A Time Domain Prediction Method for Vortex-Induced Vibrations of a Flexible Pipe With Time-Varying Tension

Abstract

Prediction of vortex induced vibration (VIV) for a long-flexible pipe has always been an important concern for the design of risers. Currently, VIV prediction methods are mainly based on the linear beam theory, where the axial tension is treated as time-independent, and the couples between VIV and axial tension are totally ignored. However, experimental results have illustrated strong couples between the axial tension and VIV [1–2]. The purpose of this paper is to develop a time domain VIV prediction model. This model consists of pipe’s structural non-linearity, couplings between axial force, cross-flow/in-line (CF/IL) VIV responses, and the hydrodynamic forces. The hydrodynamic forces are further divided into vortex-induced force in CF and IL directions, and drag force in IL direction. The former one is determined via empirical force model based on forced oscillation test of rigid cylinders. The IL drag coefficients model considering the effects of VIV developed by Song [3] is adopted. VIV responses under these hydrodynamic forces at each time step are solved by Newton-Raphson method. Comparison between present method and the experimental results under uniform flows and shear flows are conducted, which verified the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method. In addition, by comparing the results under constant tension and time-varying tension, it is proved that the time-varying tension has a significant effect on VIV responses, especially under the case of high flow velocity and high vibration mode.