L51570 Energy Based Pipe-Soil Interaction Models

The purpose of this project was to complete a handbook with practical design procedures for submarine pipeline on-bottom stability. The remaining part of the handbook was primarily a description of the interaction between non-trenched pipelines and the seabed where the pipelines were free to move under environmental loading.

The objective of this project was to determine the lateral soil resistance forces on a pipeline moving cyclically during hydro-dynamic loading. To meet the goal, full-scale pipe-soil interaction tests were conducted. The models presented in this report are based on the results and general understanding obtained from 110 experimental tests of pipe-soil interaction on loose and dense sand, and soft clay. Raw data from 29 experimental tests on stiff clay in the PIPESTAB project have been qualitatively considered.