Articulated concrete block mattresses (ACBM) for submarine pipeline protection and stabilization: a physical model study in a wave flume

摘要

Submarine pipelines commonly operate along coastlines for wastewater draining or for fluid transportation from platforms at deeprnwaters. Depending on the installation area, they are subject to waves and currents and the common solution to protect them andrnimprove their stability is to cover them with rubble mound, bitumen or mattresses. The aim of the present study is the investigation ofrnwave-induced forces on an articulated concrete block mattress (ACBM) covering a submarine pipe, laid on permeable and mobile seabed,rnwith particular attention to the mattress edge stability. Physical modeling, carried out in the wave flume at the Laboratory of HydraulicrnEngineering at the University of Bologna is described with the results. The pressure distribution on the pipe, the interactions betweenrnblocks and seabed, and finally pipe stability are analyzed under different wave attacks and mattress configurations.