Inertia dominated forces on submarine pipelines near seabed

Abstract

An experimental investigation on regular wave induced forces on a smooth submarine pipeline fixed horizontally near a simulated seabed is carried out in the inertia dominated regime. A simple potential flow around the cylinder is assumed in analysing the hydrodynamic forces on submarine pipelines considering the size of the pipe and wave conditions employed in this study. The inline hydrodynamic coefficient of inertia and transverse hydrodynamic coefficients of lift and vertical inertia are evaluated using the measured forces and through the use of least squares method. These inline and transverse hydrodynamic coefficients are correlated with the scattering parameter and gap ratio of the pipeline from the seabed. Further the effect of depth parameter on these hydrodynamic force coefficients is investigated.