Impact drag forces on pipelines caused by submarine glide blocks or out-runner blocks

Abstract

This paper discusses the forces resulting from the impact of an intact submarine landslide (the glide block or out-runner block region) on a suspended submarine pipeline. Eight physical experiments were conducted using the geotechnical centrifuge facility at C-CORE. In prototype scale, clay chunks equivalent to 12 m × 6 m × 4.5 m (l × w × h) were used to model the glide blocks or out-runner blocks. They had su ranging from 4 to 7 kPa, and impact velocities ranging from 0.1 to 1.3 m/s. The clay blocks impacted the suspended pipes at a direction normal to the pipe axis. The diameters of the pipes were 0.19 and 0.29 m. Based on these experimental results, a method to estimate the impact drag force on a pipeline caused by a submarine glide block or out-runner block was developed. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012.