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Centrifuge testing to verify scaling of offshore pipeline ploughs

Robinson, S.; Brown, M.J.; Matsui, H.; Brennan, A.; Augarde, C.E.; Coombs, W.M.; Cortis, M.

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Authors

S. Robinson

M.J. Brown

H. Matsui

A. Brennan

M. Cortis



Abstract

Offshore pipeline ploughs have previously been modelled at 1g with small 1:50 scale models designed to derive the parameters required for prediction of ploughing in terms of tow force requirements and potential advance rates. This was scaled up to prototype with the validity of the scaling verified through ‘modelling of models’ and with comparison to typical prototype tow forces but without direct validation. To allow further validation, a long centrifuge box and actuation system was developed for use on a medium-sized beam centrifuge. Previous approaches to 1g ploughing were also improved through the use of micro-electro-mechanical systems accelerometers and new low-cost surface scanning techniques. A wide range of ploughing velocities were explored through increasing actuation speeds and the use of pore fluids of different viscosities. The study has shown that although there may be initial concerns over low effective stress scaling issues at 1g, in shallow problems with small-scale models, the large deformation nature of the ploughing problem can be replicated with appropriate scaling. This allows the use of 1g modelling for more efficient parametric studies for this application and has given further confidence to performance parameters for prototype modelling derived from 1g and centrifuge studies.

Citation

Robinson, S., Brown, M., Matsui, H., Brennan, A., Augarde, C., Coombs, W., & Cortis, M. (2019). Centrifuge testing to verify scaling of offshore pipeline ploughs. International Journal of Physical Modelling in Geotechnics, 19(6), 305-317. https://doi.org/10.1680/jphmg.17.00075

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 2, 2018
Online Publication Date Oct 9, 2018
Publication Date Nov 30, 2019
Deposit Date Nov 15, 2018
Publicly Available Date Nov 15, 2018
Journal International Journal of Physical Modelling in Geotechnics
Print ISSN 1346-213X
Electronic ISSN 2042-6550
Publisher ICE Publishing
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 19
Issue 6
Pages 305-317
DOI https://doi.org/10.1680/jphmg.17.00075

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Published Journal Article (Advance online version) (1.1 Mb)
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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Advance online version Published with permission by the ICE under the CC-BY 4.0 license.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.






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