PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT Volume 40, Issue 1, February 2013 Online English edition of the Chinese language

journal Cite this article as: PETROL. EXPLOR. DEVELOP., 2013, 40(1): 119125. RESEARCH PAPER

Impacts of ocean current and seabed friction on the picking-up and laying-down processes of oil and gas pipelines
LUN Guande1,2,*, LIU Yancong2, YI Peng2, LI Chengkai2, MA Xiaoli2, QU Yang2
1. Weifang University, Weifang 261061, China; 2. College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266555, China

Abstract: Based on engineering practice of the picking-up and laying-down processes of offshore pipelines, a finite element model was established. On the basis of the model, methods and steps of the picking-up and laying-down operations were determined, and the impacts of currents and seedbed friction on the two operations were studied. The shape and stress distribution of the pipeline under the influences of longitudinal current, lateral current and seabed friction when picked up and laid down were analyzed using finite element analysis software. The results show that the longitudinal current has almost no effect on the pipeline shape and stress distribution in the picking-up and laying-down processes, while the lateral current results in significant deformation of the pipeline in the horizontal plane and raises the overall stress level of the pipeline. The friction between the seabed and the pipeline impedes the lateral displacement of the pipeline when it is laid down. The rougher the seabed, the smaller the overall lateral displacement of the pipeline is. When the pipeline reaches the equilibrium state after it is laid down, the friction between the pipeline and the seabed becomes larger with the increase of the friction coefficient. Key words: finite element model; ocean current; friction coefficient; stress; deformation

Introduction
The process of laying oil and gas pipelines in shallow sea is as follows. Firstly, the long pipelines which are made on land are hauled to the immersion sea area and are placed on the bottom of the sea. Secondly, two pipelines will be hung up for welding and be laid back to the bottom of the sea by the engineering ship. Then the pipeline butts are completed in the water. In the picking-up and laying-down process of the pipelines, controlling of the stress distribution on pipeline to prevent the buckling caused by local stress is an important content of pipeline butt design. Many factors may influence the picking-up and laying-down process of the pipelines, mainly including ocean currents, seabed friction and programs of picking-up and laying-down, etc. These factors affect shape and stress distribution of the pipeline in the picking-up and laying-down process, and determine construction safety to a certain extent. Researchers have studied a lot on stress status in the process of laying pipeline [18]. But theres no study report about the influences of ocean currents and seabed friction on the picking-up and laying-down process. This article

studies the shape and stress distribution of the pipeline under the influences of ocean currents and seabed friction in the picking-up and laying-down process using finite element analysis software, and analyzes the effects of longitudinal flow, lateral flow and seabed friction on the picking-up and laying-down process, which will be instructive to the design and construction of picking-up and laying-down pipelines.

1 Modeling of picking-up and laying-down pipelines

Severe deformation of pipelines in the picking-up and laying-down process is the geometric nonlinear problem. A basic equation of pipeline deformation was established based on nonlinear beam theory and equilibrium conditions of the pipeline micro-segment by simplifying the pipeline to a beam. 1.1 Nonlinear beam model equation

A micro unit with the length of ds is selected from the suspended section of the pipeline (Fig. 1). The w stands for the micro unit uniform gravity. The stands for the angle between the micro unit and the horizontal direction after defor-

Received date: 14 June 2012; Revised date: 23 Nov. 2012. * Corresponding author. E-mail: guandelun@126.com Foundation item: Supported by the National High-Tech Research and Development Plan (863) Project "The Key Technologies and Equipment of the Exploration and Development of South China Ocean Deepwater Oil and Gas" (2006AA09A104). Copyright 2013, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina. Published by Elsevier BV. All rights reserved.

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Fig. 1

Force of the pipeline micro segment Fig. 2 Finite element model of picking-up and laying-down processes

mation. The section of left end a is affected by the horizontal force H, vertical force V, bending moment M. The section of right end b is affected by the horizontal force H+dH, vertical force V+dV, bending moment M+dM. In the process of laying pipelines in the shallow sea, the tension of pipeline is ignored and pipe bending equation is as follows: y EI = M (1) 3 1 + ( y )2 2 The position after deformation is used to describe the geometric nonlinear problem of balance equation. However the point which leaves off the seabed and displacement of pipeline ends after deformation is unknown and it needs to solve the additional conditions of the suspended section. The common calculating methods are as follows: singular perturbation method, target practice iterative method, the B-spline curve fitting method, finite difference method and finite element method. The finite element method, high in accuracy and large in applicable scope, is widely used. 1.2 Finite element model of the picking-up and laying-down of pipelines

Based on space large deformation beam theory, finite element model for the picking-up and laying-down of pipelines was build. The model consists of 4 parts: the seabed, pipeline, hanging line and port crane (Fig. 2). The overall coordinate system for the model is the right hand vertical coordinate system and origin point O is located in the free end of pipeline when the pipeline is placed on the seabed. Axis x is pipeline direction and axis z pointing to the sea surface is perpendicular to the x axis. The relevant geometric parameters of the model are as follows: water depth Ho (6 m), the distance between the port crane and deck Hs (2 m), the distance between the deck and surface Hw (3 m), the distance between the lifting point and free end S1 (15 m) and S2 (45 m). (1) Pipeline model. Pipeline is simulated by using three dimensional linear pipe PIPE31H units that consist of two nodes. The unit owns 12 degrees of freedom and is Ti-

moshenko beam element considering the shearing force. At the same time, PIPE31H unit can solve the axial force and shear force problem that common beam elements are difficult to solve in the finite displacement method. Through putting the axial force and shear force into basic equation, this unit convergence is improved, especially in the thin and long pipe geometric nonlinear problem. PIPE31H unit can effectively solve the problem of tiny change of node position which can result in a huge internal force. Despite the large amount of calculation, the overall efficiency is higher because this unit convergence speed is higher [9]. Since finite element analysis has physical discretization error [10], the smaller element size is helpful in raising accuracy of analysis results. However, this can lead to the increase of the computing time too. In order to ensure the accuracy of the solution and save calculation time, this paper uses one meter length of unit to discrete pipeline model on the basis of published literatures [11]. Relevant parameters of pipeline model are shown in Table 1. (2) Suspension cable model. In the picking-up and laying-down process, arranges one or more suspension cables on the lifting end according to the actual operation conditions. The work is done by the port crane on the engineering ship
Table 1 Parameter name Pipe length Pipe outer diameter Pipe wall thickness Pipeline density Parameters of the pipeline model Parameter value 300 m 355.6 mm 14.3 mm 7 850 kg/m3 Parameter name Pipe nominal minimum yield strength Anticorrosive coating thickness Anticorrosive coating density Weight layer thickness Parameter value 448 MPa 2.8 mm 940 kg/m3 40 mm

Pipe elastic modulus 2.071011 Pa Pipe Poisons ratio 0.3

Weight layer density 295 kg/m3

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that is on the top of suspension cable. As the port crane is stationary, the suspension cable will lean gradually in the picking-up and laying-down process and the size and the direction of lifting force on pipeline will also change constantly. In order to simulate the picking-up and laying-down process of suspension cable, CONN3D2 unit in the Connector unit library is used to simulate suspension cable [12] and Slipring connection attribute is used to simulate the picking-up and laying-down process of suspension cable. Slipring is a kind of special combined connection attributes. This attribute can simulate the translation and rotation relationship between two connections. It can also simulate the material flow properties, corresponding to the tenth degree of freedom of two connection place [13]. The degree of freedom represents the inflows and outflows of materials in connections and can be used to simulate flexible behavior of the safety belt, the pulley block and tension of the cable. This attribute enables accurate calculation of the internal force of pipeline suspension cable at the tensioning state in the picking-up and laying-down process. (3) Seabed model. Seabed is simulated by analytical rigid surface. Compared to the discrete rigid body, the generating mode of the analytical rigid surface is simple and the calculation cost is low because of the decrease in unit number. For a gentle sea floor, the rigid analytic surface simulation can completely satisfy the requirements of analysis in actual engineering. In addition to the simulation of seabed, another main problem is to simulate the contact of the seabed and pipeline. There are normal interaction relations between the pipeline and seabed and the seabed friction action is very obvious to pipeline at the same time due to the lateral displacement of the pipeline [14]. According to the pipe-soil function characteristics, soft contact and elastic sliding methods are used to simulate normal interaction relations and anisotropic friction respectively.
Table 3 Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Suspension cable1 Suspension cable length/m 2.5 4.0 4.0 5.5 5.5 7.5 7.5 9.5 9.5 11.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 Hanging cable down length/m

2 Picking-up and laying-down method for pipeline

The process of lifting pipeline is divided into eight stages. Each stage focuses on the operation of one lifting point. Two lifting points ascends alternately and the pipeline is hoisted from the water surface gradually. The specific steps are shown in Table 2. The laying-down process includes 10 stages. Each stage also focuses on the operation of one lifting point. Two lifting point descends alternately and engineering ship moves laterally simultaneously at the 1, 4, 6, 8 stages. The specific steps are shown in Table 3.

3 Analysis of impact of water flow on picking-up and laying-down process

Pipeline will be influenced by marine environmental load such as wave and current in the picking-up and laying-down process. The picking-up and laying-down process and butt joint are carried out in sunny weather without wind in the actual construction. So this paper only analyzes the influence of steady flow on pipe shape and stress distribution. Flow force on the surface of the pipe is calculated by the equation below [15].
Table 2 Procedures of picking-up subsea pipeline

Suspension cable1 Suspension cable2 ProceHanging cable Hanging cable Suspension Suspension dure retracting retracting cable length/m cable length/m length/m length/m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9.0 9.0 7.0 7.0 5.0 5.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 11.0 10.0 10.0 9.0 9.0 7.5 7.5 5.5 2.5 1.5 1.0 1.0

Procedure of laying-down subsea pipeline Suspension cable2 Suspension cable length/ m 5.5 5.5 7.0 7.0 8.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 11.5 11.5 1.5 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.5 2.0 Hanging cable down length/m Engineering ships side moving distance/m 5.0

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(2) vw 2 A 2 where, vw is flow velocity on pipeline surface and its calculation formula is as follows. L 7 vw = v0 Ho
3.1 The influence of longitudinal flow
1

Fw = Cw

(3)

Based on the finite element model of the picking-up and laying-down process, the paper uses nonlinear finite element software to calculate pipe shape and stress distribution from the time pipeline is lifted to the final stage and engineering ship moves laterally five meters after butt joint in static water (Fig. 3). Then, the ocean surface water flow velocity is taken as 2m/s and seabed flow velocity is 1m/s. The current velocity is distributed linearly. Space shape and stress distribution of pipeline under the impact of longitudinal (x axis direction) current are calculated (Fig. 4). By comparing Fig. 3a and Fig. 4a, it can be found that pipeline shape and stress distribution in the picking-up process are completely consistent under static water and longitudinal flow condition, suggesting that the longitudinal flow has little effect on pipe shape and stress distribution in this process. So the influence of the longitudinal flow can be ignored in the process when ocean current is longitudinal current.
Fig. 4 Shape and stress distribution of pipeline in the picking-up and laying-down process in longitudinal flow

3.2

The influence of lateral flow

The direction of flow is changed along y axis direction. Because the process of lifting pipeline is on the x axis symmetry, the paper only calculates and analyzes the pipeline space shape and stress distribution in the y axis direction. By comparing Fig. 3a and Fig. 5, it can be found that under the impact of lateral flow, pipeline lifting space deformation is no longer a plane curve located in the lifting plane. There is large deflection in the y axis direction. The maximum deflection is 2 m which is in the 80m location nearby suspension

Fig. 3 Shape and stress distribution of pipeline in picking-up and laying-down process in static water

Fig. 5 Shape and stress distribution of pipeline during the picking-up processes in lateral flow

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segment of the pipeline. The deflection in the z axis direction is very small. The maximum stress of the pipeline increases from 230 MPa to 270 MPa and the overall stress level has risen. The pipeline stress area extends to 180 m. Fig. 6 shows the space shape and stress distribution of laying-down process under the influence of lateral flow. The flow direction in Fig. 6a is along positive direction of y axis which is the same as the engineering ship lateral displacement direction. The flow direction in Fig. 6b is along negative direction of y axis which is opposite to the engineering ship lateral displacement direction. It can be found from Fig. 6a that deflection deformation of pipeline is outside convex along positive direction of y axis and the length of pipeline with deflection deformation is more than 200 m. The maximum deflection is 6.5 m which is nearby the 70 m location of suspension segment of the pipeline and surpasses the lateral displacement of the engineering ship. By comparing Fig. 3b and 6a, it can be found that under the impact of lateral flow along positive direction of y axis, the deflection deformation in the z axis direction is very small in the laying-down process. The maximum stress significantly rises to nearly 300 MPa. By comparing Fig. 3b and Fig. 6b, it can be found that under the impact of lateral flow along negative direction of y axis, deflection deformation of the laying-down process ap-

proximates S shape in the y axis direction. However the overall deformation reduces and the deflection of the pipeline near seabed is negative obviously. The maximum deflection is 5 m which is near the free end of the pipeline. Deflection deformation of the laying-down process is very small in the z axis direction. The length of pipeline which has deflection deformation increases and the maximum stress of pipeline goes up slightly in the y axis direction. Through the above comparison, it can be found that lateral flow has great influence on deflection deformation of pipeline in the y axis direction. Deflection deformation of the suspended period of pipeline is larger in the y axis direction when water flow direction is in agreement with engineering ship lateral displacement direction. The maximum deflection position is beyond the engineering ship lateral distance and the pipeline maximum stress rises significantly. Water flow has inhibition effect on deflection deformation of pipeline in the y axis direction when water flow direction is opposite to engineering ship lateral direction. The deflection of the pipeline near seabed is negative obviously in the y axis direction and the maximum stress of pipeline increases slightly. In conclusion, lateral flow will increase stress level of pipeline in the picking-up and laying-down process, at the same time it can result in the significant variation of deflection deformation in the y axis direction, making it more difficult to control the pipeline. Therefore, we should try to avoid the picking-up and laying-down operation under the lateral flow conditions.

4 Analysis of friction between seabed and pipeline

There is apparent friction between seabed and pipeline because of the effect of the ships lateral displacement in the picking-up and laying-down process. Axial and lateral friction is calculated through Coulomb friction calculation formula [16]. F = W (4) In order to compare the influence on the pipeline of different friction coefficients, the paper values friction coefficient as 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 according to the friction characteristic between the seabed and pipeline respectively. The pipeline shape and bending moment distribution are calculated after the laying-down process (Fig. 7). It can be found from Fig. 7a that seabed friction has a certain effect on the final form of pipeline after laying-down process. The rougher the seabed is, the smaller the whole lateral displacement of pipeline is. But this kind of influence is small. It can be seen from Fig. 7b that seabed friction has a great effect on the final bending moment distribution of pipeline laid. In 70 m to 120 m range of pipeline of horizontal coordinates, the higher the seabed friction coefficient, the larger the bending moment is. In 120-180 m range of pipeline of horizontal coordinates, on the contrary, bending moment of pipe-

Fig. 6 Shape and stress distribution of pipeline during the laying-down process in lateral flow

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between pipeline and seabed is higher when the friction coefficient is bigger.

Conclusions

Fig. 7 Shape and bending moment distribution of pipeline after laying-down operation under the impacts of different friction coefficients

line decreases with the rise of seabed friction coefficient. Fig. 8 is the bending moment distribution of the pipeline after the laying-down process. It can be found from Fig. 8 that the distribution of friction on pipeline is very complex with wide fluctuation and little obvious pattern. The distribution of friction between pipeline and seabed is similar under the impact of different friction coefficients and the maximum friction is at the location about 70 m. However the overall friction

Based on the engineering construction of picking-up and laying-down process, a finite element model of the picking-up and laying-down process is established. The model consists of seabed, pipeline, suspension cable and port crane. Pipeline is simulated by the PIPE31H unit that effectively solves the problem that tiny changes of the node position result in a huge internal force. The CONN3D2 unit is used to simulate suspension cable and the Slipring connection attribute is used to simulate the packing process of suspension cable innovatively. This attribute can accurately calculate the internal force of suspension cable in tension state and in the picking-up process. Seabed is simulated by rigid analytic surface which satisfies the engineering analysis requirements and effectively reduces the computational cost. In addition, soft contact and elastic sliding are employed to simulate normal interaction relations and anisotropic friction respectively. Based on the established model, the methods and steps of picking-up and laying-down process are determined. This paper uses nonlinear finite element software to calculate pipeline shape and stress distribution under the impact of longitudinal flow, lateral flow and seabed friction. Longitudinal flow has little effect on pipeline shape and stress distribution in the picking-up and laying-down process so that it can be ignored. Lateral flow has significant effect on pipeline deformation in the horizontal plane and raises the whole pipeline stress level. Therefore, we should try to avoid picking-up and laying-down operation in lateral flow condition. The friction between seabed and pipeline has certain effect on the final shape and bending moment distribution of the pipeline after the laying-down process. The rough seabed has inhibition effect on lateral displacement in the laying-down process. The bending segment of the pipeline has large bending moment when the pipeline reaches a state of balance after the laying-down process.

Nomenclature
dslength of the pipeline micro-segment, m; wuniform weight of the pipeline micro-segment, N/m; the angle between the transformative pipeline micro-segment and the horizontal direction, (); Hthe horizontal stress of end a of the pipeline, N; Vthe vertical stress of end a of the pipeline, N; Mthe bending moment of end a of the pipeline, Nm; H+dHthe horizontal stress of end b of the pipeline, N; V+dVthe vertical stress of end b of the pipeline, N; M+dMthe bending moment of end b of the pipeline, Nm; Fig. 8 Friction distribution along length of the pipeline after laying-down operation under the impact of different friction coefficients Ethe elastic modulus of the pipeline, Pa; Ithe inertia moment of the pipeline cross profile, m4; Hothe depth of the water, m;

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Hsthe distance between the port crane and the deck, m; Hwthe distance between the deck and the water, m; S1, S2the distance between the lifting point and the free end, m; Fwflow force, N; Cwthe coefficient of the flow resistance; seawater density, kg/m3; vwthe flow speed on the pipeline surface, m/s; Athe projected area of the pipeline on the flow vertical area, m2; v0the flow speed of the sea surface, m/s; the stress of the pipeline, MPa; Lthe distance between the pipeline and the seabed, m; Ythe deflection of the pipeline, m; Fthe friction force between the pipeline and the seabed, N; the friction coefficient between the pipeline and the seabed; Wthe valid gravity of the pipeline, N. [9] [8] [7] [6]

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