Runout prediction and dynamic characteristic analysis of a potential submarine landslide in Liwan 3-1 gas field

Abstract

A large number of submarine landslides with different scales have been identified in the canyon area of the submarine pipeline route of Liwan 3-1 gas field. There is still much chance that submarine slope failures would happen, and the following mass movement would present great risk to the submarine pipeline. In view of this, a numerical prediction method based on Eulerian-Eulerian two-phase flow model is introduced to simulate the mass movement of potential submarine landslides. The sliding soil and ambient water are respectively simulated by Herschel-Bulkley rheology model and Newtonian fluid model. The turbulence is simulated using the k-e model. Compared with both the experiment data and Bing result, the two-phase flow model shows a good accuracy, and its result is more close to the actual situation; the dynamic coupling between soil and ambient water can be effectively simulated and the phenomena of hydroplaning and head detachment can be obtained. Finally, the soil movement of a potential submarine landslide is simulated as an example, according to the seismic profile in the canyon area. The result shows that the hydroplaning occurs during the movement process. The runout distance calculated by the two-phase flow model is 877 m, which is 27.1% larger than the Bing result. However, the peak front velocity of soil is relative small, with a maximum value of 8.32 m/s. The Bing program with a simple and rapid process can be used for a preliminary evaluation, while the two-phase flow model is more appropriate for an accurate assessment.