Application of numerical simulation of submersed rock-berm structure under anchor collision for structural health monitoring of submarine power cables

Abstract

Submersed rock-berm structures are frequently used for protection of underwater lifelines such as pipelines and power cables. During the service life, the rock-berm structure can experience several accidental loads such as anchor collision. The consequences can be severe with a certain level of frequency; hence, the structural responses should be carefully understood for implementing a proper structural health monitoring method. However, no study has been made to quantify the structural responses because it is hard to deal with the individual behavior of each rock. Therefore, this study presents a collision analysis of the submersed rock-berm structure using a finite element software package by facilitating the smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The analysis results were compared with those obtained from the Lagrange method. Moreover, two types of anchors (stock anchor and stockless anchor), three collision points and two different drop velocities (terminal velocity of each anchor and 5 m/s) were selected to investigate the changes in the responses. Finally, the effect of these parameters (analysis method, anchor type, collision point and drop velocity) on the analysis results was studied. Accordingly, the effectiveness of the SPH method is verified, a safe rock-berm height (over 1 m) is proposed, and a gauge point (0.5 m above the seabed) is suggested for a structural health monitoring implementation.