OTC 4231
The Effect of the Sea-Bottom Proximity on the Fatigue Life of
Suspended Spans of Offshore Pipelines Undergoing Vortex-Induced
Vibrations
by Demos T. Tsahalis and Warren T. Jones, Shell Development Co.
COPYRIGHT 1982 OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
This paper was presented at the 14th Annual OTC in Houston, Texas, May 3-6, 1982. The material is subject
to correction by the author. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words.
ABSTRACT
Fatigue life calculations have been made for
suspended spans of offshore pipelines exposed to
steady flow and undergoing vortex-induced vibra-
tions. The effect of the proximity of the sea-
bottom was taken into account by utilizing the
results of related model tests. It was found that
the effect of the sea-bottom proximity is to
increase the fatigue life of a suspended span of
given length or equivalently to increase the safe
length of a suspended span for a given fatigue
life. Furthermore, the effect of the pipe-to-wall
gap to pipe diameter ratio on the fatigue life of
such spans has been determined.
INTRODUCTION
A steady flow about a bluff body, such as a
pipeline with a circular cross section, will sepa-
rate and form a wake. Because of the instability
and mutual interaction of the separated shear
layers, vortices form and periodically shed from
alternate sides of the body. The result is steady
and unsteady drag forces in line with the flow and
unsteady lift forces'in the transverse, or cross-
flow direction. If the pipeline is flexible and/-
or flexibly supported, it begins to vibrate under
the action of these periodic forces. The vibra-
tions of the pipeline modify the flow and lead to
a nonlinear interaction between. the elastic and
the fluid systems. The maximum amplitude of in-
line vortex-induced vibrations is much smaller
than the maximum amplitude of transverse vortex-
induced vibrations, so their contribution to the
fatigue life of a pipeline is small. Conse-
quently, attention is focused on the transverse
vibrations which will be referred to as "vortex-
induced vibrations" hereafter. In the last ten
years a number of comprehensive overviews of this
important class of fluid-structure interaction
problems have appeared [1-4].
Experience with unburied offshore pipelines
laid in strong current areas has shown that such
pipelines may develop unsupported spans due to
seabottom being scoured out from under the pipe
References and illustrations at end of paper.
11
due to current action. In turn such unsupported
spans exposed to currents may undergo vortex-
induced vibrations which may affect the fatigue
life of the pipeline.
Due to lack of data for the vortex-induced
vibrations of a flexible cylinder in close proxim-
ity to a plane boundary, fatigue life calculations
of suspended pipeline spans that determine the
maximum safe length of such spans have been based,
out of necessity, on data for the vortex-induced
vibrations of an isolated flexible cylinder, i.e.,
no wall effect.
In a recent experimental study, Tsahalis and
Jones [5] determined the effect of the proximity
of a plane boundary on the vortex-induced vibra-
tions of a flexible pipe. They found that the
proximity of the plane boundary has the following
effects on the response of the pipe as compared to
the response of the isolated pipe, i.e., no wall
effect (see also Figure 1). First, the increase
of the response frequency with the flow velocity
is less steep. Second, the first perceptible
vibrations take place at a higher flow velocity.
Fourth, the maximum amplitude is achieved at a
higher flow velocity. Fifth, the maximum ampli-
tude is reduced. Sixth, once the maximum ampli-
tude is achieved it appears that it remains
constant for higher flow velocities. In Figure 1,
E is the uniform pipe-to-wall gap, D is the diam-
eter of the pipe, A is the single-amplitude
response of the center of the pipe span vibrating
in its first mode, f is the response frequency, f n
is the natural frequency of the pipe in the exter-
nal fluid, f s is the Strouhal frequency or vortex-
shedding frequency from a stationary cylinder and
U is the flow velocity.
Since in the presence of a plane boundary the
onset of vortex-induced vibrations of appreciable
amplitude occurs at higher flow velocities and the
maximum amplitude of vibration is reduced it is
evident that the fatigue life or equivalently the
safe length of suspended spans of pipelines are
larger than those based on data for the vortex-
induced vibrations of an isolated pipeline, i.e.,
no wall effect.
In the present paper, the effect of the sea-
bottom proximity on the fatigue life/safe length
of suspended spans of pipelines undergoing vortex- where Ds is the OD of the steel and R is the
induced vibrations is presented utilizing the radius of curvature of the pipeline axis.
results of the above mentioned experimental Assuming a simply supported beam span, the vibra-
study. The more general case of a "steady" tional deflection is
current due to tidal fluctuations is considered.
This is possible because the time scale of the 1tX
Y '" A sin---y;- (4)
tidal f1uuations is much larger than the time
scale of the vortex-induced vibrations.
and the curvature is
FATIGUE LIFE CALCULATION METHOD
A pipeline span, suspended above bottom in an 1 d _2v 1t2 1tX
~'" -A-si~ ~ (5)
area subject to tidal fluctuations, will experi- if" dx2 L2 L
ence varying velocities. When these velocities
are such that the reduced velocities are in the
range covered by the data in Figure 1, the ampli- Using Equation (3) and taking the difference
tude of the resulting vibration will vary over the between the maximum and minimum strain gives
tidal cycle. Thus any fatigue life calculations
must use a mathematical model which accounts for
varying stresses. Various theories for random or
. . . . . . . . . . . (6)
varying stresses exist, but our purpose is not to
evaluate these theories. Rather it is to illus-
trate the application of the results in Reference where D is the concrete-coated pipeline OD. It is
[5 J to the fatigue life of a pipeline span. To
assumed that all stresses are carried by the steel
this end, we will choose a simple fatigue life
theory for illustration purposes. One of the pipe. The effect of the concrete coating is to
increase the weight and the OD of the pipeline.
simplest, but most widely used, fatigue models is
that of Palmgren-Miner [6,7]. This linear, cumu- Equations (2) and (6) now define the denomi-
lative damage rule states that failure will occur nator of Equation (1). The numerator can be
when the damage Dt reaches unity where expressed as

(1)

where f i is the frequency of vibration in hz

during the i th amplitude infierval and ti is the
n (~Ei) is the number of cycles occurring at a
length in seconds of the it amplitude interval.
strain range Llei' and N (Llei) is the number of
cycles to failure at the same strain range Lle i . Combining the expressions for numerator and denom-
inator, the damage occurring in one year can be
-The denominator of the above equation may be calculated as
obtained from anyone of several stress (or
strain) - versus - number-of-cyc1es curves (S-N
curves) in the literature. We have chosen the
American Welding Society curve X [8]. This curve D1 '" (8)
is applicable to full penetration butt welds made
with ordinary good practice, such as to API 1104
standards of inspection and welder qualifica-
tion. Rather than the original AWS-X curve, the where now the sum of all the ti's is the number of
seconds in a year. The number of seconds per
modified version is used. The modification
extends the middle part of the curve between 4000 year, ti, is awkward to use. A better time
expression is Ti , hhe number of hours per day of
and 2,000,000 cycles with a slope of about -4 into
vibration at the it amplitude and frequency,
the very high cycle region where the original form
has a slope of about -8. A slightly conservative
equation for the AWS-X Modified curve is shown in
(9)
Figure 2:

(2) With this conversion and a factor of fn/f n ,

Equation (8) becomes
The AWS-X and the AWS-X Modified curves as scaled
from Figure 10.7.4 of Reference 8 are also shown
fo.r comparison. The strain range, ~E, is the
total amplitude of change, that is, the maximum
less the minimum strain occurring during a cycle.
The fatigue life in years in merely the inverse of
For a pipeline suspended span, the strain ES
is given by D1 , or

(3)

12

Life (11)
This equation can now be applied to a pipe-
line span. For a given span length L, all of the
factors outside the summation can be determined.
Once the hours per day, Ti , are determined for
each tidal velocity, Ui , the value of
each U i = Ui/(Df ) can be calculated. The exper-
imental results Dfor the correct gap ratio, as
presented in Figure 1, are used to determine the
corresponding values of (f/f )i and (AID)
Thus, calculation of the summationnmust begin with
the determination of the tidal velocities.
TIDAL CURRENTS
Unless detailed current measurements have
been made at the pipeline location, it will be
necessary to rely on tidal measurements made by
government agencies, such as NOAA. Unfortunately,
even when data can be found for the correct geo-
graphic area, they are usually taken at a signifi-
cant height above the sea bottom. These data will
show that the tidal period and the maximum tidal
velocity vary with each tidal cycle. Tidal eleva-
tions and the resulting currents are well repre-
sented by a series of sinusoids, each with a
frequency corresponding to one component of the
tide producing force. Rather than fitting an
expression containing all these components to a
representative set of data, a simpler approach can
be taken for the purposes of the present exer-
cise. A single component sinusoid is chosen to
fit the average of one particular set of data.
For the present exercise, it is assumed that the
average period of the tidal cycle, T, is 12 hours,
and the average maximum tidal current is 6.5
fps. Furthermore, it is assumed that the data was
obtained within the logarithmic portion of the
oceanic boundary layer at a point 16 feet above
the sea bottom. Then the average representation
becomes
v = 6.5 sin (2nt/12) (16 feet above sea-bottom)
(12)
where t is time in hours and V is expressed in
fps.
The velocity distribution in the logarithmic
portion of a turbulent boundary layer is given by
[9]
"Smooth" surface: V/v* 5.75Iog(hv*/v) + 5.5
(13)
where v* is the friction velocity, v is the kine-
matic viscosity of the fluid and h is the vertical
distance from the boundary. If the surface has a
roughness with a height k s and
(14) established, the only quantity left to be deter-
13
then the surface is completely rough. Using the
smallest roughness height to produce a completely
rough surface, i.e., for the equal sign in
Equation (14), the velocity distribution is given
by
"Rough" surface: v/v* 5.75log(hv*/v) - 2.1
(15 )
Larger values of roughness height k s will result
in subtraction of a term larger than the 2.1 term
in this equation. For h = 16 ft, V = 6.5 ft/sec,
and v = 9.8x10-6 ft 2 /sec, the above equations give
v* = 0.1775 ft/sec and 0.2195 ft/sec for "smooth"
and "rough" surfaces, respectively.
Experience has shown that the majority of
spans are suspended about one to four diameters
above bottom. Therefore the main interest in
fatigue life calculations centers on these heights
above bottom. For gap ratios E/D = 1.0 and 4.0
the height of the axis of the concrete coated
example pipeline defined below, is hE /D=l = 1.338
ft and hE /D=4.0 = 4.014 ft, respectively. The
magnitude of the maximum tidal current at these
two points, obtained from Equations (13) and (15)
is given by (see Figure 3)
"Smooth" wall : Vg ID=l. 0 5.45 ft/sec,
VE/D=4.0 5.92 ft/sec . . . (16 )
"Rough" wall 5.19 ft/sec,
Vg ID=l. 0
Vg / D=4.0 5.79 ft/sec . . (17)
Since the "smooth" wall values are larger and the
exact hydrodynamic equivalent, Le., "smooth" or
"rough", of the sea-bottom in the vicinity of the
pipeline is not known, the conservative "smooth"
wall values are taken as representative of the
tidal current. With the sinusoidal variation
given by Equation (12), the velocities at the
pipeline become
V 5.45 sin(2nt/12) for E ID=1. 0 (18)
V 5.92 sin(2nt/12) for E/D=4.0 (19)
FATIGUE LIFE RESULTS
As an example of the application of the
experimental vortex-induced vibration results to a
prototype situation, consider a concrete-coated 8-
inch pipeline. Pertinent properties and dimen-
sions are shown in Table I.
Using Equations (18) and (19), the velocity
at the centerline of the pipe can be calculated
for the first quarter of a tidal cycle as shown in
the first three columns of Table II. Let Vo
represent either 5.45 or 5.92 depending on the gap
ratio. Then, the sine wave of Equations (18) and
(19) can be approximated by a stair-step function
at one-half hour intervals as shown in Figure 4.
When the time spent at each step value over a 24-
hour period is counted, the values of Ti as shown
in Table II are obtained.
With the pipeline properties, and Ui and Ti
mined in Equation (11) is the natural frequency.
The first inclination is to say that the natural
frequency of a suspended span should be somewhere
between that of a simple beam and that of a
clamped-clamped beam. An offshore pipeline with a
suspended span can be approximated by a straight,
continuous beam supported by two simple supports a
distance L apart in its center and clamped at each
end. Such a beam having three spans of equal
length, L, has a natural frequency almost exactly
half way between that of a simple beam of length L
and that of a clamped-clamped beam of length L.
However for a suspended span to take on the
deflected static shape due to its own weight, the
pipeline must stretch a little. Then when the
span vibrates, it actually stretches a little
more. This stretching induces tension in the
pipeline, admittedly a second order effect. This
second order effect moves the natural frequency
away from that of the three-span continuous beam
and closer to that of a clamped-clamped beam.
Therefore the following formula for a clamped-
clamped beam was used to approximate the natural
frequency of a pipeline apan:
(4.7300)2 EI
f= . (20)
n < steady flow and undergoing vortex-induced vibra-
2n L2 c
where ~ is the virtual mass per unit length, that
is the mass per unit length of the pipe, its
coatings and its contents plus the mass per unit
length of the displaced water.
Equation (20) and the values of Ui and Ti
from Table II provide all that is necessary to
complete the fatigue life calculation, Equation
(11). The reduced velocity Uri = U /(Df ) iS
calculated and used to enter Figure 1 an$ rea~the
valuea of (f/fn)i and (A/D)i. A complete sample
calculation is shown in the Appendix.
The results of the fatigue life calculations
for suspension heights of one and four diameters
are shown in Figure 5. The curves show that
fatigue life is an extremely strong function of
span length. At a suspension height of one.diam-
eter, a fatigue life of 10,000 years is predicted
for a span of about 89 feet, while less than one
quarter of a year is predicted for a span of 110
feet. Beyond a span length of about 110 feet,
both curves begin to rise because the span is
becoming long enough to reduce the strain range
even though the amplitude of vibration may still
be increasing. [Note_ Equation (6) shows Ac
proportional to A/D and inversely proportional to
L2 . Eventually the squared term should
control.] Of course, when the atrain range
decreases, the fatigue life increases. At span
lengths under about 100 feet, the E/D ratio has a
very large effect on fatigue life, e.g., a apan of
90 feet has a fatigue life of 2 years for cID = 4
and 2000 years for c/D = 1.
When a structure is being designed, it iS
common practice to account for the inadequacies of
the fatigue calculations by including a large
safety factor. As an example, consider a fatigue
life of 100 years, a factor of 4 greater than a
normally-expected life of a pipeline. For a 100-
year fatigue life, Figure 5 shows a span length of
84 feet for a gap of 4 diameters and 92 feet for a
gap of 1 diameter. A survey represents a snapshot
of how the bottom looks at a particular time.
There is no indication of which scoured-out por-
tions under the line are in the process of deep-
ening or filling up. Therefore it is prudent to
consider the E/D = 4 curve rather than the ~fD = 1
curve. In addition, the length of a span as
determined from a diver or a side scan sonar
survey is subject to some error of measurement.
This tolerance in combination with the c/D = 4
curve of Figure 5 indicates that a nominal span
length of 80 feet should have a fatigue life of
100 years and can be considered safe. Figure 5
alao indicates that spans lengths over 100 feet
are in imminent danger of failure.
Finally, the results of fatigue life calcula-
tions for infinite suspension height, i.e., no
sea-bottom effect, are alao shown in Figure 5.
The dramatic reduction of fatigue life when the
effect of the sea-bottom proximity is not taken
into account is evident.
CONCLUSIONS
Fatigue life calculations have been made for
suspended spans of offshore pipelines exposed to
tions. The effect of the proximity of the sea-
bottom was taken into account by utilizing the
results of related model tests. It was found that
the effect of the sea-bottom proximity is to
increase the fatigue life of a suspended span of
given length or equivalently to increase the safe
length of a suspended span for a given fatigue
life. Furthermore, the effect of decreasing the
pipe-to-all gap to pipe diameter ratio iS to
increase the fatigue life of such spans.
REFERENCES
1. Berger, E. and R. Will, Periodic Flow
Phenomena, Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics,
Vol. 4, pp. 313-340, 1972.
2. Parkinson, G. V., Mathematical Models of
Flow-Induced Vibrations of Bluff Bodies,
Flow-Induced Vibrations, E. Naudascher,
editor, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 81-127,
1974.
3. King, R., A Review of Vortex-Shedding
Research and Its Application, Ocean
Engineering, Vol. 4, pp. 141-172, 1977.
4. McCroskey, W. J., Some Current Research in
Unsteady Fluid Dynamics, ASME Journal of
Fluids Engineering, Vol. 99, pp. 8-39, 1977.
5. Tsahalis, D. T. and Jones, W. T., vortex-
Induced Vibrations of a Flexible Cylinder
Near a Plane Boundary in Steady Flow, OTC
paper No. 3991, 13th Annual OTC, Houston,
Texas, May 1981; also submitted for publica-
tion in the Journal of Fluids Engineering.
6. Palmgren, A., Die Lebensdauer von
Kugellagern, VDI Zeit, Vol. 68, No. 14, P.
339, 1924.
7. Miner, N. A., Cumulative Damage in Fatigue,
Journal of Applied Mechanics, ASME, Vol. 12,
p. A-159, 1945.
8. American Welding Society, Structural Welding
Code, AWS D1.1 - Rev 1.76, April 1976.
9. Schlichting, H., Boundary-Layer Theory, Sixth
Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968.
APPENDIX - SAMPLE FATIGUE LIFE CALCULATIONS of (f/f )i and (A/D)i were read from the curves in
Figure ?. The second, fourth, and fifth columns
Application of Equatioh (11) is illustrated
were then combined to give each term of the sum as
by the calculation of the fatigue life for a 100
shown in column six. Addition of column six then
foot span of the pipeline suspended 4 diameters
gives the value of the sum in Equation (11). From
above bottom. From Table I
the values in Equation (A-l), the appropriate
ratios are
L-= 100 ft
D = 10.7 = 0.8917 ft
Ds = 8.625= 0.7188 ft . . . . . . . (A-1) L
= 112.1495
EI = 2.529x107 lb ft2 D
~ = 4.28 lb sec2/ft
. . . . . . . . . . . . . (A-3)
From Equation (20) D
s
= 0.8061
D

When the sum from Table A-1 along with the values
in Equation (A-2) and (A-3) are substituted into
Equation (11) the result is
The velocities Ui and the time intervals Ti from
Table 11 are repeated as the first ~wo columns in
Table A-1. The third column is Ui = U /Df as 5.133x10-18 (112.1495)8 =02978 years
Life =
calculated using the values in Equa~ions (An
-1) and
(0.8061)4 (0.8656) (1.1798)
(A-2). For each value of Ui the values

15
 TABLE I

PIPELINE PROPERTIES

Steel Pipe OD, D~ (in) 8.625

Pipeline OD, D, (in) 10.705

Steel Wall Thickness (in) 0.593

Modulus of Elasticity, E 3OX1O6

Internal Fluid Specific Gravity 0.85

External Fluid Density (lb/ft3) 64.0

Weight in Air (lb/ft) 97.96

Virtual Mass (lb/sec2/ft2) 4.28

TABLE II
Tidal Velocities and Intervals

Uj

E/D = 1.0 &/D = 4.0 Ti

(fps) (fps) (hr)

o o 0 2

0.5 1,41 1.53 4

2.73 2.96 4
1.0
3.85 4.19 4
1.5
2.0 4.72 5.13 4

2.5 5.26 5.72 4

5.45 5.92 2
3.0

TABLE A-1

CALCULATION OF SUM

u Ti Zi ( Ifn) j. (A/D)i (f/fn)~(A/D);Ti

.
2 o 0 0 o
0
4 1.98 $=0.4 =0 =0
1.53
4 3.83 0.57 0.02 3.6x10-7
2.96
4 5.43 0.82 0.12 0.0007
4.19
4 6.65 0.90 0.48 0.1911
5.13
5.,72 4 7.41 0.93 0.63 0.5860

2 7.67 0.94 6.68 0.4020

5.92
 1.6
em
1.0
1.4 . .- 2.0
3.0
---. --- 4.0 /
1.2

1.0

A
~ 0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

1.2

f o.8
fn

0.4

0
I I I 1 I I I I I I I I
o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
u
Ofn

Fig. 1 Maximum amplitude and frequency response vs.

reduced velocity of a flexible pipe for different
pipe-to-wall ratios
G 102 p
a)-
m
c
C?
.-c
g

I I
1 04
103 104 105 106 107 1O*
N
cyclesto Failure,

Fig. 2 Fatigue failure curves

102

EQ(I:

I I I I 1. I
,~2
,

4 5 6 7
TidalCurrentVelocity,
ft/sec

Fig. 3 The logarithmic portion of the oceanic boundary layer

 1
0.8-

0.6-
0.4-

od #
0.2 - 12345
o.4-
0.6-
0.8-
l-

Fig. 4 Averaging intervals over a tidal cycle

104~ I I

103

..-
E
= 1.0
-6-

102 ~

E
_.A(l \
D

7
10
.

E
.,. 0 [ .m \

I I I \ I I I 1 I I I I
10
60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130
Span Length,Ft

Fig. 5 Fatigue life vs. span length for different pipe-to-wail

gap ratios
I