Optimized Solutions to Control Lateral Buckling of Pipelines With Snaked-Lay: Theoretical and Numerical Studies

Due to the offshore development moving to a more hostile environment, thermal buckling becomes an important issue needed to be considered for HPHT (high-pressure high temperature) subsea pipelines design. In order to control the lateral buckling, the snaked lay method is investigated theoretically and numerically. The buckling mechanisms of the curved beam are studied with methods considering the finite strain and simplified straight beam theory, respectively. The differences between the two methods are found to be negligible when the radius of curve is larger than a certain value. Detailed FE analysis results are given for the buckle behavior of a snaked-lay pipeline. The method to control the subsea pipeline lateral buckling is discussed and followed by a design example.