• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.245-258
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• 2015

A methodology based on distributed fiber optic sensors is proposed to detect the lateral buckling for subsea pipelines in this study. Uncontrolled buckling may lead to serious consequences for the structural integrity of a pipeline. A simple solution to this problem is to control the formation of lateral buckles among the pipeline. This firms the importance of monitoring the occurrence and evolution of pipeline buckling during the installation stage and long-term service cycle. This study reports the experimental investigations on a method for distributed detection of lateral buckling in subsea pipelines with Brillouin fiber optic sensor. The sensing scheme possesses the capability for monitoring the pipeline over the entire structure. The longitudinal strains are monitored by mounting the Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDA) distributed sensors on the outer surface of the pipeline. Then the bending-induced strain is extracted to detect the occurrence and evolution of lateral buckling. Feasibility of the method was validated by using an experimental program on a small scale model pipe. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach is able to detect, in a distributed manner, the onset and progress of lateral buckling in pipelines. The methodology developed in this study provides a promising tool for assessing the structural integrity of subsea pipelines.

• 대한조선학회논문집
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• 제47권2호
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• pp.225-232
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• 2010

The requirement of design of High-Pressure/High-Temperature(HP/HT) pipelines on an seabed increases in recent years. The need of research on the analysis method to improve the design capacity is increasing. The purpose of this study is the development of the analysis method of thermal buckling of subsea pipeline structures. The analysis method of thermal buckling was established by using the commercial FEM code(ABAQUS) which shows the outstanding performance in non-linear static FE analysis. The developed method has been applied to the installation of subsea pipeline on the offshore project. For a validation, the comparative study has been carried out. This application to offshore project demonstrates the superiority of the analysis method of thermal buckling of subsea pipeline structures and testifies the application to detail design.

• 대한조선학회논문집
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• 제52권2호
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• pp.153-160
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• 2015

Pipelines are one of the most important structures in subsea equipment. It is the main equipment for transportation of crude oil and natural gas to the downstream facilities. Crude oil and natural gas leak will be carry out not only political and financial issues but also pollution to the environment. Inaccurate predictions of corrosion behavior will make hazardous consequences. The serviceability assessment of corroded structures is essential especially for subsea pipelines. As corrosion is concerned, the effects of failure due to significant reduction will make it hard to the pipeline operator to maintain the serviceability of pipelines. In this paper, the serviceability assessment of corroded crude oil pipeline is performed using the industry design code (Shell92, DNV RP F101, ASME B31G, BS 7910, PCORRC) and FEA depending on corrosion area. In last step, the future integrity of the subsea crude oil pipeline is assessed to predict the remaining year in service of crude oil pipelines.

• 대한조선학회논문집
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.93-102
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• 2018

Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) has been used in shipping and offshore industries for many years, supporting the decision-making process to guarantee safe running at different stages of design, fabrication and throughout service life. The assessments of a risk perspective are informed by the frequency of events (probability) and the associated consequences. As the number of offshore platforms increases, so does the length of subsea pipelines, thus there is a need to extend this approach and enable the subsea industry to place more emphasis on uncertainties. On-board operations can lead to objects being dropped on subsea pipelines, which can cause leaks and other pipeline damage. This study explains how to conduct hit frequency analyses of subsea pipelines, using historical data, and how to obtain a finite number of scenarios for the consequences analysis. An example study using probabilistic methods is used.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• 제4권4호
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• pp.279-291
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• 2014

Smart flanges are used for pipeline and riser repair in subsea. In a typical case in the gas export pipeline project, the end cap bolts of a 4inch smart flange were broken during operation, and in turn leakage occurred. This work presents the detail of three dimensional finite element analysis of the smart flange to support the observed end cap bolts failure. From finite element analysis it turns out that in the presence of external bending moment, an uneven contact distribution is present between seal and end cap, which in turn changes the uniform load distribution on bolts and threaten the integrity of bolts. On the other hand, 3D finite element analysis of interaction between pipeline and seabed is presented by means of Abaqus to explore the distribution of bending moment along the pipeline route. It is found that lateral buckling occurs in the pipeline which introduces large bending moment.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• 제7권3호
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• pp.435-451
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• 2015

Evaluation of the performance of aging structures is essential in the oil and gas industry, where the inaccurate prediction of structural performance can have significantly hazardous consequences. The effects of structure failure due to the significant reduction in wall thickness, which determines the burst strength, make it very complicated for pipeline operators to maintain pipeline serviceability. In other words, the serviceability of gas pipelines and elbows needs to be predicted and assessed to ensure that the burst or collapse strength capacities of the structures remain less than the maximum allowable operation pressure. In this study, several positions of the corrosion in a subsea elbow made of API X42 steel were evaluated using both design formulas and numerical analysis. The most hazardous corrosion position of the aging elbow was then determined to assess its serviceability. The results of this study are applicable to the operational and elbow serviceability needs of subsea pipelines and can help predict more accurate replacement or repair times.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• 제9권5호
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• pp.492-498
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• 2017

Subsea pipeline route design is a crucial task for the offshore oil and gas industry, and the route selected can significantly affect the success or failure of an offshore project. Thus, it is essential to design pipeline routes to be eco-friendly, economical and safe. Obstacle avoidance is one of the main problems that affect pipeline route selection. In this study, we propose a technique for designing an automatic obstacle avoidance. The Laplacian smoothing algorithm was used to make automatically generated pipeline routes fairer. The algorithms were fast and the method was shown to be effective and easy to use in a simple set of case studies.

• 한국해양공학회지
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

Offshore, sub-sea pipelines that transport oil and gas experience thermal expansion induced by the temperature of the transported medium during operation. The expansion of the pipeline can induce overload and cause damage to offshore platforms or sub-sea structures that are connected to the pipelines. To mitigate and prevent these incidents, expansion spools are installed between offshore, sub-sea pipelines and risers on the platform. This paper presents the results of the study and development of a simplified design method for expansion spools, using the slope deflection method for the purpose of preliminary design or front-end engineering and design (FEED).

• 한국해양공학회지
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.100-110
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• 2015

To meet the increasing demand for energy around the world, offshore and subsea energy development is constantly being conducted. This trend is accompanied by an increasing demand for pipeline installation, which brings numerous problems, including those related to accessibility, high pressure, and corrosion. Among these, corrosion is a primary factor in pipeline fractures, and can cause severe environmental and industrial damage. Hence, accurate corrosion assessment for corroded pipelines is very important. For this reason, the present study investigated the mechanical behavior of an idealized corroded subsea pipeline with an internal/external pressure load using the commercial FEA code ABAQUS. Then, the analysis result was compared with corrosion assessment codes such as ASME B31G, DNV RP F101, ABS. Finally, a fitness-for-service assessment was conducted.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.500-509
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• 2001

Offshore subsea pipelines must be stable against external loadings, which are mostly due to waves and currents. To determine the stability of a subsea pipeline on the seabed, the Morrison equation has been applied with prediction of inertia and drag forces. When the pipeline is placed in a trench, the force acting on it is reduced considerably. Therefore, to consider the stability of a pipeline in a trench, one must employ reduction factors. To investigate the stability of various trenches, we numerically simulated flows over various trenches and compared them with experimental data from PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) measurements. The present results were produced ar Reynolds numbers ranging from 6$\times$10$^3$to 3$\times$10(sub)5 based on the diameter of the cylinder. Quasi-periodic flow patterns computed by large-eddy simulation were compared with experimental data in terms of mean flow characteristics fro typical trench configurations (W/H=1 and H/D=3, 4). The stability for various trench conditions was addressed in terms of mean amplitudes of oscillating lift and drag, and the reduction factor for each case was suggested for pipeline design.