Wave‐Induced Forces on Buried Pipelines

Abstract

Ocean waves induce dynamic pressure responses in permeable seabeds which result in dynamic loads on buried pipelines. An analytical model is developed for estimating the pore pressure in the soil and the resulting pressure force on buried pipelines. It is assumed that the seabed is rigid, homogeneous, and porous with isotropic permeability, that the pore water is incompressible, that fluid flow in the soil is modeled by Darcy's Law, and that the seabed is infinitely deep. A solution is developed for a circular, rigid pipeline using conformal mapping techniques. The solution is compared with the results of both small and large‐scale tests; reasonable agreement is obtained for the small‐scale tests. Wave‐induced seepage forces are evaluated by integrating the pressure distribution over the pipe surface. The magnitude of the force remains constant but the direction rotates around the cylinder once with the passage of each wave. This force may be of sufficient magnitude to be an important consideration in the design of buried marine pipelines.