Abstract
Submarine telecommunication cables are the physical backbone of the Internet. They are often buried shallowly beneath seabed and affected by seabed movements. Due to the long distance of cables and the complexity of submarine environment, interaction between cables and seabed movements inevitably involves various parameter uncertainties. However, effects of parameter uncertainties on submarine cable responses to seabed movements have not been fully investigated. This paper aims to address this problem using random finite element method (RFEM) that integrates finite element (FE) analysis with Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). First, deterministic FE analysis is performed to investigate cable responses to lateral seabed movements. Then MCS is implemented to study the effects of parameter uncertainties on cable responses. Statistical analysis of the MCS results is performed to prioritize the effects of parameter uncertainties on cable damage probability. Random field is also used to model spatial variability of soil parameters. Effect of the correlation length on cable damage probability is investigated. The results show that uncertainty of the anchored cable length La has the most significant effect on cable damage probability, while the effects of uncertainties in soil friction angle ϕ and effective unit weight γ′ are minor. Ignoring spatial variability of soil parameters may lead to significant misjudgment of cable damage risk.
Highlights
Introduction eInternet telecommunication is becoming indispensable to people’s daily lives
Based on the generated random samples, the axial and transverse horizontal soil resistances are calculated using equations (1) and (2). en, the deterministic finite element (FE) model is implemented for every Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) sample. e maximum cable strain εmax is obtained from FE analysis and used as an index to represent cable responses to seabed movements. e uncertainties of various parameters are reflected in the variation of εmax
Using random finite element method, this paper conducted a probabilistic analysis for assessment of parameter uncertainties on cable responses to lateral seabed movements
Summary
A submarine telecommunication cable is designed to protect optical fibers from external impact and is responsible for transmitting signals across oceans. A submarine telecommunication cable is manufactured with a designed cable breaking load (CBL), which is the maximum tensile force a cable can withstand [8]. E equivalent cross section has the same inner and outer diameters as the original cross section. To obtain the overall mechanical behavior of the submarine cable, the equivalent Young’s modulus of the cable, Eequ, is calculated as the ratio of the cable tensile stiffness over the equivalent cross section area. E equivalent Young’s modulus of the SA cable is estimated as follows: cable tensile stiffness/equivalent cross section area 38651 kN/613 mm2 63.06 GPa. In addition, CBL for the SA cable is 280 kN based on the manufacturer [9]. CBL for the SA cable is 280 kN based on the manufacturer [9]. en, the allowable cable strain εallo is calculated as 0.72%
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