Pipeline Buckling Caused by Axial Loads
Dr R. E. Hobbs
LECTURER, DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY, LONDON
SYNOPSIS
Compressive loads are commonly induced in pipelines
by the frictional restraint of axial extensions due to
temperature changes or internal pressure. It is shown
that these forces can cause buckling in the presence of
the initial imperfections which are certainly present in
pipelines as laid, particularly in submarine lines. Two
buckling modes which have occurred in practice (and
their .interaction) are considered. The first mode.
involves an upward movement from the sea bed while
the second incolves snaking lateral movements on the
sea bed itself. Both modes have been reported in the
literature on railway tracks. These results are reviewed.
and extended in the case o f the analysis o f the lateral
mode. For normal coefficients of friction, the lateral
mode occurs at a lower axial load than the vertical
mode and is therefore dominant in pipeline work unless
the line is laid in a trench. In this case the lateral
restraint makes a vertical buckle up and out of the
trench possible, which may be followed by an inter-
active lateral movement and/or rolling movement of
the elevated part of the pipeline.
The theoretical solutions are illustrated by numerical
calculations for a typical pipeline and some design
implications are reviewed.
NO TA TION
A cross-sectional area
E Young's modulus
I second moment of area of cross-section
k , , k z, k3, k4 constants - see Table I
L length ofbuckle
L, length of slipping pipe adjacent to buckle
m • w/EI
M bending moment
n (P/El) Iz2
p pressure
P axial force in buckled pipe
'Do prebuckling axial force
r radius
t wall thickness of pipe
T temperature increment
w submerged weight of pipeline (including
weight coat) per unit length
x coordinate along pipe axis
Y coordinate perpendicular to pipe ax'is
6f coefficient of linear thermal expansion
strain
Poisson's ratio
coefficient of friction
Superscripts
peak, maximum value
t
first derivative, slope
st
second derivative, curvature
value associated with the 'safe' tem-
perature increment
INTRODUCTION
The economic importance of submarine pipelines has
increased greatly in recent years with the development
of offshore oil and gas fields in many parts of the world.
The cost of a failure in such a line is so high (not only
for repairs but also for lost production) that consider-
able interest has been focussed on the stresses caused
during the laying ~t'2~ and modification or repair ~3"+~of
submarine pipelines. Similar arguments on a somewhat
lower scale of expense apply to pipelines on dry land.
However, comparatively little attention has been paid to
problems occurring in .lines during routine operation.
This paper addresses one such problem; the assess-
ment of compressive axial forces in the pipeline and
their consequences.
The size of the axial load in the pipe depends on
many factors. As well as the mechanical properties of
the line and its weight coat, the axial force is a function
of the initial tension at the sea bed just after laying, the
pressure difference across the pipe wall and tern-

perature variations due to hot oil passing through the
line. These factors interact with sea bed geometry and
frictional and/or trench backfill effects, as well as the
influence of end restraints in shorter lines. Finally, the
previous loading history and time-dependent changes
due to scour, currents and tides are also relevant.
Thus it is extremely difficult to say with any certainty
what axial force exists at any point in a given pipeline at
a given time. Nonetheless, two major causes of
compressive forces can be identified, arising from the
restraint of the strains associated with thermal and
internal pressure Ioadings. With oil temperatures up to
100°C above water temperature and operating press-
ures over l0 N/ram', these effects can produce very
significant forces indeed in a long line where the
necessary frictional force can develop between pipe and
sea bed, or in shorter lines with effective end restraints.
The force created by full restraint of thermal
expansion is, simply,
Po = EActT
The free axial strain, e, due to a positive pressure
difference p across the wall of the pipe is given in terms
of the well-known thin wall axial and hoop stresses in
the pipe by
= v
E buckling assumption of small slopes, a point to be
where v is Poisson's ratio. Then, if e is completely
restrained, the axial compressive force generated and
available to participate in buckling is
Apr
Po = EAe = (0.5 - v).
!
Having assessed the sources of compressive force,
there are two possible buckling modes in response to
the force. These are both overall buckling modes
without gross distortions of the cross-section which
may be contrasted with the propagating buckle trig-
gered by excessive bending and external pressuri-
safion during laying operationsJ 5~ The first mode
(Figure l(a)) involves part of the line lifting itself
vertically from the sea bed while the second (Figure
l(b)) results in various snaking lateral movements in the
1o)
~ 'tea bed
l r r .
Elevation
Plan v l e w
Figure I Vertical and lateral buckling modes
Pipeline buckling caused by axial loads 3
horizontal plane against frictional resistance. Both of
these modes have been demonstrated in a very simple
model employing rubber strips resting on a horizontal
machined surface and loaded by a small screw jack,
and both are known to occur in real pipelines under
suitable conditions.
Analysis - vertical mode
This mode of buckling has attracted a great deal of
attention over the years from railway engineers con-
cerned with the buckling of rail track, particularly
continuously welded track, Kerr (° has presented a
review paper with nearly fifty references to this
problem, while Marek and Daniels (v) have described an
apparently independent analysis of the vertical buckling
of crane rails. Their work (as corrected in discussion by
Granstr6m ~)) agrees in all respects with the theory first
developed in 1936 by Martinet tg). Accordingly, it seems
appropriate merely to summarise the method and
results for the vertical mode at this point. The first step
(I)
is to solve the linear differential equation for the
deflected shape of the buckled part of the pipeline,
which is treated as a beam column under uniform
lateral load. It is assumed that the bending moment at
the lift-off point is zero. This assumption has been
examined elsewhere ~°), and it should also be noted that
(2) the use of thc linear equation relies on the usual column
borne in mind later when assessing the results. In the
notation of Figure 2(a),
m
y" + nZy + --~ (4x 2 -- L 2) = 0 (4)
(3)
where m = w/EI and n 2 = P/EL with the solution
m ( cosnx n2x2 n2L2 )
Y=~-~ - + ~ + 1 . (5)
cos (nL/2) 2 8
The unknown length of buckle L is then determined
from the condition that the slope at the ends of the
buckle should be zero. This yields
nL nL
tan = (6)
2 2
or as lowest root
nL = 8.9868... (7)
The next step is to compare the axial load P in the
buckle with the axial load P0 well away from the buckle
(Figure 2(b)). P is clearly less than P0 because of the
extra length round the buckle compared to L itself.The
drop in force is not as large as would be expected at
first glance because two adjacent lengths of pipe L s
slide in towards the buckle - giving the axial force
distribution shown in Figure 2(b). The discontinuities in
this distribution at each lift-off point are associated with
the concentrated vertical reactions of 0.5wL which
occur there.
4 J o u r n a l o f C o n s t r u c t i o n a l S t e e l R e s e a r c h : Iiol. 1, No. 2 : J a n u a o , 1981

~ ~ ~ Dm
i ens~ons
I L= k L,

tewL/2 P ~ i
~,
i Po
, 1
T {b}
Axio[ f.~ree d ~ , t r i b u h o n

Figure 2 Details of rertical buckle

Setting up a compatibility equation (~). the following Equations 15 and 16 are useful when solving equation 9
results are obtained for particular cases as described later.
P = 80.76EI/L z (8)
A n a l y s i s - lateral m o d e
wL The lateral modes observed in a small-scale experiment
P0 = P + .II.597 x ~0 -s E A ~ w L s - 0.25(¢El)Zl ~
E/ (9) (e.g. Figure I(b)) all resemble sine curves decaying
either side of a central peak amplitude. As a first
The maximum amplitude of the buckle tentative step, a lateral mode of the same shape as the
wL ~ vertical t'node was considered, mode ! in Figure 3. With
= 2.408 x 10- 1 - (10) the Vertical analysis to hand, it was simple to determine
EI the relationship between buckle length L and axial force
and the maximum bending moment, at x = 0, is P0 fi~r a lateral coefficient of friction assumed equal to
the friction coefficient for axial movements of the
At/' = O.O6938wL z (11)
slipping lengths L,. Unfortunately, for equilibrium, this
while the maximum slope is mode requires concentrated lateral forces of e w L / 2 at
the ends of the buckle analogous to the concentrated
f ' = 8 . 6 5 7 x 10 -J wL~/EI. (12)
vertical forces at the lift-off points in the vertical mode.
This last result is useful for checking the validity of the On a rigid sea bed concentrated vertical forces are
small slope assumption in particular numerical cases, possible (and practical cases closely approach the rigid
i.e. conventionally.~' ~<0.1 for 'small' slopes. ideal (l°)) but it is not possible to generate a truly
A further result of practical interest is the size of the concentrated lateral force by friction. References 9, I l
slipping length adjacent to the buckle, and 12 which came to hand rather later deal with this
point at length, but in the investigation described here
P~- P the next step was to repeat the analysis using a different
L, = - - 0.5L. (13)
ew assumption which avoids the difficulty.
Thus the minimum theoretical distance between the
centres of two adjacent but independent vertical buckles Mo d e I Mo(~e 2
is
2( Po - P) . . . . . . . . . . (

L + 2L, = (14)
~b)v
Equation 9 is awkward and m a y be compared with Mod~ 3 L M o d e ~.

the result for a very large coefficient of friction (i.e.

L~ = 0)
E1 wZA EL 6
P0 = 80.76 ~ + 1.597 x !0 -~ (El)---------F- (15)

It is easy to show that equation i 5 has a minimum at

E=
t !.6856 x 106(EI) ) o.tz~
I
w2A E
) (16)
Figure 3 Lateral buckling modes
Moee 0,0
 Pipeline buckling caused by axial loads 5

Looking at the experimentally observed lateral
modes once more, it was assumed that the family of
decaying trigonometric curves were all initial imper-
fection generated variants of one fundamental constant-
amplitude periodic curve. In other words, it was
assumed that an initially perfect pipe would buckle into
an indefinite series of half waves as shown in Figure 3,
mode oo. This assumption has the computational
advantages that the nodes of the half wave pattern do
not slide parallel to the axis of the pipe and, more
importantly, can be made to satisfy lateral equilibrium.
Looking at the consequences of this new assumption
in detail, the linear differential equation governing the
deflected shape is unchanged, equation 4, except that m
is now ¢w/EL i.e. it is assumed that the lateral frictional
force is fully mobilised everywhere. The displacement
boundary conditions are unchanged but for the zero
slope condition at x = +L/2 which is replaced by a
shear force condition at the same location. Thus
equation 5 still holds with the new value of m, while
after careful consideration of signs the shear condition
yields the length of the buckle from
nL
tan = 0
2 within the buckle is given by
or as the lowest non-trivial root
nL = 2yr.
Compatibility then requires that
Po- P= - ' dx
L ./2
that is the reduction in axial force in the buckle equals
the product of the axial stiffness and the extension
round the curve. This leads to the following results for
the infinite lateral buckling mode
P = 4rrZEl/L z
linear differential equation is probably sufficiently
accurate.
References 9, 11 and 12 were obtained after
completing this analysis. Martinet o), as long ago as
1936, considered mode I as well as the vertical mode,
observed the lack of lateral equilibrium at the ends of
the buckle and predicted that mode 3 (with a smaller
lack of equilibrium at its ends) was likely to develop as
a result (Figure 3). He then analysed this higher mode,
confirming that buckling would be initiated at a lower
axial force for a given out-of-straightness than
necessary for mode 1. K e r r " " (and in a condensed
form (m) confirmed Martinet's work for modes 1 and 3
using a variational formulation and presented results
for two antisymmetric modes, modes 2 and 4 (Figure
3). These are initiated at very similar axial force/initial
imperfection combinations which are rather smaller
than those needed to trigger mode 3. Martinet and
Kerr's results are discussed later, but it is worth
summarising their formulae for modes 1-4 in the
notation of the present paper at this point.
Taking the half wavelength of the most significant
part of the buckle as L in each case (Figure 3), and
(17) using the constants of Table 1, the reduced axial force
P = k t EI/L 2 (26)
(18) Then
Po=P+k~,wL[(l.O+k2
A ECwL5 / ',2
- 1.0
]
(EI) 2 ] - j.
(19) (27)
The maximum amplitude of the buckle relative to the
original axis is
~W 4
37 = k, - - ~ L . (28)
(20) Table i Constants for lateral buckling modes

P0 = P + 1.4545 x IO-~AE\EI] L 6. (21)

Mode
Constants

k, kz k3 k,
For computational use, it is noted that this equation has ( E q n . 26) ( E q n . 27) (Eqn. 27) (Eqn. 28)
a minimum at
1 80.76 6.391 × I0 -S 0.5 2.407 x 10 - j
= (9.0474 x 105 (El)Jl°'t2~ 2 4n 2 1.743 x 10 -4 1.0 5.532 x 10 -J
] (22 3 34.06 1.668 x 10 -+ 1.294 1.032 x 10 -z
4 28.20 2.144 x 10 -4 1.608 1.047 x 10 "z

The maximum amplitude of the buckle oO 4n'* i . 4 5 4 5 x 10 -~ (Eqn. 21) 4 . 4 4 9 5 x 10 -~

y = 4.4495 x 10-' ¢hv L 4 (23)

E1 RESULTS
and the maximum bending moment, at x = 0, is
Figures 4 - 6 summarise the results of the vertical and
/f/" = 0.05066¢wL 2 (24)
lateral mode calculations for a typical pipeline for a
while the maximum slope is variety of coefficients of friction, including the practical
range 0.3 ~< # ~<0.7. The pipe considered has an outside
fi' = 0.0 i 2670wL J/EI. (25)
diameter of 650 ram, and a wall thickness of 15 mm
Again, if 37' x< O. l in a particular case, the small slope giving a cross-sectional area of 299.2 cm 2 and a second
6 JournalofConstructionalSteelResearch: Iiol. 1, hb. 2:Januar 3" 1981

moment of area 150900 cm 4. Its submerged weight Po using equation 21, T using equation 1 and
(including concrete coating) has been taken as 3.8 kN/ the buckle amplitude fi using equation 23.
m. The results have been presented in terms of the (d) Lateral modes - modes 1-4
temperature rise necessary to generate the axial force in Repeat steps (c) (i) and (ii) using equations 27 and
equilibrium with the buckle lengths and amplitudes 28 for Po and ft. To establish the minimum for
shown, and the coefficient of linear thermal expansion, mode 1, values of L up to 2.0L may have to be
or, has been taken as 11 x IO-~/°C for this purpose. used.
The results were obtained from a small computer
program using the following procedure which DISCUSSION
recognises that it is much easier to find the force (or It is apparent from Figures 4 and 5 that the lateral
temperature change) corresponding to a given buckle modes become possible at a smaller temperature
length L than vice versa. change than the vertical mode. Thus unless lateral
(a) Vertical mode - high friction coefficient restraint ~s provided, for example by burying the line,
(i) Compute L" using equation 16. the lateral modes will be dominant. This feature is con-
(ii) For a range of 20 values of L between 0. I L and firmed by small-scale experiments and practical
3/~. compute Po using equation 15, T using experience. An unburied line will snake la~rally, while
equation 1, and the buckle amplitude fi using a buried line may burst out of the sea bed~(or desert!).
equation 10. Once a buried line has lifted, an interaction with the
(b) Vertical mode - real friction coefficients lateral mode may occur, as the buckle itsel~now has no
For a range of friction coefficients 4, and 20 values lateral restraint (# = 0). Alternatively the f'buckle may
of L between 0.1L and 3L, compute Po using roll or twist laterally.
equation 9, T using equation 1, and the buckle Figures 4 and 5 are otherwise very similar and it is
amplitudef using equation 10. useful to discuss the common features in terms of
(c) Lateral modes - infinite mode simplified load or temperature against length of buckle
(i) For each of a range of friction coefficients ~ and amplitude curves, Figure 7. The first point isthat in
compute E using equation 22. theory an ideal perfectly straight pipeline would 'not
(ii) For each friction coefficient ¢i, and a range of buckle. The pipe is in equilibrium for all values of axial
20 values of L between 0.SL and 1.5L compute load in an undeformed configuration and while the

320 l •
.... I ................ I - -
, large I 04

280
0 3

240 /
Temperature
r, se T

6o1__¸
('c) 200

,i
. . . . . . . . 0 :
o t
qu'

120 ,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

80
:i

OO~

,0____7 . . . . . .

~,=o
I I rl I
o 20 40 60 80 100 120 1/~0 160 180 200
Buckle length L (m)
00501 OZ 05 i z 5 io zo 5o
i i ! i i l i I
Buckle amplilude ~ (m}

Figure 4 Results for vertical buckling

 Pipeline buckling caused by axial loads

I/.0 !

12C . . . . . t ---
i
J [
5 ¸
J
100
Temperature L: . . . . r.~, sLope o
i
r)se T 03
('c) 80

60

/-0 I - - -
i

20

20 LO 60 80 100 120 lt-,O 160 180 200

Buckle lencjth L (m)

I 00501 OZ 05 I 2 5 10 ;to
i i ~ i I i
o
8uckl~' Qmphtud~ ; (m) (for • ~ 05 )

Figure 5 R esultsfor lateral buck ling - oo mode

130
Temperature I
rise T
{'c ) 110

70 i

Mode
a~

--I " j
Z~
3

30 1 , J
i I
i ,
| , i
0 2 0'/- 0'6 08 10 12 1'/- 16 1,8 20 2.2 2 ./-
Buckle amplitude y' ( m )

Figure 6 Comparison of the lateral buckling modes

curve for the deformed shape (equations 9, 15 or 21) pin-ended Euler column where the post-buckling
approaches the vertical axis asymptotically at high equilibrium path actually crosses the initial equilibrium
temperatures and small wavelengths, it never quite path on the axis.
meets the axis. As Kerr ('2) has remarked, this is a con- Supposing, next, something marginally less than
sequence of the assumption of fully mobilised friction initial perfection in the pipeline, it is clear that at some
even for vanishingly small displacements, and the temperature T the imperfection will be enough to bridge
situation may be contrasted with the conventional the gap between the two equilibrium paths, bringing it
8 Journal of Constructional Steel Research." Vol. 1, No. 2: January 1981
i= -
c
J~
L
D
i.
E /
i!
I II
# .+
t I l p
I I
/ /
/ I
I J
Buckle length L
Figure 7 Equilibrium paths and imperfection sensiticit)~schematic
to the equilibrium position A. The part of the secondary
equilibrium path from A to B is clearly unstable, and a
dynamic snap will occur from A to C (chain dotted
line) at a constant load Po in the pipeline well away
from tile buckle, although the buckle itself lengthens
and partially unloads. Because, on this argument, no
snap can occur below the temperature T at B, 7" has
been called the 'safe" temperature in the railway
literature.
These ideas can be presented with slightly more
rigour by considering the temperature/buckle length
curves for initially imperfect systems sketched in Figure
7 (dashed lines). For very small imperfections a large
snap is indeed seen experimentally. As the initial
out-of-straightness is increased tile snap occurs at lower
forces and less dramatically. Eventually, for large
enough imperfections the snap is eliminated, to be
replaced by a single-valued magnification of the initial
bow. For any initial imperfection, the behaviour is
ultimately asymptotic to the stable curve BC for the
perfect system.
In practical terms it may even be desirable to
deliberately create initial out-of-straightness, to elimin
ate the possibility of a snap. This is simple enough for
land:based lines which often include dog legs a n d
exp'ansion loops, but it is not so easy for submarine .
lines. Working from a lay barge, the pipe lengthsare
welded together with a 1:480 straightness tolerance and
sent over the stinger. Deliberate kinks could overstress
the line during laying. As the weather worsens,
involuntary large radius curves may be induced at the
sea bed by lay barge motion but it is not practical to lay
the line to specified radii. Nor is it worth trying:
Martined 9~ and small-scale experiments both show that
A y
,/
I P
I I
p
t I
! I I
I !
I
Buckle amplitude ~'
a large radius is ineffective in eliminating the snawor in
changing its wavelength.
On unloading tile pipeline differences appear between
the vertical and horizontal modes. A vertical buckle will
trace the secondary path back down to B. and if the
load is further reduced, drop back to the straight
configuration although a small residual compression
will arise at the site of the buckle because of frictional
effects. A chain of horizontal buckles.will initially try to
trace the path down to B but the changes in wavelength
coupled with the reversal of the lateral friction force will
leave it at zero temperature with some residual
out of-straightness and a small tension in the line. On
reloading the pipeline these imperfections must pre-
dispose the line to buckle laterally at a lower load than
before by magnification of the imperfections. In the
vertical mode, with small residual axial forces, the line
is likely to buckle at the same location as before but not
necessarily at a significantly reduced temperature as the
straightness of the pipe is unimpaired.
As might have been predicted, it is clear from Figures
4 and 5 that the value of the friction coefficient ~ only
become particularly relevant to the results in the
post-buckling regime. However, these results do not
show any extreme sensitivity to the value of 4" since the
value of ~ for a given stretch of sea bed is only known
approximately, this is just as well.
Turning now to a comparison of the various lateral
modes, Figure 6 presents temperature/amplitude results
for the five possibilities considered here for a single
friction value, ¢ = 0.5. These curves correspond to the
unstable part of the equilibrium path, AB, in Figure 7.
and if extended for large amplitudes would all rise.
corresponding to BC in Figure 7. Thus each point

shown represents a temperature/amplitude combination
sure to initiate buckling in the mode shown for a
suitable initial waveform.
It is clear, as Kerr "t~ has shown for rail tracks, that
the antisymmetric modes 2 and 4 occur at very similar
temperature/amplitude combinations, slightly smaller
than those needed for mode 3. Mode 1, occurring at
higher temperatures, seems unlikely to be of practical
interest. Mode oo, on the other hand lies below modes 2
and 4 for amplitudes less than 1.4 metres, and has a
'safe" temperature some 3°C lower. Indeed. there are
grounds for suspecting that mode oo lies below modes 2
and 4 at even larger amplitudes: it is recognised *tu that
the analysis of modes 3 and 4, and to a lesser extent
mode 2 contains an approximation which will lead to an
overestimate of the amplitude. In these analyses it has
been assumed that the axial force P is constant
throughout the entire buckle, in spite of the inward
movement from the adjacent unbuckled pipeline. On
the contrary, the axial force in the inner half waves of
modes 3 and 4 must be significantly less than in the
outer, smaller, hall" waves because of axial friction and
the true amplitude of the inner waves will be smaller as
a result. If these arguments were to be extended to
modes with 5, 6, 7 . . . . half waves, a situation would
rapidly bc reached where the inner, most significant,
buckles were not receiving any energy at all from the
inward sliding of unbuckled line, in other words the
inner waves would approach the conditions assumed in
the analysis of mode o~. These :lrguments lend weight
to the idea that practical buckles are imperfection
generated variants of mode ~ .
These considerations suggest that mode oo might be
a very useful lower bound for design purposes. It is
certain that most pipelines would buckle in modes
approximating to modes 2, 3, 4. It is not certain that
higher modes closer to co will never arise if bad luck
produces the wrong initial imperfection pattern. Thus
the 'safe' temperattare of mode cc, and the associated
amplitude/wavelength combinations for temperatures
and axial forces above the 'safe" level are proposed as
providing a conservative estimate of permissible imper-
fection sizes and wavelengths for design use with
appropriate safety factors.
Finally, the following limitations of the analyses
presented in this paper should be borne in mind.
(a) Only perfect systems have been rigorously exa-
mined. In the vertical mode no account has been
taken of the initial out-of-straightness, It is not easy
to see how to include this factor, short of an
approximate numerical (e.g. finite element)
approach. "The classical column (Fourier) analysis
of initial lack of straightness becomes difficult here
because the buckled length changes progressively as
the load increases. It is some comfort to know that
the magnitude and nature of the initial imper
fections in pipelines as laid are also unknown, and
Pipeline buckling caused by axial loads 9
extremely difficult to assess, so that an improved
analysis would not of itself be very helpful.
(b) Perfect elasticity and small slopes have been
assumed. The analyses presented assume that the
full elastic modulus of the pipe is available to resist
bending. Once plasticity occurs the analysis loses
its validity: yielding will obviously leave its mark on
the pipe on unloading and act as an imperfection on
subsequent reloading. Of course, most linepipe is
competent to develop a plastic hinge without effect
on its serviceability.
The analyses also use the linear differential equation
for bending which is strictly true only for small slopes,
conventionally less than 0.1 radian. However, more
exact elliptic integral solutions have been obtained f TM ~'~j
for cantilevers and pin-ended columns. In the canti-
lever, for an axial load 1.5 per cent greater than that
predicted by the linear equation, the end slope is 0.35
radian. Similarly, in the pin-ended column, for an axial
load 1.2 per cent greater than the Euler load, the
greatest slope is 0.31 radian. These results suggest that
the 0.1 radian limit on 'small" slopes is rather
conservative: cut-off lines corresponding to this limit
have been marked on Figures 4 and 5 as a guide, and
truc loads beyond this limit may bc rather higher than
shown.
CONCLUSIONS
Two potential buckling mechanisms in pipelines subjec-
ted to axial compression have been identified and
analysed. It is found that horizontal snaking modes
occur at a lower axial load than the vertical mode, and
a horizontal mode is therefore dominant unless lateral
restraint is provided by trenching when an interactive
buckling mode becomes possible. Full account has been
taken of friction between the pipe and the ground in the
vertical mode, relying on two independent but formally
identical references on the buckling of rail tracks and
crane rails. An analysis of a lateral mode involving an
infinite sequence of half waves with fully developed
lateral friction has been presented and compared with
earlier work on isolated buckles over a shorter length
which involve longitudinal as well as lateral sliding, it is
concluded that the infinite mode gives a lower bound to
permissible imperfection amplitude/wavelength com-
binations which may be useful for design purposes.
The effects of imperfections, unloading and reloading
are discussed. The theoretical solutions arc illustrated
by numerical results for a typical pipeline.
A CKNO WLEDGEMEIV TS
The attthor wishes to record his gratitude to Jack Ells,
Chris Lawlor and David Walker of the Engineering
Department of BP Trading Ltd, attd Chris Burgoyne of
the Civil Engineering Department. hnperial College,
for the stimulating discussions which led to this paper.
10 Journal of Constructional Steel Research: Iiol. I, No. 2: January 1981
Howet'er. the opinions expressed (and any mistakes
made) are the author's alone.
REFERENCES
1 WILHOIT, J. C.. JR. and MERWIN, J. E. 'Pipe stresses induced
in laying offshore pipelines." Transactions of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers. Journal of Engineering for
lndusttT. 89. 1967.37-43.
2 PALMER. A. C.o HUTCHINSON, G. and ELLS, J. w.
'Configuration of submarine pipelines during laying
operations." Transactions of the American Society of Mech-
anical Engineers. Journal of Engineering for Industry, 96.
1974. I 112-18.
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Contributions discussin 8 this paper should be received by the Editor
before I May 1981.