempt to build such a formula, when the pipeline is subject to the wave-current forcing and the seabed is characterized by a relatively small clay content.     

Hydrodynamic coefficients for inclined cylinders

The wave induced dynamic pressures around a circular cylinder of diameter 0.2 m due to regular waves were measured in a wave flume in a water depth of 1 m and in a wave basin in a water depth of 3 m. The experimental investigations were carried out with the cylinder inclined along and against the direction of wave propagation. The least-squares technique was employed to evaluate the coefficients of drag (C_D) and inertia (C_M) from the sectional force time histories obtained by integrating the measured circumferential pressure distribution. The variation of drag and inertia coefficients are presented as a function of Keulegan-Carpenter number (KC) for different inclinations of the cylinder. The comparison between the measured and the theoretical force derived from the evaluated hydrodynamic coefficients is found to be good.     

海底管道掏空与波浪力变化关系试验

鉴于海底油气管道在海洋能源开发中的特殊意义,前人开展了大量管道安全试验研究,特别注重不同底床、不同波浪条件、不同埋置深度等方面的组合试验,本次试验针对危害管道安全的掏空和悬跨开展了波浪水槽试验,探讨黄河三角洲为主的粉土海床上掏空与管道受力关系,弥补这方面研究的不足,结果表明,海底管道受力变化与掏空过程密切相关。连续试验过程表明,海底管道与海床土、波浪水体之间存在密切关系。海底管道在波浪作用下冲刷掏空经历了3个演变阶段:泥沙起动阶段、水流隧道发育阶段、快速掏空阶段和冲刷平衡阶段。水流隧道伴随的管涌对冲刷掏空起重要作用。伴随冲刷掏空,管道波浪力出现规律性转化,从正向作用逐渐过渡到负向作用,也可以分出4个演化阶段:冲刷初始阶段,管道波浪力以正向为主,管道表现为正向力作用下的振动;隧道发育阶段,管道受到的作用力主要是波峰上举力和波谷下拉力,表现为上下振动;管道悬空阶段,波峰负向作用力和波谷正向力交替出现,管道在波浪作用下表现为前后振动;冲刷平衡阶段,管道主要在负向作用力下振动。     

Numerical analysis of the impact forces exerted by submarine landslides on pipelines

Submarine pipelines that transport crude oil and natural gas are often in a complex marine geological environment and may become unstable and fail upon impact by submarine landslides. Previous research has mostly focused on the impact forces exerted by submarine landslides on suspended pipelines, but the impact of submarine landslides on pipelines laid on the seafloor at various impact angles, θ, have been relatively infrequently discussed, and the effects of suspended height, H, on the impact forces exerted by submarine landslides on pipelines have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, based on the Herschel–Bulkley model, the impact forces exerted by a submarine landslide on laid-on or suspended pipelines at various impact angles θ were simulated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Equations for calculating the axial and normal drag coefficients of a submarine pipeline were proposed. The CFD numerical simulation results were rearranged based on the soil mechanics approach. By comparing the parameters, an essentially corresponding relationship was found between the soil mechanics and CFD approaches when the equations were used to calculate the impact forces exerted by a submarine landslide on a pipeline. In addition, a semi-analytical expression for the failure envelope was provided. Furthermore, the effects of H on the forces on a pipeline were discussed, and an equation for calculating the acting forces on a pipeline along the flow direction of a submarine landslide that comprehensively accounts for the effects of θ and H was proposed. The lift force was discussed preliminarily and the results provide a basis for further investigation. The achievement of this study is applicable for selecting locations of submarine pipeline routes and for designing submarine pipelines.     

海底滑坡作用下滩海管道结构安全分析

海底滑坡作为常见的海洋地质灾害,对海洋油气工程安全产生巨大威胁。海床土体失稳引起滑坡体滑动,会对海底管道产生拖曳作用。基于计算流体动力学方法(CFD)建立海底滑坡体对管道作用的评估模型,采用H-B模型描述块状滑坡体并与试验比较验证,分析不同海床倾斜度滑坡对管道的作用并拟合表达式;研究了海底管道在滑坡作用下的力学响应,并采用极限状态方法开展海底滑坡作用下管道结构极限安全分析,探讨了管道埋地状态时的极限安全界限,建立滑坡作用下管道结构安全分析方法。研究表明:滑坡对管道作用力与海床倾角呈现正相关,而覆土层厚度对作用力影响较小;随着不排水抗剪强度的减小,允许的滑坡宽度和速度均增加,表明土体不排水抗剪强度与引起的拖曳力呈正相关;滑坡土体宽度对极限安全速度影响较大。     

A lateral global buckling failure envelope for a high temperature and high pressure (HT/HP) submarine pipeline

Submarine pipelines are the primary component of an offshore oil transportation system. Under operating conditions, a pipeline is subjected to high temperatures and pressures to improve oil mobility. As a result, additional stress accumulates in pipeline sections, which causes global buckling. For an exposed deep-water pipeline, lateral buckling is the major form of this global buckling. Large lateral displacement causes a very high bending moment which may lead to a local buckling failure in the pipe cross-section. This paper proposes a lateral global buckling failure envelope for deep-water HT/HP pipelines using a numerical simulation analysis. It analyzes the factors influencing the envelope, including the thickness t, diameter D, soil resistance coefficient μ, calculating length L_f, imperfection length L and imperfection amplitude V. Equations to calculate the failure envelope are established to make future post-buckling pipeline failure assessment more convenient. The results show that (1) the limit pressure difference p_max (the failure pressure difference for a post-buckling pipeline when it suffers no difference in temperature) is usually below the burst pressure difference p_b (which is the largest pressure difference a pipeline can bear and is determined from the strength and sectional dimensions of the pipeline) and is approximately 0.62–0.75 times the value of p_b and (2) thickness t has little influence on the normalized envelopes, but affects p_max. The diameter D, soil resistance coefficient μ, and calculating length L_f influence the maximum failure temperature difference T_max (the failure temperature difference for a pipeline suffering no pressure difference). The diameter D also significantly affects the form of the normalized envelope.     

导流板对波浪作用下海底管线影响研究

为研究导流板对波浪作用下海底管线的影响,在FLUENT中建立二维数值波浪水槽对不同导流板高度的海底管线附近波浪场进行数值模拟,并将计算结果与试验结果进行了比较,结果表明,计算结果与试验结果较为吻合。添加导流板后管线表面压力分布及波浪力均发生变化。水平波浪力最大值随着导流板高度的增大而增大,而垂直波浪力最大值则随之逐渐减小。     

海底管线稳定性影响因素分析

实现管线的稳定性是埋设海底管线并使其正常运营的前提。分析了波浪、海流、管线周围土体性质及液化发生等方面对海底管线稳定性的影响，并提出了相应的对策建议．