Wave induced uplift forces acting on half-buried submarine pipeline in sandy seabed by numerical methods

Abstract– Two dimensional finite element (FEM) and boundary integral equation methods (BIEM) are used to determine the uplift forces on a half-buried submarine pipeline in a sandy seabed. The main assumptions are potential flow theory for water, linear elastic stress-strain for soil, and Darcy''s law for pore fluid flow. Dynamic pressures around the pipe and uplift forces are calculated based on BIEM and FEM. Also, dynamic uplift forces on a pipeline with variable burial depths are calculated. The results of the numerical approach are compared with some analytical formulations based on the potential flow theory and experimental data, and good agreement is shown with both analytical and experimental data. Parameters in this study have been discussed in relation to the uplift forces.