• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.219-226
• /
• 2017

In this study, the impact characteristics of subsea pipelines that were installed in various soil types and burial depths were evaluated by a numerical method. An impact scenario replicated a dropped ship anchor that fell vertically and impacted an installed subsea pipeline. In order to calculate the impact force through terminal velocity, FLUENT, a computational fluid dynamic program and MDM (Moving Deforming Mesh) technique were applied. Next, a dynamic finite element program, ANSYS Explicit Dynamics, was used for impact analysis between the anchor and pipeline (or, subsea if they were buried). Three soil types were considered: loose sand, dense sand and soft clay by applying the Mohr-coulomb model to the seabed. The buried depth was assumed to be 0 m, 1 m and 2 m. In conclusion, a subsea pipeline was the most stable when buried in dense sand at a depth of 2 m to prevent impact damage.