Pipe-Soil Structure Interaction: Best Practices for Spools, Buckle Initiators, End Connections and Sand Waves

摘要

Pipe-soil interaction behavior forms a key input into the design of pipelines. The global response of thernpipeline can be critically affected by the resistance provided by the seabed. Accurate modeling of pipe-soilrninteraction behavior leads to improved reliability and can lead to design optimizations that offer considerablerncost benefits.rnExtensive recent research and advances in design approaches, particularly through the developmentrnof high pressure high temperature lines, has led to significant revisions and improvements to pipe-soilrninteraction modeling over the past decade. There are now well-established techniques for estimating thernas-laid embedment and axial and lateral pipe-soil interaction responses – the non-linear ‘springs’ used inrnpipeline structural modelling – for pipelines laid on the seabed. However, these methods, as applied inrnpractice, generally involve the key assumption that the pipe exerts a vertical force on the seabed, V equal tornits submerged self-weight, W – the ‘V=W assumption’. However, this assumption is not appropriate for pipernelements that are close to points of fixity, constraint or vertical upsets – e.g. in-line tees, buckle initiatorsrnand sand waves – or which form spools.