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On the behaviour of pipe-clamping mattresses to arrest pipeline walking

On the behaviour of pipe-clamping mattresses to arrest pipeline walking
On the behaviour of pipe-clamping mattresses to arrest pipeline walking
A novel solution to mitigate pipeline walking, namely the use of pipe-clamping mattresses (PCMs), was first developed for the Malampaya project (Frankenmolen et al. 2017). Comprising a hinged concrete structure designed to clamp onto a section of pipeline, and supporting (post-installed) ballast weight that is transferred directly to the pipeline, PCMs are considered a highly efficient alternative to more traditional solutions such as rock dump or concrete mattress.

The original PCM geotechnical design was based primarily on analyses extrapolated from pipeline-seabed interaction, supported by a standard suite of classification and interface tests. Physical model testing was not performed. While observations (taken since installation) show that the PCMs have effectively mitigated pipeline walking in the seabed conditions at Malampaya, their performance in other soil types has not been investigated.

To provide further evidence on the effectiveness of PCMs, and investigate their performance over time, a series of centrifuge tests were performed in a soil sample representative of deep-water Gulf of Mexico conditions. In each test, a model representing the PCM was installed on the pipeline section, which was then subjected to cyclic axial displacement. Settlement of the pipeline-PCM system, as well as changes in axial resistance, were directly measured and are reported in this paper.
Deep Foundations Institute
O'Beirne, C.
17e87fcb-cc6f-4ebe-9ee6-03fa6d4bc606
O’Loughlin, Conleth D.
d2821636-d20b-4fea-82fb-c1c64b53433c
Watson, Phillip
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White, David
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Ang, Sze Yu
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Frankenmolen, Sebastiaan
d2965f2a-0ff2-4af2-9b44-01780d3ef3ff
O'Beirne, C.
17e87fcb-cc6f-4ebe-9ee6-03fa6d4bc606
O’Loughlin, Conleth D.
d2821636-d20b-4fea-82fb-c1c64b53433c
Watson, Phillip
e9f5a013-8802-4ed9-9f67-9fcc3c8dc7b4
White, David
a986033d-d26d-4419-a3f3-20dc54efce93
Ang, Sze Yu
e9c67a13-cd74-4744-9712-8e386b14e8d8
Frankenmolen, Sebastiaan
d2965f2a-0ff2-4af2-9b44-01780d3ef3ff

O'Beirne, C., O’Loughlin, Conleth D., Watson, Phillip, White, David, Ang, Sze Yu and Frankenmolen, Sebastiaan (2020) On the behaviour of pipe-clamping mattresses to arrest pipeline walking. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics. Deep Foundations Institute. 12 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

A novel solution to mitigate pipeline walking, namely the use of pipe-clamping mattresses (PCMs), was first developed for the Malampaya project (Frankenmolen et al. 2017). Comprising a hinged concrete structure designed to clamp onto a section of pipeline, and supporting (post-installed) ballast weight that is transferred directly to the pipeline, PCMs are considered a highly efficient alternative to more traditional solutions such as rock dump or concrete mattress.

The original PCM geotechnical design was based primarily on analyses extrapolated from pipeline-seabed interaction, supported by a standard suite of classification and interface tests. Physical model testing was not performed. While observations (taken since installation) show that the PCMs have effectively mitigated pipeline walking in the seabed conditions at Malampaya, their performance in other soil types has not been investigated.

To provide further evidence on the effectiveness of PCMs, and investigate their performance over time, a series of centrifuge tests were performed in a soil sample representative of deep-water Gulf of Mexico conditions. In each test, a model representing the PCM was installed on the pipeline section, which was then subjected to cyclic axial displacement. Settlement of the pipeline-PCM system, as well as changes in axial resistance, were directly measured and are reported in this paper.

Text
OBeirne et al 2020 ISFOG PCMs PID1231724 - Author's Original
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Published date: 16 August 2020

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 449445
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/449445
PURE UUID: 4e884d6d-d28f-4bad-93c1-b30cebb4ee5a
ORCID for David White: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2968-582X

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Date deposited: 01 Jun 2021 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:48

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Contributors

Author: C. O'Beirne
Author: Conleth D. O’Loughlin
Author: Phillip Watson
Author: David White ORCID iD
Author: Sze Yu Ang
Author: Sebastiaan Frankenmolen

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