Subsea pipeline walking with velocity dependent seabed friction

With the increase in demand and supply gap in the oil and gas industry, new developments of oil and gasinfrastructure are moving into deeper water. This requires design and construction of long high temperature and high pressure pipelines from deep sea to shore. These pipelines are subjected to cyclic expansion during operating cycles. Accumulated axial movement due to repeated thermal cycles may lead to global displacement referred to as ‘walking’. Walking rates depend on the restraint associated with seabed friction. In conventional analyses, seabed friction is independent of the rate of thermal loading and expansion but it has been recognised that the sliding resistance between a pipe and the seabed varies with velocity, partly due to drainage effects. In this paper a numerical model is used to explore the effect of velocity-dependent seabed friction. A velocity-dependent friction model is implemented in commercial software ABAQUS and validated via single element and simple (flat seabed) pipeline cases. This model features upper and lower friction limits, with a transition that occurs as an exponential function of velocity. A parametric study is performed using differing rates of heating and cool-down in walking situations driven by seabed slope, SCR end tension and the difference between heat up and cool down rates. The walking behaviour is compared to cases with constant friction and solutions are proposed to express the velocity-dependent response in terms of an equivalent constant friction. These equivalent friction values can then be applied in existing simple solutions or more complex numerical analyses, as a short cut method to account for velocity-dependent friction.     

Model test based soil spring model and application in pipeline thermal buckling analysis

The buckling of submarine pipelines may occur due to the action of axial soil frictional force caused by relative movement of soil and pipeline, which is induced by the thermal and internal pressure. The likelihood of occurrence of this buckling phenomenon is largely determined by soil resistance. A series of large-scale model tests were carried out to facilitate the establishment of substantial data base for a variety of burial pipeline relationships. Based on the test data, nonlinear soil spring can be adopted to simulate the soil behavior during the pipeline movement. For uplift resistance, an ideal elasticity plasticity model is recommended in the case of H/D (depth-to-diameter ratio)>5 and an elasticity softened model is recommended in the case of H/D≤5. The soil resistance along the pipeline axial direction can be simulated by an ideal elasticity plasticity model. The numerical analyzing results show that the capacity of pipeline against thermal buckling decreases with its initial imperfection enlargement and increases with the burial depth enhancement.     

管道热屈曲动力过程数值模拟

运输高温高压油气的海底管道会发生整体热屈曲现象。管道热屈曲过程中可能会产生平衡状态的跃迁(snapthrough),且这样的跃迁过程必然会伴随着动力响应。管道热屈曲动力过程中侧向弹出的速度以及轴向缩进的速度对管土相互作用参数的取值有很大影响,然而关于管道热屈曲动力过程的研究却很少。本文给出了数值模拟过程中管道系统阻尼值和升温速率的确定方法,研究了管道初始几何缺陷以及海床参数对管道热屈曲动力过程的影响。     

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。     

深海管道轴向定向移动消减方案研究

为解决不埋深海管道在温压荷载循环作用下,轴向移动量不断累积的问题,采用数值模拟方法,在论证了钢悬链线立管（steel catenary riser,SCR）张力相比于其他因素对管道轴向移动影响更为显著的基础上,针对一端受到SCR张力作用的短管,分析了不同轴向移动消减方案的作用特点。研究表明,对管道进行锚固能有效约束其轴向移动,且在中部锚固需要的锚固力及管道内产生的有效轴向力均较小;滑动基础可通过释放一定的管道位移量来减少管中的应力累积。因此将中部锚固与端部滑动相结合可优化锚固系统,使锚固力进一步下降54%,管中最大有效轴向压力减小33%,从而最有效地消减轴向移动。     

Marine pipeline soil friction coefficients from in-situ testing

Tests to measure the soil resistance to lateral pipeline sliding were conducted in 9.15 and 18.3m of water depth in the Gulf of Mexico. The tests were performed with a special vehicle towed from a boat. The vehicle was constructed from two pipeline segments—the one simulating sliding and the other rolling. Tow force data were obtained for sand and clay soils and were analysed with the Coulomb friction model to derive sliding friction coefficients. The data analysis focused on the friction coefficients from inception of vehicle movement to the instant of maximum soil resistance. The coefficients calculated for the maximum soil resistance were 0.45 and 0.75 for the clay and sand, respectively, and these values are consistent with coefficients in the public domain from comparable laboratory tests.     

海底双层管单层连接管道结构受力分析

粘性高的海洋石油通常需要通过海底保温管道加温输送.温度变化会引起管道变形,并在管壁内产生较大的温度应力.同时,管道正常运营期间还受到管道内压、外压、管内流体粘滞力和土体摩擦力等环境荷载的作用.复杂的环境可能导致海底管道轴向应力过大发生破坏.为了提高铺管效率,提出了双层管单层连接管道这一特殊管道形式,并从理论上分析温度变化和环境荷载对该管道的影响,计算正常运行时管道不同位置处横截面内最大Von-Mises应力.最后得到了Von-Mises应力沿管道轴线分布情况,发现内管和单层连接管的应力一般比外管大,变径管和内管的焊缝处是Von-Mises应力最大的地方.     

Marine pipeline dynamic response to waves from directional wave spectra

A methodology has been developed to calculate the dynamic probabilistic movement and resulting stresses for marine pipelines subjected to storm waves. A directional wave spectrum is used with a Fourier series expansion to simulate short-crested waves and calculate their loads on the pipeline. The pipeline displacements resulting from these loads are solutions to the time-dependent beam-column equation which also includes the soil resistance as external loading. The statistics of the displacements for individual waves are combined with the wave statistics for a given period of time, e.g. pipeline lifetime, to generate probabilistic estimates for net pipeline movement. On the basis of displacements for specified probability levels the pipeline configuration is obtained from which pipeline stresses can be estimated using structural considerations, e.g. pipeline stiffness, end restraints, etc.     

A numerical model for ultimate soil resistance to an untrenched pipeline under ocean currents

One of the main concerns for pipeline on-bottom stability design is to properly predict ultimate soil resistance in severe ocean environments.A plane-strain finite element model is proposed to investigate the ultimate soil resistance to the partially-embedded pipeline under the action of ocean currents.Two typical end-constraints of the submarine pipelines are examined,i.e.freely-laid pipes and anti-rolling pipes.The proposed numerical model is verified with the existing mechanical-actuator experiments.The magnitude of lateral-soil-resistance coefficient for the examined anti-rolling pipes is much larger than that for the freely-laid pipes,indicating that the end-constraint condition significantly affects the lateral stability of the untrenched pipeline under ocean currents.The parametric study indicates that,the variation of lateral-soil-resistance coefficient with the dimensionless submerged weight of pipe is affected greatly by the angle of internal friction of soil,the pipe-soil friction coefficient,etc.     

Behavior of marine pipelines under seismic faults

A new study investigates an unburied offshore “snaked” pipeline behavior under various types of seismic faults. The snaking of the pipeline is caused by the thermal/pressure expansion and soil friction. The snaking takes place at a certain distance from the pipeline's unrestrained end and gradually increases towards the restraint. It is shown that longitudinal seismic faults have less effect on a straight pipeline than a snaked pipeline. The new seismic analysis demonstrates that an increase of ground displacement causes a very small change in bending and longitudinal stresses. The new approach results in a safe, subsea pipeline construction and operation with a significant cost reduction.     

浮力装置触发深海管道水平向整体屈曲效果的数值模拟研究

海洋油气资源的运输主要通过海底管道进行,管道在工作时受到较大的温度荷载,会产生整体屈曲变形。深海管道设计中常采用人为装置触发一定程度的水平向整体屈曲变形,来释放轴向的温度应力,浮力装置是常用的触发方式之一。本文通过数值模拟研究,分析了不同浮力大小和不同浮力施加范围下,管道水平向整体屈曲的临界屈曲力,得出临界屈曲力随浮力大小和施加范围变化的情况;并研究了不同土体阻力下,浮力装置触发整体屈曲的效果。研究表明,水平向土体阻力较大时,浮力装置触发水平向整体屈曲的效果较好。浮力装置的触发效果对轴向土体阻力不敏感。     

Numerical analysis of cross-section ovalization in the deep-sea pipeline lateral buckling process

Abstract

The deep-water pipeline is the main means of transportation in offshore oil and gas development engineering. The deep-water pipeline may incur lateral global buckling due to the high temperature and pressure that are applied on the pipeline to ensure the contents’ liquidity. With the increasing operating water depth, a higher temperature and pressure are applied to the pipeline, causing large lateral deformation and a large bending moment. Due to the inhomogeneous distribution of the bending moment on the cross-section, different points on the cross-section will deform differently. This kind of deformation causes the cross-section to turn into an oval ring. The cross-section ovalization caused by global buckling was rarely analyzed in former engineering practice since the load is relatively low. With the increase in operation water depth and operation load, the ovality caused by global buckling is noticeable. This article analyzed cross-section ovalization caused by pipeline lateral global buckling with a numerical simulation method. The pipelines with different initial cross-section shapes were simulated, and the influence of several impact factors, including load, pipeline and soil factors on the ovality of the cross-section, were analyzed. The results show that the initial cross-section shape type has little effect on the pipeline ovalization pattern. The initial ovality of the pipeline with an oval ring cross-section shape has little influence on the residual ovality. Among all the factors analyzed in this paper, the pressure difference is the primary factor that should be considered in a pipeline ovalization check.     

Global buckling of pipelines in the vertical plane with a soft seabed

Offshore pipelines are usually buried to avoid damage from fishing activities and to provide thermal insulation. Provided that the buried pipelines are sufficiently confined in the lateral direction by the passive resistance of the trench walls, they may be subject to vertical buckling caused by a rise in temperature. Vertical buckling is usually called upheaval buckling because the heated pipeline is assumed to move upwards conventionally. However, the seabed may be very soft, especially where a pockmark or abyssal ooze appears. Consequently, under thermal compressive force, the pipeline may buckle downward and penetrate into the seabed because the downward soil resistance is small. In this study, we extended an analytical solution for vertical pipeline buckling on a rigid seabed to a soft seabed, and the effects of soil resistance on pipeline stability, buckling mode and amplitude are illustrated and analyzed.     

Lateral Global Buckling of Submarine Pipelines Based on the Model of Nonlinear Pipe–Soil Interaction

With the increasing development and utilization of offshore oil and gas resources, global buckling failures of pipelines subjected to high temperature and high pressure are becoming increasingly important. For unburied or semi-buried submarine pipelines, lateral global buckling represents the main form of global buckling. The pipe–soil interaction determines the deformation and stress distribution of buckling pipelines. In this paper, the nonlinear pipe–soil interaction model is introduced into the analysis of pipeline lateral global buckling, a coupling method of PSI elements and the modified RIKS algorithm is proposed to study the lateral global buckling of a pipeline, and the buckling characteristics of submarine pipeline with a single arch symmetric initial imperfection under different pipe–soil interaction models are studied. Research shows that, compared with the ideal elastic–plastic pipe–soil interaction model, when the DNV-RP-F109 model is adopted to simulate the lateral pipe–soil interactions in the lateral global buckling of a pipeline, the buckling amplitude increases, however, the critical buckling force and the initial buckling temperature difference decreases. In the DNV-RP-F109 pipe–soil interaction model, the maximum soil resistance, the residual soil resistance, and the displacement to reach the maximum soil resistance have significant effects on the analysis results of pipeline global buckling.     

Model Test of Sand Restraining Force on Pipeline

This paper describes the model tests for determining the axial friction and the lateral resistance of sand to pipeline by using fine sand and prototype pipeline, and the calculation method based on limit analysis theory is verified. The effect of cyclic loading is considered in the test.     

波流联合作用下海底管道侧向运动数值分析

研究旨在提出波流联合作用下海底管道侧向运动数值模拟分析方法。通过建立三维离散刚体模拟海床,梁单元模拟海底管道,设置了两个载荷步模拟管道与土壤接触的过程,解决了实体模型不易收敛的问题。分析了不同管—土法向行为接触刚度、不同管—土切向行为摩擦系数、不同波流参数以及不同单位长度管道水下质量对海底管道侧向运动的影响。研究表明：海底管道的最大等效应力、最大侧向位移、最大接触压力以及最大横向摩擦剪应力对于管—土法向行为接触刚度的变化并不敏感;管道的最大侧向位移随着管—土切向行为摩擦系数增大而减小,呈现出线性变化的关系;当波高一定时,管道的最大侧向位移随着流速的增加而增大,并且波高越小,最大侧向位移随流速增加的速度明显越大;管道最大侧向位移随着单位长度管道水下质量的增加而减小,并且呈现出线性变化的关系。     

荔湾3-1气田潜在海底滑坡滑动距离预测及动态特性分析

A large number of submarine landslides with different scales have been identified in the canyon area of the submarine pipeline route of Liwan 3-1 gas field. There is still much chance that submarine sl...     

A seismic design method for subsea pipelines against earthquake fault movement

As there are no specific guidelines on design of subsea pipelines crossing active seismic faults, methods for land buried pipelines have been applied to. Taking the large seismic fault movement into account, this paper proposes improved methods for seismic designs of subsea pipelines by comprehensively investigating the real constraining of soil on the pipelines, the interaction processes of soil with the pipeline, the plastic slippage of the soil, and the elastic-plastic properties of the pipeline materials. New formulas are given to calculate the length of transition section and its total elongation. These formulas are more reasonable in mechanism, and more practical for seismic design of subsea pipelines crossing active faults.     

考虑海底管线初始侧向变形的低阶模态

温度应力下海底管线的整体屈曲是海底管线设计中的关键问题之一,不埋或半埋的海底管线较易发生水平向整体屈曲。海底管线会因为制造的缺陷或铺设的原因而具有初始变形,即初始侧向变形。研究了初始侧向变形对海底管线整体屈曲的影响,应用小变形理论建立了单拱侧向变形和反对称双拱侧向变形管线发生低阶模态水平向整体屈曲的理论分析方法,结合工程实例分析了初始侧向变形形态、侧向变形幅值以及地基土体强度特性对管线水平向整体屈曲的影响。结果表明,初始侧向变形的存在使管线更易发生整体屈曲;而反对称双拱侧向变形比单拱侧向变形更易引起管线整体屈曲;随初始侧向变形幅值的增加管线发生整体屈曲所需要的温差降低,且整体屈曲变形形态有所改变管土间摩擦系数的增加会提高管线发生整体屈曲的温差,从而提高管线抵抗整体屈曲变形的能力。     

考虑波-管-土耦合作用的海底管道在位稳定性分析方法

以水动力加载试验得到的描述管道在位稳定性的波浪环境参数、管道参数和海床土性参数之间的无量纲耦合关系为基础,提出了一种考虑波-管-土动力耦合作用的海底管道在位稳定性分析方法,并通过算例与挪威船级社推荐的DnV设计规范进行了比较分析。分析表明,考虑波-管-土耦合作用的管道稳定性分析方法与DnV管道设计规范有很好的可比性．而且物理机理更清晰,可为管道稳定性设计提供有益的参考。