Magnification of hydrodynamic coefficients on a flexible pipe fitted with helical strakes in oscillatory flows

Abstract

The features of hydrodynamic coefficients including drag and added mass coefficients on a flexible pipe fitted with helical strakes in an oscillatory flow are studied experimentally. The experiment of a flexible straked pipe was conducted in an oscillatory flow with the Keulegan-Carpenter (KC) number varying from 9 to 165 and the maximum reduced velocities ranging from 4 to 8. Strain response in both in-line and cross-flow directions are measured by fiber bragg grating sensors. Using displacement reconstruction and inverse analysis methods, displacement response and hydrodynamic force of the straked pipe are identified. Then, through the least squares method, corresponding drag and added mass coefficients are extracted. The asymmetric features at the acceleration and deceleration stages of hydrodynamic force on a flexible pipe in the in-line direction under oscillatory flow are first observed. Compared with a bare pipe, helical strakes can effectively reduce the higher frequency fluctuating force and enhance the wake effects. The hydrodynamic coefficients on the straked pipe are significantly magnified in the case of a relatively small KC number. The maximum mean drag coefficients can reach approximately 10. The presented work suggests that the risk of helical strakes application should be fully evaluated through flexible pipe experiments in both steady flow and unsteady flow.