Analysis of Penetration Depth of Pipeline on Cohesive Soil Seabed

Abstract

This paper conducts laboratory tests to investigate detailedly the soil deformation law around the pipeline and its penetration depth under self-gravity. The seabed model is prepared by consolidating saturated soil using vacuum pressure technology, and the pipeline models are specifically designed to possess different radii. Based on the experimental results and digital images, the soil deformation process is analyzed and summarized, a kinematic admissible velocity field is given and an upper bound solution of pipeline penetration depth and soil reaction force is derived and proposed in this paper. In order to verify the accuracy of the upper bound solution deduced in this paper, a comparison is made among some published results and the solution suggested in this paper, the comparison results confirm that the upper bound solution and the soil failure mode are reasonable. Finally two empirical formulas are given in this paper to estimate the soil reaction force of seabed and the penetration depth of pipeline. The empirical formulas are in agreement with the upper bound solution derived in this paper, and the conclusion of this paper could provide some theoretical reference for the further study of the interaction between the pipeline and the soil.