Offshore (geotechnical) engineering

David White
Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems

Offshore (geotechnical) engineering

Offshore pipelines
Research techniques/tools
Research questions
Geomaterials science within COFS
Wider offshore (geotechnical) engineering at COFS
Potential links across faculty
Research tools
Common research ground

Australias offshore pipelines

Pipeline research techniques

Numerical

In situ

Experimental

Pipeline research questions

Sleeper

Pipeline

As-laid
alignment

Remnant berm
from hydrotest
Alignment
in operation

Pipeline research questions

A new geotechnical design context

Conventional engineering
stable structures on
an intact seabed

Modern pipeline design

mobility and transformation
structure and seabed

Geomaterials science
1.4
Residual stress ratio, res/'no

Current resistance / original resistance

1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

10

20

30

40

Soil P (SILT)

With consolidation
intervals between cycles

1.2
1

0.8

Hardening
Reconsolidation

0.6
0.4

20

Without consolidation
intervals between cycles

1
1

0.2
Numbers indicate cycle number

0
0.0001

0.001

0.01
Velocity (mm/s)

0.1

Cycle number

Solid fluid
transformation

Example future WA developments

Image: Shell

Cardoso & Oliviera 2010

Image: Inpex / DMP annual

review
Image courtesy of Woodside Energy Ltd

Related COFS research

Cardoso & Oliviera 2010

Image courtesy of Woodside Energy Ltd

Future plan: ARC Centre for

Geotechnical Science and Engineering (-2017)

Wider links? Research tools

(b) d/D 1.2

Numerical modelling
Large deformation FE
Material point methods

Physical modelling
Centrifuges
O-tubes
Sensing, control and
acquisition

Image analysis

Wider links? Common ground

CGSE
Cross-pollination,
offshore onshore
civil engineering
Geomaterials

Liquefaction?

Potential links
offshore mining
Future energy
Renewables
wind, wave

JU punchthrough: 19 fatalities ever (reported)

Cargo liquefaction: 66 in 18 months (reported)