Abstract
The interaction between coastal ocean flows and the submarine pipeline involved with distinct physical phenomena occurring at a vast range of spatial and temporal scales has always been an important research subject. In this article, the hydrodynamic forces on the submarine pipeline and the characteristics of tidal flows around the pipeline are studied depending on a high-fidelity multi-physics modeling system (SIFOM–FVCOM), which is an integration of the Solver for Incompressible Flow on the Overset Meshes (SIFOM) and the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM). The interactions between coastal ocean flows and the submarine pipeline are numerically simulated in a channel flume, the results of which show that the hydrodynamic forces on the pipeline increase with the increase of tidal amplitude and the decrease of water depth. Additionally, when scour happens under the pipeline, the numerical simulation of the suspended pipeline is also carried out, showing that the maximum horizontal hydrodynamic forces on the pipeline reduce and the vertical hydrodynamic forces grow with the increase of the scour depth. According to the results of the simulations in this study, an empirical formula for estimating the hydrodynamic forces on the submarine pipeline caused by coastal ocean flows is given, which might be useful in engineering problems. The results of the study also reveal the basic features of flow structures around the submarine pipeline and its hydrodynamic forces caused by tidal flows, which contributes to the design of submarine pipelines.
Highlights
Much crude oil and natural gas have been found in the ocean, which are constantly mined and utilized with the development of marine science and technology
Due to the drawbacks of the existing references and the deficiency of hydrodynamic simulation for submarine pipelines, a multi-physics/multi-scale approach is indispensable for the accurate simulation of the interaction between flows and pipelines, which has become an important subject in the prediction of coastal ocean flows in recent years [22]
Are interactively combined as one system to carry out numerical simulations of the interaction between flows and pipelines and study the hydrodynamic forces acting on pipelines, in which the SIFOM is used to calculate small-scale local hydrodynamics around the submarine pipeline, and the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM) is employed to capture large-scale coastal ocean tidal currents
Summary
Much crude oil and natural gas have been found in the ocean, which are constantly mined and utilized with the development of marine science and technology. Many investigations have been conducted experimentally and numerically on hydrodynamics at submarine pipelines, the research focuses on the unidirectional steady flow in small scale flow field rather than realistic ocean environment. Due to the drawbacks of the existing references and the deficiency of hydrodynamic simulation for submarine pipelines, a multi-physics/multi-scale approach is indispensable for the accurate simulation of the interaction between flows and pipelines, which has become an important subject in the prediction of coastal ocean flows in recent years [22]. Are interactively combined as one system to carry out numerical simulations of the interaction between flows and pipelines and study the hydrodynamic forces acting on pipelines, in which the SIFOM is used to calculate small-scale local hydrodynamics around the submarine pipeline, and the FVCOM is employed to capture large-scale coastal ocean tidal currents. In order to simulate the realistic multi-physics/multi-scale ocean phenomena, the domain decomposition approach is adopted in SIFOM–FVCOM, and the solution data exchange among different overset grids
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