Expansion-loop enclosure resolves subsea line problems
- Intec Engineering Inc., Houston, TX (United States)
Recent design and construction of a Gulf of Mexico subsea pipeline illustrate the use of buried, enclosed expansion loops to resolve problems from expansion and upheaval buckling. Buried, subsea pipelines operating at high temperatures and pressures experience extreme compressive loads caused by the axial restraint of the soil. The high axial forces combined with imperfections in the seabed may overstress the pipeline or result in upheaval buckling. Typically, expansion loops, or doglegs, are installed to protect the pipeline risers from expansion and to alleviate axial forces. Buried expansion loops, however, are rendered virtually ineffective by the lateral restraint of the soil. Alternative methods to reduce expansion may increase the potential of upheaval buckling or overstressing the pipeline. Therefore, system design must consider expansion and upheaval buckling together. Discussed here are methods of prevention and control of expansion and upheaval buckling, evaluating the impact on the overall system.
- OSTI ID:
- 634597
- Journal Information:
- Oil and Gas Journal, Vol. 96, Issue 31; Other Information: PBD: 3 Aug 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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