Study on “J”Type Offshore Pipeline-Laying Method

-Considering both the seabed foundation and wave, an analytic model of 'J' type is proposed for offshore pipeline-laying. The governing differential equation is also obtained for the pipeline on the seabed and for the suspension sections. By utilizing weighted- residual method and dual iteration technique, an approximate solution is obtained, too. In the end, calculation examples are given for analyzing the changeable relationship among the major parameters.

An Overview of Deepwater Pipeline Laying Technology

The technology and methods involved in pipeline laying in shallow water have evolved to the level of routine and commonplace. However, regarding the unexpected deepwater complexity, the traditional pipeline laying techniques have to confront many new challenges arisen from the increase of the water depth, diameter of the pipe and the welding difficuhy, all of which should be modified and/or innovated based on the existed mature experiences. The purpose of this investigation is to outline the existing and new engineering laying techniques and the associated facilities, which can provide some significant information to the related research. In the context, the latest deepwater pipeline laying technology and pipe laying barges of the renowned companies from Switzerland, Norway, Italy etc., are introduced and the corresponding comparison and discussion are presented as well.

Modeling of fluid dynamics interacting with ductile fraction propagation in high pressure pipeline

This paper presents a computational model for the fluid dynamics in a fractured ductile pipe under high pressure. The pressure profile in front of the crack tip, which is the driving source of crack propagation, is computed using a nonlinear wave equation. The solution is coupled with a one dimensional choked flow analysis behind the crack. The simulation utilizes a high order optimized prefactored compact-finite volume method in space, and low dispersion and dissipation Runge-Kutta in time. As the pipe fractures the rapid depressurization take place inside the pipe and the propagation of the crack-induced waves strongly influences the outflow dynamics. Consistent with the experimental observation, the model predicts the expansion wave inside the pipe, and the reflection and outflow of the wave. The model also helps characterize the propagation of the crack dynamics and fluid flows around the tip of the crack.

Data Selection Using Support Vector Regression

Geophysical data sets are growing at an ever-increasing rate,requiring computationally efficient data selection （thinning） methods to preserve essential information.Satellites,such as WindSat,provide large data sets for assessing the accuracy and computational efficiency of data selection techniques.A new data thinning technique,based on support vector regression （SVR）,is developed and tested.To manage large on-line satellite data streams,observations from WindSat are formed into subsets by Voronoi tessellation and then each is thinned by SVR （TSVR）.Three experiments are performed.The first confirms the viability of TSVR for a relatively small sample,comparing it to several commonly used data thinning methods （random selection,averaging and Barnes filtering）,producing a 10％ thinning rate （90％ data reduction）,low mean absolute errors （MAE） and large correlations with the original data.A second experiment,using a larger dataset,shows TSVR retrievals with MAE ＜ 1 m s-1 and correlations ≥ 0.98.TSVR was an order of magnitude faster than the commonly used thinning methods.A third experiment applies a two-stage pipeline to TSVR,to accommodate online data.The pipeline subsets reconstruct the wind field with the same accuracy as the second experiment,is an order of magnitude faster than the nonpipeline TSVR.Therefore,pipeline TSVR is two orders of magnitude faster than commonly used thinning methods that ingest the entire data set.This study demonstrates that TSVR pipeline thinning is an accurate and computationally efficient alternative to commonly used data selection techniques.

Effects of Cooling Paths on Through-Thickness Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Heavy Gauge X80 Pipeline Steel

The effects of various cooling paths on uniformity of through-thickness microstructure and mechanical properties of X80 pipeline steel of 22.0 mm in thickness were studied. The finite difference method was employed to calculate the temperature field during cooling. It was confirmed by the experimental result and temperature field calculation that the optimizing process was achieved by the ultra-fast cooling with medium cooling capacity（cooling rate of ＊23 K/s）followed by ultimate cooling capacity（cooling rate of ＊50 K/s）. After optimization, the experimental steel displayed much uniform microstructure and the deviation of through-thickness hardness was controlled within 20 HV. In addition,the yield strength, tensile strength and elongation of the experimental steel were 621, 728 MPa and 21.5%, respectively,meeting the requirements of the API standard for X80 pipeline steels.

A numerical model for pipelaying on nonlinear soil stiffness seabed

The J-lay method is regarded as one of the most feasible methods to lay a pipeline in deep water and ultra-deep water. A numerical model that accounts for the nonlinear soil stiffness is developed in this study to evaluate a J-lay pipeline. The pipeline considered in this model is divided into two parts： the part one is suspended in water, and the part two is laid on the seabed. In addition to the boundary conditions at the two end points of the pipeline, a special set of the boundary conditions is required at the touchdown point that connects the two parts of the pipeline. The two parts of the pipeline are solved by a numerical iterative method and the finite difference method, respectively. The proposed numerical model is validated for a special case using a catenary model and a numerical model with linear soil stiffness. A good agreement in the pipeline configuration, the tension force and the bending moment is obtained among these three models. Furthermore, the present model is used to study the importance of the nonlinear soil stiffness. Finally, the parametric study is performed to study the effect of the mudline shear strength, the gradient of the soil shear strength, and the outer diameter of the pipeline on the pipelaying solution.