Experimental research on vortex-induced vibration suppression of pipeline intelligent plugging operation

Abstract

Pipeline maintenance technology based on smart isolation device (SID) is an important method to prevent failure accidents for subsea oil and gas pipelines. However, during the plugging operation, vortex-induced vibration may occur due to the complex changes of flow field, which can affect the plugging stability. To ensure the safety of plugging operation, it is necessary to reduce the vortex-induced vibration caused by pipeline plugging. In this paper, an experimental investigation on vortex-induced vibration suppression for subsea pipeline plugging operation is conducted from three aspects. The shape of end face, plugging velocity and spoiler device are investigated to suppress the vortex-induced vibration response. The results demonstrate that the vibration suppression effect of end faces with hemispherical shape is the best compared with the footstep shape and parabolic shape. For the plugging velocity, high-velocity plugging can induce stronger water hammer phenomenon, leading to destructive vibration of pipelines. In addition, the active spoiler device with two relative spoilers achieves the best vibration suppression effect, and the average fluctuation rate has decreased by 7.6%. The experimental research can ensure the safety of plugging operation, which is beneficial for preventing pipeline failure.