Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clay

Subsea production pipelines in deep water oil and gas fields are susceptible to a phenomenon called lateral buckling which is a major pipeline design concern. Accurate estimation of lateral buckle formation and the additional stresses generated are of particular importance for High-Temperature High-...

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Main Authors: Zeynep H. Özkul, Burak Birgören
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-09-01
Series:Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215098623001556
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author Zeynep H. Özkul
Burak Birgören
author_facet Zeynep H. Özkul
Burak Birgören
author_sort Zeynep H. Özkul
collection DOAJ
description Subsea production pipelines in deep water oil and gas fields are susceptible to a phenomenon called lateral buckling which is a major pipeline design concern. Accurate estimation of lateral buckle formation and the additional stresses generated are of particular importance for High-Temperature High-Pressure (HTHP) pipelines resting on soft clay and is the subject of pipe-soil interaction studies (PSI). Variability in pipe embedment and soil resistances constitute the largest uncertainty in PSI analyses. Best practice methods for PSI studies constitute multi-step strategies that involve finding solutions to nonlinear and implicit equations. In the present study, the impact of soil strength variability on embedment and subsequently peak (Hpeak/V) and residual (Hres/V) lateral friction factors are evaluated. An R code, PSI-Lateral, is developed and verified against published case studies. It is used to calculate the pipeline embedment and horizontal resistances mobilized in a parametric study on three pipe diameters (0.6, 0.8 m and 1.0 m) with three different wall thicknesses. For each pipe diameter-weight combination, embedment and lateral friction factors (peak and residual) are calculated for a series of mean shear strengths ranging from 2 kPa to 8 kPa and COV ranging from 5% to 37.5%. The high estimate and low estimate shear strengths, suHE and suLE, correspond to values that are +/- two standard deviations from the mean. Hence, the range of strengths encompassed between these two extremes represents approximately 95% of the shear strength distribution. The results of the parametric runs conducted are presented in the form of graphical charts where high and low embedment and lateral friction factors can be read-off for any selected pair of mean shear strength and COV. Similar trends are observed in the charts for all pipelines evaluated. It is found that the range of normalized embedment, z/D, increases with increasing COV and decreases with increasing mean shear strength for all pipelines tested. A similar trend is observed for the residual horizontal resistance. The expected range of peak horizontal resistance Hpeak/V shows the same trend but only for soils with mean strengths less than 4 kPa. For soils with higher mean strengths, the range of Hpeak/V is found to be mostly insensitive to variations in COV and further increases in the mean strength.
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spelling doaj.art-176434efae774561b275e5618e07e7252023-08-19T04:32:06ZengElsevierEngineering Science and Technology, an International Journal2215-09862023-09-0145101477Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clayZeynep H. Özkul0Burak Birgören1Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Yildirim Beyazit University, 15 Temmuz Şehitler Binası, Ayvalı, 151. No: 5 Etlik - Keçiören, Ankara 06010, Turkey; Corresponding author.Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Dept. of Industrial Engineering, Kırıkkale University, Ankara Yolu 7. Km, 71450, Yahşihan, Kırıkkale, TurkeySubsea production pipelines in deep water oil and gas fields are susceptible to a phenomenon called lateral buckling which is a major pipeline design concern. Accurate estimation of lateral buckle formation and the additional stresses generated are of particular importance for High-Temperature High-Pressure (HTHP) pipelines resting on soft clay and is the subject of pipe-soil interaction studies (PSI). Variability in pipe embedment and soil resistances constitute the largest uncertainty in PSI analyses. Best practice methods for PSI studies constitute multi-step strategies that involve finding solutions to nonlinear and implicit equations. In the present study, the impact of soil strength variability on embedment and subsequently peak (Hpeak/V) and residual (Hres/V) lateral friction factors are evaluated. An R code, PSI-Lateral, is developed and verified against published case studies. It is used to calculate the pipeline embedment and horizontal resistances mobilized in a parametric study on three pipe diameters (0.6, 0.8 m and 1.0 m) with three different wall thicknesses. For each pipe diameter-weight combination, embedment and lateral friction factors (peak and residual) are calculated for a series of mean shear strengths ranging from 2 kPa to 8 kPa and COV ranging from 5% to 37.5%. The high estimate and low estimate shear strengths, suHE and suLE, correspond to values that are +/- two standard deviations from the mean. Hence, the range of strengths encompassed between these two extremes represents approximately 95% of the shear strength distribution. The results of the parametric runs conducted are presented in the form of graphical charts where high and low embedment and lateral friction factors can be read-off for any selected pair of mean shear strength and COV. Similar trends are observed in the charts for all pipelines evaluated. It is found that the range of normalized embedment, z/D, increases with increasing COV and decreases with increasing mean shear strength for all pipelines tested. A similar trend is observed for the residual horizontal resistance. The expected range of peak horizontal resistance Hpeak/V shows the same trend but only for soils with mean strengths less than 4 kPa. For soils with higher mean strengths, the range of Hpeak/V is found to be mostly insensitive to variations in COV and further increases in the mean strength.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215098623001556Undrained shear strengthSubsea pipelinesPeak lateral friction factorResidual lateral friction factorCoefficient of variationR code
spellingShingle Zeynep H. Özkul
Burak Birgören
Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clay
Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal
Undrained shear strength
Subsea pipelines
Peak lateral friction factor
Residual lateral friction factor
Coefficient of variation
R code
title Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clay
title_full Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clay
title_fullStr Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clay
title_full_unstemmed Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clay
title_short Effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on-bottom subsea pipelines in clay
title_sort effects of shear strength variability on the peak and residual horizontal resistance of on bottom subsea pipelines in clay
topic Undrained shear strength
Subsea pipelines
Peak lateral friction factor
Residual lateral friction factor
Coefficient of variation
R code
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215098623001556
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