Submarine debris flow impact on suspended (free-span) pipelines: Normal and longitudinal drag forces

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was employed to numerically simulate impact of clay-rich submarine debris flows on a suspended (free-span) pipeline at various angles of attack. The resultant horizontal drag force can be decomposed into two components: normal and parallel to the pipe axis. A method is presented for estimating the normal and longitudinal drag forces on a suspended pipeline and is applicable to a wide of impact situations. The work presented here complements the results of an earlier investigation into the drag forces on suspended and laid-on-seafloor pipelines. The previous investigation consisted of both physical laboratory experiments and CFD numerical analyses, for an impact situation normal to the pipe axis. The impact Reynolds numbers presented in this paper range between about 2 and 320. This range is considered appropriate for practical design purposes.