A refined analytical analysis of submerged pipelines in seabed laying

The paper analyzes the elastic deflection of submerged pipelines laid with a stinger by taking into account the overall effects of the ovalization of the cross section. The analysis is performed by means of a singular perturbation technique and the analytical solution obtained is shown to offer different advantages over the finite element method. Two examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure by means of a comparison with results from other less refined analytical solutions and from the commercial finite element code .     

Ovalization of steel energy pipelines buried in saturated sands during ground deformations

Cross-sectional ovalization of buried steel pipes subjected to bending moment induced by end displacements is discussed. A three dimensional finite element analysis was conducted employing Abaqus/CAE. The pipe was simulated using 3D shell elements while the saturated sand soil medium was simulated by employing discrete nonlinear springs along the pipeline. The effects of normalized burial depth (H/D), diameter to wall thickness ratio (D/t), sand density and level of the internal pressure on the ovalization are investigated, and resulting ovalization distribution with respect to bending moment at critical sections is presented. The results of this study enable simple one dimensional finite element models to consider geometrical cross-sectional nonlinearities in the analysis of buried pipelines.