Hydrodynamic Behavior of Submerged Floating Pipeline under Regular Waves

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the hydrodynamic stability of a submerged floating pipeline (SFP) under regular waves. Generally, pipelines submerged in water are constructed as the seabed type, using the immersed method. However, in the Turkey and Cyprus Project, which was completed in 2015, pipelines that traverse water depths of up to 1,500 m were constructed using the suspended method for offshore crossings to ensure economic feasibility. This study investigated the behavior and response characteristics of submerged floating pipelines using the buoyancy to weight ratio, the tendon anchoring method, and the wave incidence angle by finite-element analysis. When the influence of the waves increases as the SFP approaches the free surface, the SFP has large deformation due to the material properties of the pipe. Installed depth was very important because the effect of wave for SFP decreases according to increasing of the water depth. The proposed analysis method produced good results. It can be applied as an evaluation of global behavior in the design phase.