Numerical Simulation of Pipeline VIV for Steady and Unsteady Flow

Abstract

The ability to predict Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) is important for the design and assessment of subsea pipelines lying on the sea-bed and susceptible to spans. Recent advances in CFD methods and the availability of powerful computational resources has made numerical simulation a viable option for VIV prediction. In this paper, an advanced meshing technique which is capable of handling moving boundaries, is used to discretise the fluid domain. This approach, in conjunction with a structural model, is employed to simulate the complex case of VIV in a pipeline in close proximity to the sea-bed. Simulations are carried out using 2-D CFD models for various configurations of sea bed proximity for flow regimes ranging from moderate to high Reynolds numbers and KC numbers in the range 10 to 40. The results obtained are benchmarked with published experimental data and good agreement is obtained. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using CFD models to obtain accurate VIV predictions for subsea pipelines. Future studies will examine more complex flow regimes including random waves and also consider 3D modelling.