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Assessment of subsea pipelines

Article · January 2014

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ASSESSMENT OF SUBSEA PIPELINES

C. Coppard1, A. L. Forrest1,2, Z.Q. Leong1, A. Hargrave3
1
Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS
2
University of California – Davis, Incline Village, NV, 3 ADETRA Pty, Ltd,
Launceston, TAS.
SUMMARY: Integrity of assets is an essential component in the management and
maintenance of aging infrastructure the world over. The marine environment is particularly
harsh and a major failure, especially in the oil and gas industry, can be devastating for both
the environment and the local economy. Pipelines are used around the globe for the
transportation of oil and gas, from offshore installations to onshore plants and on to the
consumer or industry.

Near shore crossings of a pipeline are historically at higher risk than other sections. The
Varanus Island rupture on June 8, 2008 off the West Australian coast exemplifies the
possibility of pipeline failure close to near shore crossings. Due to a number of reasons,
including shallow water depths, significant tidal movement and high wave energy, these areas
are often difficult to access using standard survey techniques. Remotely operated vehicles
(ROVs) are most often operated from a large surface vessel for this purpose. If the water is
too shallow, divers or other more labor-intensive techniques may be required for inspection.
The use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) has been proven to be a lower-cost
survey alternative that can be used in these areas. Regardless of the technique, anomalies that
may be flagged as potentially threatening to both the internal and external integrity of the
pipeline include spanning, lifting and debris.

This paper uses previously collected data from ROV, Intelligent Pigging and Inline
Inspection (ILI) of a natural gas pipeline to identify areas that may be susceptible to external
anomalies, which may in turn lead to internal defects. These points include areas of scour
resulting in spanning exceeding allowable lengths, possible external concrete coating
degradation, and possible loss or displacement of sacrificial galvanic anodes that directly
protects the pipeline from corrosion. This data, together with AUV survey data to be
collected in 2014, will be used to ascertain the condition of the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, both
internally and externally in near shore crossings.

The survey results will also aid the ongoing, and crucial, monitoring of pipeline and be used
for temporal validation of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model that can be used to
attain wall shear values on the seafloor, based on a set of user defined inputs, around an area
of scour. Incorporating soil mechanics, such as Shields Parameter, and the values of wall
shear, it is hypothesized by the authors that it may be possible to predict sediment transfer,
and therefore predict scour development and possibly scour propagation. Understanding these
processes is essential for the long-term integrity of the pipeline and will add to the
management control of pipeline assets.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, pipelines, scour, near-shore crossings

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1. INTRODUCTION

Offshore pipeline stability design is of vital importance in the offshore industry [1]. Stability of an offshore or
subsea pipeline is greatly influenced by the external environmental conditions. This is especially true around
near shore crossings where current and wave interactions can induce sediment transfer and scour around
pipelines [2].

There are a number of methods that have been traditionally used to monitor and survey subsea pipelines, both
internally (e.g. intelligent pigs) and externally (using ROVs and divers). Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
(AUVs) are becoming more accepted in replacing traditional survey methods, such as towed systems and ROVs
and are being used successfully in the oil and gas industry [3].

AUVs have been proven to reduce survey costs [4] and increase the efficiencies of shallow water inspections of
valuable assets [5]. Technological advancements in survey equipment have accurate mapping of subsea
resources using side scan sonar and seafloor bathymetry with centimeter scale precision. This is possible
through the use of state of the art navigation systems (e.g., inertial navigation systems), normally reserved for
military applications [6].

Ongoing maintenance and monitoring of offshore assets around Australia is essential for satisfying governing
bodies such as NOPSEMA. Operating licenses, issued by these governing bodies, are based on documentation
provided by asset owners and include remaining life reviews and maintenance schedules. At the core of these
documents are the survey and inspection records which include targeted high risk sectors such as pipeline
movement, wall thickness loss, scour, marine growth and Cathodic Protection (CP).

Side scan sonar is often used to map pipelines to survey for external damage to the pipe, sediment scour
underneath, debris location and pipeline spanning. Spanning has traditionally been an area of subsea pipelines
that can influence the structural integrity of the pipeline. Safe margin lengths associated with spanning are
dictated by the nominal diameter of the pipe and, should span lengths exceed, they may lead to fatigue of the
pipeline. This fatigue may also lead to long term failure of the internal condition of the pipe.

Spanning may also be indicative of sediment transfer resulting from scour. The pressure differential around a
submarine pipeline has been investigated by numerous authors, such as Sumer and Fredsoe [7], Arya and
Shingan [8] and Choi [9]. Sumer and Fredsoe [7] define the onset of scour as ‘the seepage flow in the ground
beneath the pipeline, which is driven by the pressure difference between the upstream and downstream sides of
the pipe.’ The scour around submarine pipelines is governed by several environmental parameters such as
topology, soil and flow characteristics [10].

Mapping of marine growth and loss of external anodes may also be completed using similar mapping
techniques. It is possible that when these results are compared to those from internal inspections, such as inline
inspection surveys using Corrosion Detecting Pigs (CDP), a more complete picture of the overall pipeline
integrity may be obtained. This paper uses data from a gas pipeline, operating in the Bass Strait, off the north
east coast of Tasmania, to identify areas that may benefit from the comparison of internal and external
inspection reports, concentrating on cathodic protection and anode loss and or depletion and scour. A
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is then presented of the fluid flow and fluid interaction with the
sea floor, concentrating on areas flagged as potential hotspots for scour on a subsea pipeline.

2. INSPECTION AND MONITORING

The TGP is routinely inspected and monitored using direct and indirect methods. These include intelligent
pigging, ROV, side scan and diver surveys. Additionally, a cathodic protection survey was conducted during
March and April 2013 in accordance with guidelines as described in DNV RP B401 ‘Cathodic Protection
Design’.

2.1. ILI Data

Integrity assessment of pipelines is required under Australian Standard AS 2885 and is typically conducted
using methods including inline inspection. The inline inspection of the offshore section of the TGP was
successfully completed with a number of mill defects found in the internal pipe wall. No corrosion was reported;
this is as expected from a dry natural gas pipeline.

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2.2. Cathodic Protection Survey

The potential survey report for the offshore pipeline appears satisfactory and provides potential measurements
from the anodes and steel structures per as Ag/AgCl reference cell. The report indicated that the level of
cathodic protection is within the accepted limits although there were areas within the near shore region that
showed insufficient potential contact. This may be due to burial or excessive marine growth and it is
recommended that future surveys concentrate on these areas to establish possible explanations.

2.3 High Risk Areas

The Tasmanian near shore crossing was identified as an area of high risk for the integrity of the pipeline. This
area was flagged from the culmination of survey reports from XYZ internal pigging data and ROV/diver
surveys. A large number of spans were identified within this area, possibly due to the dynamic environmental
conditions, sandy substrate and steep gradient of the sea floor. Combined with a number of metal loss
anomalies, it was concluded that this area had a higher risk of compromising the integrity of the pipeline.

3. COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS MODEL

CFD is becoming more widely accepted as a powerful predictive tool, especially in the design process of
offshore structures and investigating fluid related problems in the marine environment. When compared to field
studies, such as subsea inspections, it is a cheap, accurate and reliable addition to a remaining life review or
corrosion protection document. Using this tool to model flow around a pipeline, we hypothesize that the results
can thereby be used to predict the propagation of scour.

Using CFD with an embedded sediment model, Vasquez and Walsh [11] investigated scour around bridge piers.
Their CFD results were shown to accurately capture local scour around the bridge piles in comparison with
experimental data. A recent CFD study was carried out by Zan et al. [12] to investigate the onset of scour
around submarine pipelines. Zan et al. found that 3D modeling was necessary to adequately capture the shear
stress on the seabed due to the scour, especially around the span shoulders of the pipeline. However, the results
of this previous work were based purely on numerical work and require significant further validation.
Nevertheless, both of these studies offer an insight into the capabilities of CFD to model scour in the marine
environment and as a design tool to minimize the scour effects associated with vortex shedding around a
submarine pipeline.

In this paper, a CFD model of a full scale subsea pipeline is presented (Figure 1). In order to validate and
supplement this presented model, the CFD results were compared to previous studies related to the scour
modeling of subsea pipelines.

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Figure 1: CFD simulation of fluid flow around a subsea pipeline The arrows represent fluid particle
movement around the pipeline, whilst the sea floor is shows pressure gradient resulting from fluid flow.

3.1. Geometry

The geometry of the model was reproduced from previous work by Shen et al. [1], as seen in Figure 2 and
Figure 3. Details of the geometry were limited and open to interpretation as the pipeline diameter and the scour
radius leading into and out of the scour were not stated. The work presented below assumes that the pipeline
diameter of the pipeline was 1m, based on an assumption by Zan et al. Boundary and flow conditions were also
based on Zan et al., where available. The selected input variables can be seen in Table 1.

Figure 2: Elevation view of computational domain size [12]

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Figure 3: Perspective view of detailed pipeline with a free scour span initiated in the middle [12]

Table 1: Variables used for the CFD simulation

Variables Values
Current velocity [m/s] 1
Current attack angle [deg.] 90
Wave velocity [m/s] 0
Wave attack angle [deg.] 0
Z pipe (from seabed) [m] 0.2
Berm length (Lberm) [m] 0.5
Span length of scour [m] 10
Radius of scour [m] 0.3
Gap [m] 0.1
Diameter of pipe [m] 1

3.2. Fluid Model

A turbulence model is a computational procedure to close the system of mean flow equations so that a wide
variety of problems can be solved [13]. The classic turbulence models are based on Reynolds equations and can
be categorized into three distinct time-averaged models:

1. k-epsilon (Ƙ-ε)
2. k-omega (Ƙ-ω)
3. SST-shear stress transfer

The SST model combines both the Ƙ-ε and Ƙ-ω models and in doing so is able to resolve both the free stream
and boundary layer around the pipe. It is widely accepted that the SST model produces good resolution in a
wide range of pressure gradients and separating flow [14].

In addition to the SST model, Baseline Reynolds Stress Model (BSLRSM) was also performed. This solver is
more rigorous in calculating changes in flow than SST and resolves Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS)
equations by using an additional six transport equations, thereby offering a higher degree of accuracy [15].

3.3. Mesh Study

In order to establish the mesh requirements for the simulations, the effects of mesh density on the forces acting
normal to the pipe were examined. This study compares force predictions at each mesh refinement and deemed
to provide a mesh independent solution when there is minimal percentage difference between the parametric
values at each of mesh iterations.
Figure 4 shows the results of the mesh study using Richardson Extrapolation, which uses numerical analysis to
predict the most accurate value for convergence. The wall shear results were found to be well within 10% of the
Richardson extrapolated value at 732000 nodes. Therefore, the mesh model with the 732000 nodes
configuration was used for the remainder of this investigation.

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45
CFD
Force normal to the pipe [N] Richardson
44

43

42

41

40
300000 500000 700000 900000 1100000 1300000 1500000
Number of mesh nodes
Figure 4: Richardson’s Extrapolation results for the CFD analysis.

3.4. Validation

Validation of the numerical simulations was carried out through the comparison with the results from Zan et al.
[12]. Figure 5 shows the results for non-dimensional wall shear from CFD analysis obtained for this report
against those from this previous work. While the two plots show the same trends, they vary between their peak
values. There is little insight as to why this may occur as the detail of the previously mentioned paper is limited.
There are no details as to how the authors may have validated their work, or to any studies that they compared
results to. As a result, more confidence can be placed on the results obtained from this study.

6
CFD
Non-dimensional wall shear

5
Zan et al.
4

0
-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Non-dimensional x-axis
Figure 5: Comparison between CFD results and Zan et al. [12].

Results from both the SST and BSLRSM simulations can be seen in Figure 6. Interesting to note are two
conclusions that can be drawn from this figure.

1. Both the SST and BSLRM wall shear results produce further curves, which leads to the conclusion of
the validity of the CFD model.
2. The geometrically dissimilar shapes between the CFD results and that of the results of Zan et al., which
supports the notion that there was a lack of critical information provided within this previous work.

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16
SST
14
Non-dimensional wall shear Zan et al.
12
BSLRM
10
8
6
4
2
0
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
Non-dimensional x-axis length
Figure 6: Comparison of SST and BSLRM solver results against the results from Zan et al. [12].

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Data from Remaining Life Review documents for the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, operated by TGP Pty. Ltd,
highlighted areas that would benefit from side scan sonar and bathymetric surveys. From the as built details,
anodes were placed at intervals of 36 meters, or every third spool piece. The near shore crossing, between
keypoints 317 and 322, as seen in Figure 7, was targeted for this paper as a potential hotspot for corrosion and
scour. This figure was reproduced using XYZ internal pigging data and ROV/diver surveys.

Figure 7: Pipeline elevation (blue), metal loss anomaly numbers (yellow) and their approximate location and
allowable freespan lengths (red) and locations.

The length of pipeline between the targeted keypoints is approximately 5 kilometers and as such there should
have been 130 anodes installed. Results from the 2012 Corrosion Protection report, using a CDP pig, identified
only 56 anodes. This can drastically influence the mechanisms of the cathodic protection system and lead to
long sections of the pipeline not covered by a protection system, compromising the integrity of the pipeline. A
number of theories were postulated in the corrosion report as to why these differences were observed, including
pipeline burial and excessive marine growth. To help ascertain the reasons for these results, side scan and
bathymetric imagery from the AUV may be beneficial as indirect lines of evidence in determining the final
reason.

Figure 7 also displays metal loss anomalies, shown in yellow bars. There are a number of metal loss anomalies
at the Tasmanian shore crossing end. The TGP pipeline supplies dry natural gas, and its design has no provision
for an internal corrosion allowance. From Figure 7 the ILI or pigging data shows there are a number of metal
loss anomalies, or defects, which are less than 10% of the pipelines wall thickness, classified as ‘light metal loss
anomalies’. The internal anomalies/defects most likely resulted caused by the pipe mill manufacturing process,
as the dry gas does not contribute to internal corrosion.

At the beginning of this study, it was originally hypothesized that there may be some correlation between
internal anomalies/defects and external scour locations. Although there were no significant internal defects to
report on, metal loss anomalies were present and reported in the 2010 ROSEN Pigging Data Report, classified

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as 10-19% of total wall thickness; however, external anomalies were present and posed significant risk to the
integrity of the pipeline. Spans that were over the maximum allowable were identified at either end of the
pipeline, more so at the Tasmanian end. These also correlated with the known metal loss anomalies and a
significant gradient leading towards the shore crossing.

Continual monitoring of an entire pipeline is both restrictive in time and extremely costly; however, known hot
spots need to be surveyed on a regular basis. AUVs may prove to be a viable option, however, numerical
analysis may also be a valuable tool used for predicting hot spots, or monitoring areas of known spans.

Spans within this region were plotted over a number of surveys, as seen in Figure 8. As can be seen by the
varying span lengths over time period where data was collected from 2004 – 2013, this area is dynamic and
continually changing. This adds to the argument for continuous monitoring, or in the least, detailed numerical
investigation for the intended life span of the pipeline. As can be seen, there is a trend from 2004 to 2008 of
increasing span lengths. This was rectified over the period between 2008 and 2013 by placing concrete pads
under the most significant spans, however, it may be conservative to assume that the spans would have
continued to increase in length had no intervention work been implemented.

45
KP 314.3
40
KP 318.3
35
30
Span Length [m]

25
20
15
10
5
0
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Year of Survey
Figure 8: Span results from subsea surveys.

The CFD model presented in this paper is designed to aid the prediction of span length development and
propagation around subsea pipelines; the direction of the process is as follows. Scour can be defined by the
sediment transfer, which is a function of a number of factors including the soil substrate and Shields parameter.
When the sediments on the upstream bed are immobile, it is called clear scour and when they are transported,
live bed scour occurs [16]. These two distinct classifications can be defined by comparing the Shields critical
number, θcr, which is a function of the Reynolds number associated with the grain size, and Shields number, θ:
clear water scour occurs when θ<θcr and live bed scour occurs when θ>θr [17].

Soil substrate can be classified from the original ‘as built’ working drawings, or from the results of side scan
sonar surveys. Results from CFD analysis can be used to attain the value of wall shear on the sea floor. If this
value is greater than the Shields parameter, then it is likely that scour will develop and spans will propagate,
given the environmental conditions used as the input variables for the boundary conditions.

Scour, if left unchecked, has the potential to cause significant structural damage to a pipeline in the form of
resonant vibrations resulting from large free spans coupled with the right environmental conditions. Once the
scouring commences, it will propagate along the length of the pipeline [18]. The length of the span influences
how the pipeline will respond to varying environmental conditions. For example, Vortex Induced Vibration
(VIV) analysis defines the critical span for a pipeline by equating the vortex shedding frequency with the natural
frequency of the pipeline as a beam [16]; if the frequencies align they have the potential to compromise the
integrity of the pipeline.

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5. CONCLUSION

Defect management and corrosion mapping are essential for the integrity control of assets and infrastructure,
such as subsea pipelines. Ongoing monitoring using existing methods can be costly and impractical. AUV
surveys may prove to be an economical solution. Results from AUV surveys, when compared to internal
inspection reports, such as corrosion protection, can provide the asset owner with a more complete and accurate
global overview.

Incorporating accurate and available technology, such as CFD, as used in this report, can be an accurate and
proactive tool for modeling fluid flow around objects in the marine environment. There were a number of
discrepancies in validation between the results reported in this paper and that of Zan et al. [12]. The likely
reason for this is the lack of detail this previous report on the specific constraints and dimensions used in their
simulations. However, the mesh independence study presented in this paper gives confidence in the validation of
the CFD results.

The current CFD model adopts a steady state approach which offers a good preliminary assessment of the model
to capture scour and provides insight into the behavior of scour around subsea pipelines. This may be extended
into future works to include different solver settings that capture transient fluid behavior.

The numerical results attained from the CFD simulations, coupled with physical parameters such as Shields
Parameter or substrate classification, can be used to predict whether sediment transfer is likely to occur.
Spanning issues resulting from the onset and propagation of scour may be tracked, or predicted, using local
environmental conditions as inputs into a suitable CFD simulation.

The CFD results can be further validated by comparisons between data collected from subsea surveys. As
discussed, near shore crossings are a concern to pipeline engineers and therefore need to be monitored on a
regular basis. The use of AUVs may be shown in future works to be a valuable addition to the integrity
inspection regime for pipeline inspection, coupled with numerical analysis investigation.

Integrity control and assessment of subsea assets, such as the pipeline investigated in this report, is essential to
maintaining safety and functionality. External surveys results from AUV/ROVs, when compared to results from
internal pigging data, can help to present a more complete overall assessment of the asset. Utilizing
advancements in computer based technology, such as CFD adds another facet of integrity control, allowing the
accurate modeling of fluid flow around the pipeline and the prediction of sediment movement and scour which
can lead to large freespans that may compromise the reliability of the pipeline.

6. REFERENCES

1. Shen, W., D.J. Leggoe, and T. Griffiths, 3D Investigation of Seabed Stress Around Subsea Pipelines.
2. Sorensen, R.M., Basic Coastal Engineering. 2006: Springer.
3. Nasr, A., et al., A new approach to pipeline inspection using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV's), in
Offshore Technology Conference. 2013: Houston, Texas.
4. Chance, T.S., AUV Experiences: Discoveries and Lessons Learned. 2003, C & C Technologies, Inc.
5. Bingham, D., et al., The Application of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Technology in the Oil
Industry – Vision and Experiences, in FIG XXII International Congress. 2002: Washington, D.C. USA.
6.Collins, R. Inertial Navigation Systems. 2014; Available from:
http://www.rockwellcollins.com.au/Products_and_Systems/Navigation_and_Guidance/Inertial_Navigation_
Systems.aspx.
7. Sumer, B.M. and J. Fredsøe, The Mechanics of Scour in the Marine Environment. 2002: World Scientific.
8. A. K. Arya, B.S., Scour-Mechanism, Detection and Mitigation for Subsea Pipeline Integrity. International
Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 2012. 1(3).
9. Choi, H.S., Free spanning analysis of offshore pipelines. Ocean Engineering, 2001. 28: p. 1325-1338.
10. Etemad-Shahidi, A., R. Yasa, and M.H. Kazeminezhad, Prediction of Wave-Induced Scour Depth under
Submarine Pipelines Using Machine Learning Approach. Applied Ocean Research, 2011. 33(1): p. 54-59.
11. Vasquez, J.A. and B.W. Walsh, CFD simulation of local scour in complex piers under tidal flow, in 33rd
IAHR Congress: Water Engineering for a Sustainable Environment. 2009: Vancouver, British Columbia.
12. Zan, Z., J. Leggoe, and T. Griffiths. 3D CFD Investigation of Seabed Shear Stresses around Subsea
Pipelines. in ASME 2013 32nd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering. 2013.
Nantes, France, June 9–14, 2013.

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13. Versteeg, H.H.K. and W. Malalasekera, An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: The Finite
Volume Method. 2007: Pearson Education Limited.
14. K-Omega models. 2011; Available from: http://www.cfd-online.com/Wiki/SST_k-omega_model.
15. Leong, Z.Q., et al., RANS-based CFD Prediction of the Hydrodynamic Coefficients of DARPA
SUBOFF Geometry in Straight-Line and Rotating Arm Manoeuvres. International Journal of Maritime
Engineering, 2012. 154.
16. Narayanan, R., Local Erosion with Reference to Subsea Pipelines, in International Conference on
Construction and Building Technology. 2008: Kuala Lumpur. p. 21-28.
17. Yang, B., et al., Experimental study of vortex-induced vibrations of a pipeline near an erodible sandy
seabed. Ocean Engineering, 2008. 35: p. 301-309.
18. Sumer, B.M., et al., Onset of scour below pipelines and self-burial. Coastal Engineering, 2001. 42: p.
313-335.

7. AUTHOR DETAILS

Chris Coppard is a 4th year student at the Australian Maritime College.

Dr Alex Forrest is a lecturer at the Australian Maritime College.

Zhi Leong is a PhD candidate at the Australian Maritime College.

Andrew Hargrave is a director at ADETRA Pty. Ltd.

Corrosion & Prevention 2014 Paper 78 – Page 10

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