Modelling of Periodic and Random Wave Forces on Submarine Pipelines

A numerical model for the prediction of the time variation of the flow field and the hydrodynamic forces on bottom submarine pipelines is proposed. The model is an extension for periodic and random waves of the Wake II hydrodynamic forces model (Soedigdo et al., 1999), originally proposed for sinusoidal waves. An extensive laboratory investigation has been carried out in order to calibrate the model. The numerical model is based on an analysis of the time history of the velocity field at each wave semi-cycle. A modified relationship of the wake velocity is introduced and the time history of the drag and lift hydrodynamic coefficients are obtained using a Gauss integration of the start-up function. The laboratory investigation was performed at the large wave flume of the Centro Sperimentale per Modelli Idraulici at Voltabarozzo (Padua, Italy). The tests were carried out by measuring the pressure values at 8 transducers mounted on a cylinder subjected to different periodic and random waves. The experiments refer to the range 4 ÷ 12 of the Keulegan-Carpenter number for periodic waves and to the range 4 ÷ 9 for random waves. The empirical parameters involved in the extended Wake II and in the classical Morison models were calibrated using the results of the sampled velocities and force time histories under different wave conditions. The comparisons between the experimental and numerical results indicate that the extended Wake II model allows an accurate evaluation of the peaks and of the phase shifts of the horizontal and vertical forces and is more accurate than the Morison model.Copyright © 2006 by ASME