DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF SUBMERGED PIPELINES BY FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The dynamic analysis of submerged pipelines, supported at certain intervals in water of finite depth, was studied. The pipelines contain flowing fluid and are subjected to a train of surface wave advancing along their axis. Traditional design practices for offshore pipelines are based on incipient motion criterion. These pipelines are laid on the bottom of the ocean or are buried using expensive trenching methods. The design forces used to evaluate the stability of bottom-supported pipelines include: (1) hydrodynamic pressures; (2) external forces; and (3) internal forces. The external forces are assumed to be known explicitly and are not a function of the generalized coordinates, whereas the inertia and hydrodynamics forces depend upon generalized coordinates.