Axial interaction behaviour of offshore pipelines

Offshore pipelines are increasingly being required to operate at high temperature and pressure, and the associated axial expansion is a major concern for design. It is essential to have an in-depth understanding of pipe-soil interaction phenomenon to control the creeping and buckling failures. In this regard the paper presents laboratory modelling performed at Monash University to interpret the pipe-soil interaction behaviour. A special test setup(MAPS) was developed to model axial walking of pipe on clay seabed. Drained and undrained behaviour loading was analysed with different rates of axial movements. Based on the outcomes, the pre-peak, peak and residual components of the load displacement curve are explained using a simplified theoretical frame work.