Towards a Computational Tool for the Synthesis and Optimization of Submarine Pipeline Routes

摘要

This work describes the steps that are currently being taken for thedevelopment of a computational tool for the synthesis and optimizationof submarine pipeline routes. Such tool, based on EvolutionaryAlgorithms, will incorporate criteria related to several aspects of thedesign of pipelines, including total pipeline length; geophysical andgeotechnical data from bathymetry and sonography, includingdefinition of obstacles and regions to be avoided; number, length andlocation of free spans; analysis and verification of on-bottom stabilityunder hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loadings; and other aspects relatedto the structural behavior of the pipe. Here, special attention isdedicated to the geometrical representation of a route, and to the termsof the objective (fitness) function associated to a preliminary, globalstep of the optimization process.