Análise de enterramento de duto submarino em região de águas ultraprofundas

Abstract

In a deepwater environment, pipelines are typically designed to be simply laid on the seabed, without specific actions taken to bury them. The initial embedment is determined by the weight of the pipeline, the bearing capacity of the seabed, and the dynamic effects that occur during installation, such as stress concentration and vessel movement. Therefore, conducting a rigorous geotechnical investigation campaign to adequately characterize the seabed is crucial for accurately predicting the initial embedment. Performing in situ testing and collecting undisturbed samples in deep water poses significant challenges. It is essential to exercise great caution in calibrating equipment to account for the high water pressure and in the process of obtaining undisturbed samples. This study aims to present the main geotechnical tests used to characterize the seabed soil and the associated challenges. Additionally, it explores the most relevant methods for predicting the initial embedment of a submarine pipeline, including both analytical and numerical approaches. Finally, a comparison is made between the initial embedment results obtained from the analytical methods and those obtained through finite element analysis. As anticipated, the more recent analytical methods yielded similar results to those obtained by numerical modeling.