Subsea Cable Stability on Rocky Seabeds: Comparison of Field Observations Against Conventional and Novel Design Methods

As offshore renewable energy projects progress from concept demonstration to commercial-scale developments there is a need for improved approaches beyond conventional cable engineering design methods that have evolved from larger diameter pipelines for the oil and gas industry. New approaches are needed to capture the relevant physics for small diameter cables on rocky seabeds to reduce the costs and risks of power transmission and increase operational reliability. This paper reports on subsea cables that MeyGen installed for Phase 1a of the Pentland Firth Inner Sound tidal stream energy project. These cables are located on rocky seabeds in an area where severe metocean conditions occur. ROV field observation of these cables shows them to be stable on the seabed with little or no movement occurring over almost all of the cable routes, despite conventional engineering methods predicting significant dynamic movement. We cite recent research undertaken by the University of Western Australia (UWA) to more accurately assess the hydrodynamic forces and geotechnical interaction of cables on rocky seabeds. We quantify the conformity between the cables and the undulating rocky seabed, and the distributions of cable-seabed contact and spanning via simulations of the centimetric-scale seabed bathymetry. This analysis leads to calculated profiles of lift, drag and seabed friction along the cable, which show that all of these load and reaction components are modelled in an over-conservative way by conventional pipeline engineering techniques. Overall, our analysis highlights that current cable stability design can be unnecessarily conservative on rocky seabeds. Our work foreshadows a new design approach that offers more efficient cable design to reduce project capex and enhance through-life integrity management.

Fatigue Behaviour of Dented Pipes Under Internal Pressure: A Numerical-Experimental Approach

This work presents a numerical-experimental methodology to study the fatigue behavior of dented pipes under internal pressure. A full-scale experimental program on dented pipes containing gouges were achieved. Two types of defects were studied: metal loss (plain dent) and sharp notch. Both defects acting independently reduce the fatigue life performance but their combination is highly detrimental and must be avoided. We did not find a severity threshold (e.g. dent depth or crack depth) where these defects could coexist. In addition, based on numerical analyses we proposed a new expression for stress concentration factor (SCF) in line with transversal indentation. This information was successfully integrated into a simple fatigue model where the fatigue life predictions were practically inside the window of experimental results.

Considerations in Design of Centralizers for Pipe-in-Pipe Systems

For un-bonded (sliding) Pipe-In-Pipe (PIP) systems, one of the main components is the centralizers (also called spacers). The main functions of the centralizers are to centralize the inner pipe inside the outer pipe, to transfer the loads between inner pipe and outer pipe and to safeguard the insulation material in the annulus from excessive compression during fabrication, installation and operation. Centralizers must also have good thermal insulation properties so that the heat loss is minimized. Different designs are now available for centralizers but the majority are based on two half shells which are bolted together. During fabrication, installation and operation, centralizers subject to different loads under which they are required to continue functioning properly. This paper provides an overview of centralizer design aspects and then focuses on the loading history during installation using reeling method. The main contributing parameters to centralizer loading during reeled installation technique are discussed and conclusions are drawn. It is believed that this will enable Pipeline Engineers to select the most appropriate material and design for centralizers.

Strouhal Number for VIV Excitation of Long Slender Structures

The prediction of Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) of cylinders under fluid flow conditions depends upon the eddy shedding frequency, conventionally described by the Strouhal Number. The most commonly cited relationship between Strouhal Number and Reynolds Number for circular cylinders was developed by Lienhard [1], whereby the Strouhal Number exhibits a consistent narrow band of about 0.2 (conventional across the sub-critical Re range), with a pronounced hump peaking at about 0.5 within the critical flow regime. The source data underlying this relationship is re-examined, wherein it was found to be predominantly associated with eddy shedding frequency about fixed or stationary cylinders. The pronounced hump appears to be an artefact of the measurement techniques employed by various investigators to detect eddy-shedding frequency in the wake of the cylinder. A variety of contemporary test data for elastically mounted cylinders, with freedom to oscillate under one degree of freedom (i.e. cross flow) and two degrees of freedom (i.e. cross flow and in-line) were evaluated and compared against the conventional Strouhal Number relationship. It is well established for VIV that the eddy shedding frequency will synchronise with the near resonant motions of a dynamically oscillating cylinder, such that the resultant bandwidth of lock-in exhibits a wider range of effective Strouhal Numbers than that reflected in the narrow-banded relationship about a mean of 0.2. However, whilst cylinders oscillating under one degree of freedom exhibit a mean Strouhal Number of 0.2 consistent with fixed/stationary cylinders, cylinders with two degrees of freedom exhibit a much lower mean Strouhal Number of around 0.14–0.15. Data supports the relationship that Strouhal Number does slightly diminish with increasing Reynolds Number. For oscillating cylinders, the bandwidth about the mean Strouhal Number value appears to remain largely consistent. For many practical structures in the marine environment subject to VIV excitation, such as long span, slender risers, mooring lines, pipeline spans, towed array sonar strings, and alike, the long flexible cylinders will respond in two degrees of freedom, where the identified difference in Strouhal Number is a significant aspect to be accounted for in the modelling of its dynamic behaviour.

A Strain Energy-Based Equivalent Layer Method for the Prediction of Critical Collapse Pressure of Flexible Risers

Flexible risers are one kind of flexible pipes that transport fluid between subsea facilities and topside structures. This pipe-like structure consists of multiple layers and its innermost carcass layer is designed for external hydrostatic pressure resistance. For the flexible risers used in ultra-deep water fields, the critical collapse pressure of the carcass layers is one of the dominant factors in their safety design. However, the complexity of the interlocked carcass design introduces significant difficulties and constraints into the engineering analysis. To facilitate the anti-collapse analysis, equivalent layer methods are demanded to help construct an equivalent pipe that performs a similar collapse behavior of the carcass. This paper proposes a strain energy based equivalent layer method which trying to bridge the equivalence between those two structures by considering equivalent geometric and material properties for the equivalent layer. Those properties are determined through strain energy equivalence and membrane stiffness equivalence. The strain energy of the carcass is obtained through numerical models and is then used in a derived equation set to calculate the equivalent properties for the equivalent layer. After all the equivalent properties have been determined, an equivalent layer FE model is built and used to predict the critical pressure of the carcass. The prediction result is compared to that of the full 3D carcass model as well as the equivalent models that built based on other existing equivalent methods, which shows that the proposed equivalent layer method gives a better performance on predicting the critical pressure of the carcass.

Flexible Flowline Walking Tendency on Seabed With Longitudinal Undulations and Transverse Gradients

A method of carrying out a combined axial walking and lateral buckling assessment for a flexible flowline has been developed using finite element analysis. The method overcomes limitations of screening assessments which could be inconclusive when applied either to a flexible flowline on an undulating seabed with transverse gradients or to one that buckles during hydrotest. Flexible flowlines that were to be surface-laid on a seabed with longitudinal undulations and transverse gradients were assessed using the method. The flexible flowlines were simulated in their as-laid state, and the simulation incorporated hydrotest pressure and the pressure & temperature gradients and transients associated with multiple start-ups. The objective was to quantify the axial walking and lateral slip tendency of the flexible flowlines and the impact that walking might have on the connected end structures. The lateral buckle locations predicted by finite element analysis were compared to a post-hydrotest survey and the radius of curvature from analysis was compared to the minimum bend radius of the flexible.

Collapse of Tubes Under Combined Bending and Axial Compression Loads

In practical application, pipelines will inevitably experience bending and compression during manufacture, transportation and offshore installation. The mechanical behavior of tubes under combined axial compression and bending loads is investigated using experiments and finite element method in this paper. Tubes with D/t ratios in the range of 40 and 97 are adopted in the experiments. Then, the ultimate loads and the local buckling modes of tubes are studied. The commercial software ABAQUS is used to build FE models to simulate the load-shortening responses of tubes under combined loads. The results acquired from the ABAQUS simulation are compared with the ones from verification bending experiment, which are in good agreement with each other. The models in this paper are feasible to analyze the mechanical properties of tubes under combined axial compression and bending loads. The related results may be of interest to the manufacture engineers.

Reeled CRA Clad/Lined Pipeline Installation: Seastate Optimisation From Fatigue and Fracture Perspective

The deformation mechanism in reel-lay of corrosive resistance alloy (CRA) clad/lined pipes can facilitate defect tearing and low cycle fatigue crack growth in the girth welds. Pipe-lay after straightening will subject the CRA welds to high cycle fatigue. The permissible seastate for installation will be governed by failure limit states such as local collapse, wrinkling of the liner, fatigue and fracture. By means of a recently completed offshore project in North Sea, this paper discusses seastate optimisation when installing pipelines with CRA girth welds, from a fatigue and fracture perspective. The additional limiting requirement in CRA welds to maintain CRA liner integrity can lead to significant assessment work since all critical welds shall be examined. AUT scanned defect data were utilised to maximise permissible seastates based on fatigue allowance from a fatigue crack growth calculation. An alternative simplified approach to derive the crack growth based on a superposition method is studied. It enables a straightforward real-time prediction of crack growth and has the potential to be used during the offshore campaign to improve the installation flexibility. Post-installation fracture assessment under more critical seastates is examined for CRA partial over-matching welds. A comparison of CDF between conventional ECA procedure and 3D FE is provided.

Effect of Lateral Pipe-Soil Interaction on Controlled Lateral Buckling Using Pre-Deformed Pipeline

A novel approach to eliminate the onset of global buckling in pipelines is investigated in the paper. The method is based on pre-deforming a pipeline continuously with a specific wavelength and amplitude prior to installation on the seabed. The response of the pipeline to applied high temperature and pressure was studied in conjunction with variations in the lateral pipe-soil interaction (PSI) — both as uniform friction along the pipe and also with locally varying friction. Pipe and seabed parameters representing a typical wet-insulated infield flow line on soft clay are used. The pre-deformed pipeline has a higher buckle initiation temperature compared to a straight pipeline due to the reduced effective axial force build-up resulting from the low axial stiffness generated by the pre-deformed lobes along the pipeline. The results from this paper show that the strains in the pre-deformed pipeline are not significantly affected by the local variability of lateral PSI but rather by the global mean PSI. At a typical lateral soil resistance, i.e. a friction coefficient of 0.5, lateral buckling occurs at a very high temperature level that is not common in the subsea operation. At a very low friction, i.e. 0.1, lateral buckling occurs at a lower operating temperature but the strain is insignificant. The longitudinal strain of the pipeline is not highly sensitive to the lateral PSI, which is a quite different response to an initially straight pipeline. Therefore, this method could prove to be a valuable tool for the subsea industry as it enables the pipeline to be installed and operated safely at very high temperatures without the need for lateral buckling design and installation of expensive structures as buckle initiators. Even if the pre-deformed pipeline buckles at a very high temperature, during cycles of heat-up and cool-down the buckle shape ‘shakes down’ by geometric rearrangement to minimize the energy, and in doing so creates a series of ‘short pipelines’ in which the longitudinal strain is self-controlled. The system is therefore shown to be very robust in the conditions investigated and not affected by one of the biggest unknowns in seabed pipeline engineering, which is the local variability in lateral PSI.

Numerical Simulation of Subsea Cluster Manifold Installation by the Sheave Method

The sheave installation method (SIM) is an effective and non-conventional method to solve the installation of subsea equipment in deep water (>1000m), which has been developed to deploy the 175t Roncador Manifold I into 1,885 meters water depth in 2002. With the weight increment of subsea cluster manifold, how to solve its installation with the high reliability in the deep sea is still a great challenge. In this paper, the installation of the 300t subsea cluster manifold using the SIM is studied in the two-dimensional coordinate system. The mathematical model is established and the lumped mass method is used to calculate the hydrodynamic forces of the wireropes. Taking into account the complex environment loads, the numerical simulation of the lowering process is carried out by OrcaFlex. The displacement and vibration of the subsea cluster manifold in the z-axis direction and the effective tension at the top of the wireropes can be gotten, which can provide guidance for the installation of the cluster manifold in the South China Sea.