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U.S. Department of Energy
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Collapse of offshore pipelines: Seminar proceedings

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7093671

In order to transfer the results of research on collapse of offshore pipelines sponsored by the Pipeline Research Committee, the Offshore Supervisory Committee held a one-day seminar, on February 20, 1990. Participants included experts from academia, offshore service company representatives, and natural gas and oil companies with offshore interests. Offshore pipeline construction has some significant problems not found in land pipeline construction. Among these are laying pipe over a laybarge stinger with a significant unsupported span to bottom, laying pipe from a reel barge, or pulling pipe through a J-tube to connect to an offshore platform. The latter two applications result in the pipe undergoing significant plastic deformation during the installation process, which could lead to failure of the pipe. Another unique offshore loading is from the water itself which exerts external pressure on the line during construction and operations. This external pressure may cause the pipe to collapse. There are many cases underwater where significant spans occur, such as the unsupported span from a laybarge, where the lateral loads from weight or current are carried by a combination of tension and large deflections rather than bending moments. This structural behavior is not accounted for in most piping design and analysis computer programs. The approach to address these problems has been theoretical work, small-scale testing and large-scale testing to verify the theories and small-scale tests. The seminar included the progress in understanding pipe buckling phenomena from its beginnings to the five years of PRC-sponsored work involving small-scale tests. The final and main portion of the seminar was devoted to the transfer of offshore pipeline design guidelines.

Research Organization:
American Gas Association, Inc., Arlington, VA (United States). Pipeline Research Committee; Shell Development Co., Houston, TX (United States). Bellaire Research Center
Sponsoring Organization:
AGA; American Gas Association, Inc., Arlington, VA (United States)
OSTI ID:
7093671
Report Number(s):
CONF-9002220--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English