Evaluation of horizontal submarine slide impact force on pipeline via a modified hybrid geotechnical – fluid dynamics framework

There are situations in offshore energy development where potential impact forces between submarine slides and pipelines need to be estimated. The horizontal slide – pipeline force, parallel the main travel direction of sliding mass normal axis, is generally dominant compared with other force components hence particular concern. In practice, may suspended at varying distances above seabed (gap) existing methods do not consider how this will affect forces. This paper investigates effects pipeline–seabed gap diameter on via 181 computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations Reynolds numbers 0.36–287. Results show that variation alters flow behaviour as it flows past when below a critical value. A modified hybrid geotechnical framework for estimating proposed by considering diameter, which validated experimental datasets.