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Calculation of maximum allowable free span

length and safety assessment of the DF1-1
submarine pipeline

Article in Journal of Ocean University of China · March 2010

DOI: 10.1007/s11802-010-0001-4

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J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) Doctor Forum
DOI 10.1007/s11802-010-0001-4
ISSN 1672-5182, 2010 9 (1): 1-10
http://www.ouc.edu.cn/xbywb/
E-mail:xbywb@ouc.edu.cn

Calculation of Maximum Allowable Free Span Length

and Safety Assessment of the DF1-1 Submarine Pipeline
XU Jishang1), 2), LI Guangxue1), 2), *, Juan J. Horrillo3), YANG Rongmin1), 2), and CAO Lihua1), 2)

1) College of Marine Geo-sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, P. R. China

2) Key Laboratory of Submarine Sciences and Exploration Technology, the Ministry of Education of China,
Qingdao 266100, P. R. China
3) Department of Maritime Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77554, USA

(Received March 25, 2009; revised June 4, 2009; accepted October 15, 2009)
© Ocean University of China, Science Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010

Abstract The DF1-1 submarine pipeline was investigated using a dual-frequency side-scan sonar and a swath sounder system.
More than a hundred scour pits under the pipeline were found, most of which have caused the span of the pipeline to increase and
threatened its safety. The maximum allowable free span length (MAFSL) of the pipeline was determined through the limitations re-
garding maximum allowable stress under static or quasi-static loads and the onset of Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) under different
hydrodynamic actions. The results show that the MAFSL under static conditions is 56 m. However, the MAFSLs are 30 m and 20 m
under ordinary weather conditions and hurricane-induced currents for the 100-year return period, respectively, to avoid VIV as cal-
culated by using the highest safety class factor. It is suggested that spanning pipelines longer than 20 m should be supported. Addi-
tionally, eight successive spans which may also threaten the pipeline were proposed. The most hazardous scour pits are along the
pipeline section from KP42 to KP51.

Key words submarine pipeline; scour; span; safety assessment; Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV); maximum allowable span length

length found by comparing the two methods can be cho-

1 Introduction
Submarine pipelines are widely used in offshore oil
and gas industries. When a pipeline is placed on a plane
bed, the originally uniformly distributed flow is disturbed
by the pipeline, which may cause the acceleration of local
flow in the vicinity of the obstruction, resulting in scour
pits under the pipeline. Once a free span above a scour pit
is longer than the maximum allowable free span length
(MAFSL), the spanning pipeline is subject to Vortex In-
duced Vibrations (VIV) due to current and wave action.
These vibration actions over time can lead to fatigue failure
of the pipeline. In addition, for long free spans, the weight
load of the unsupported pipeline will cause the spanning
pipeline to sag, adding hazards to the safety of the pipe-
line. Thus, the determination of the MAFSL under vari-
ous environments becomes an important task in designing
new pipelines and troubleshooting existing pipelines.
The MAFSL can be determined through limitations re-
garding the maximum allowable stress under static or
quasi-static loads and the onset of VIV under hydrody-
namic actions. Those two methods are called static analy-
sis and dynamic analysis, respectively, and the shorter
* Corresponding author. Tel: 0086-532-66782542
E-mail: estuary@ouc.edu.cn
sen as the MAFSL (Choi, 2001).
The static analysis was developed in the last two dec-
ades of the 20th century and, being relatively straightfor-
ward, remains unchanged during this decade. Mouselli
(1981) firstly gave a functional relationship between the
maximum dimensionless bending stress and dimen-
sionless free span length. ASME B31.8 (1995) specified a
set of longitudinal and combined stress limits used for
calculating MAFSL. MMS (1997) incorporated static
analysis into its Combined Analysis Method (CAM).
A considerable amount of work has been conducted to
develop methods for assess VIV and to determine the
allowable length of free span pipelines (dynamic analysis).
Anfinsen (1995) reviewed the important parameters in
free span pipeline design. Mork and Vitali (1996) derived
a cross-flow VIV analysis method. Xu et al. (1999) de-
veloped a fatigue damage method to determine the span
length of multi-span pipelines under wave-dominant
situations, and then this method was adopted by Bai
(2001). Choi (2001) established a rigorous procedure to
analyze the free spans of offshore pipelines. Official
guidelines, such as DNV (2002) and MMS (1997), also
provided rational criteria and guidance on MAFSL de-
termination and fatigue design of free spanning pipelines
subject to combined wave and current loads. With these
methodological developments, methods for assessment of
2 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10

pipeline free spans have been remarkably improved in
recent years.
Among all of the above-mentioned methods, the com-
bined analysis method (CAM) provided by MMS (1997)
is a typical, useful, simple and effective method to evalu-
ate the MAFSL for submarine pipelines. The CAM in-
cludes both static analysis and dynamic analysis methods
and has the following properties: 1) it considers as many
variables as possible that influence free span static and
dynamic responses; 2) the selected variables can be ac-
curately obtained from published data or field investiga-
tions; 3) the method can be easily implemented by hand
or with the assistance of a computerized spreadsheet. This
method is also employed and recommended by Yao (2004).
During a route survey of the DF1-1 submarine pipeline
from December 2006 to February 2007, more than a hun-
dred scour pits under the pipeline were found, most of
which had caused formation of pipeline spans and threat-
ened the safety of the pipeline. The purpose of this study
is to calculate the MAFSL through both static and dy-
namic methods, analyze the safety of the pipeline under
different hydrodynamic conditions, and provide the loca-
tions of the existing free spans that pose threats to the
pipeline operation.
2 Regional Settings Around DF1-1
Submarine Pipeline Route
Morphological settings The DF1-1 submarine pipeline
lies off the west coast of Dongfang, Hainan Island (Fig.1).
The total length of the pipeline is more than 100 km, the
maximum depth (73 m) being at the CEP (Central Plat-
form). According to the topographical characteristics
along the route of the pipeline, the route can be divided
into three regimes (Fig.2), i.e., (I) shallow water regime
(Land–KP89, KP denotes the distance to the CEP in unit
of km), where the seabed is relatively flat with an average
slope of 1–2.4‰; (II) sand ridges and sand-waves regime
(KP89–KP57.5), where exist many sand ridges and sand
waves; (III) deep water regime (KP57.5–CEP) (Cao et al.,
2006), where the original seabed is rather flat with an
average slope of 0.5‰.

Fig.1 Location of the DF1-1 submarine pipeline and sites of current measurement.

Fig.2 Seabed topography along the route of the pipeline (Cao et al., 2006).
 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10
During this field investigation, more than a hundred
scour pits were found in the deep water regime, where the
pits were induced by local scouring due to flow turbu-
lence and acceleration effects. However, very limited
scour pits were found in the other two regimes, where the
spanning was possibly caused by moving sand waves and
local scours, as the pipeline was laid artificially with in-
struments before this investigation. Therefore, this paper
focuses on evaluating the safety of the spanning pipeline
in the deep water regime.
Surface sediments The surface sediments of the upper
1–4 m are mainly soft cohesive mud, muddy clay, silty
clay or clay silt, with wet bulk density of 1440–1560 kN m-3
(Liu et al. 2004). Liu et al. (2004) analyzed the sediment
properties of the study area, and reported that the soil
consists of sand, silt and clay at the average contents of
10.59%, 45.39% and 36.82%, respectively, with liquid
limits of 25.72%–29.06% and a plastic limit of 10.14%.
Table 1 In-situ current in and near the study area measured by different researchers
Author Location Maximum near-bed velocity (m s-1)
18˚52΄N
Xia et al. (2001)
108˚20΄E
18˚37΄N
Chen et al. (2007)
107˚44΄E
17˚36΄N
Wang (2007)
108˚24΄E
†
Wang et al. (2007) See Fig.1
18˚51΄N
Bai et al. (2008)
108˚17΄E
†
Notes: Wang et al. (2007) did not provide the coordinates of this site. The location of this site in Fig.1 was mapped by projecting
the map provided in their paper.
Hurricanes and tropical storms The study area is often
hit by hurricanes and storms. The annual frequency of
hurricanes in and near the area during 1954–2002 was 2.6
(Huang and Chen, 2005), while during 1970–1990 it was
3.2 (Kong, 1997). On the basis of hindcasting the severest
75 tropical cyclones which affected the area in 1945–
1991, Qiao et al. (1997) proposed the wind speed, wind-
generated wave height and wave period for different re-
turn periods. According to the wind speed provided by
Qiao et al. (1997), the wind-induced currents during hur-
ricanes for different return periods were estimated (see
Section 5).
3 Surveying Methods and Results
The pipeline was investigated using a dual-frequency
side-scan sonar and a swath sounder system. The survey
positioning was provided by an onboard DGPS system
(TRIMBLE-212H, with an accuracy of ±2.0 m).
3.1 The Side-Scan Sonar
The dual-frequency side-scan sonar (KLEIN SYSTEM
2000) operates at both 100 kHz and 500 kHz with a reso-
lution of 10 cm. Side-scan sonar depicts seafloor in grey
levels in proportion to the amount of energy backscat-
tered. The backscattering is affected by the intrinsic na-
ture (composition, density, impedance, etc.) of the seabed.
3
Waves Waves have very slight effects on the seabed in
the study area except for hurricane- and storm-generated
waves. Most wave heights in the study area are about
0.5–1.4 m, with an occurrence probability of 83.2%, while
the occurrence probability of wave heights smaller than
1.5 m is 97.5%, and wave heights larger than 3 m seldom
occur in the area. The minimum and maximum month-
averaged wave periods are about 3.8 s and 4.3 s, which
occur in August and April, respectively (the Compile
Committee of China Bay Records, 1999).
Tidal currents Many researchers have measured the
current in and near the study area, the sites of their cur-
rent measurement are shown in Fig.1, and the measured
maximum near-bed current velocities are listed in Table 1.
It can be seen from Table 1 that the current is strong in
the area, although the maximum near-bed current varies
between 0.40–0.91 m s-1 as measured by different research-
ers.
Time of measurement
0.68 January 1997
0.40 May 4, 2004–May 14, 2004
0.77 July 1, 2005–August 19, 2005
0.91 Unknown
0.86 August 13, 2006–January 26, 2007
The side-scan sonar image of the previous investigation
before the laying of the pipeline showed low backscatter,
because the surface sediments are mainly soft cohesive
mud, muddy clay, silty clay or clay silt. However, the
side-scan sonar during this new survey showed that the
backscatter near the pipeline was relatively high (Fig.3),
which indicates that the sediments near the pipeline are
becoming relatively coarser in the scour process. The
side-scan sonar image is used to verify the authenticity of
scour pits identified from the swath sounder data.
Fig.3 Typical side-sonar image showing relatively high
backscatter near the pipeline.
3.2 Swath Sounder
The swath sounder system (GeoSwath Plus) operates at
250 kHz with across-track resolution being 1.5 cm and
4 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10

measurement accuracy being 0.1% of water depth (ex-
cluding errors caused by accessory equipments). The
swath sounder data processing included manual editing of
obvious artifacts, reduction of refraction errors, calibra-
tions (including navigation and attitude latency, roll, pitch,
yaw, tide and sound speed calibration, etc.), and gridding
the bathy- metric data. The burial/span conditions of the
pipeline (such as burial depth for partly buried pipeline,
span length, etc.) can be measured directly from the digi-
tal bathymetric maps.
3.3 Surveying Results
More than a hundred scour pits distributed randomly
along the pipeline were found during the cruise (Fig.4).
The digital swath sounder data were used to measure the
morphological characters (length, width and depth) of the
scour pits, which were validated by examining sonar im-
ages. The scour length and width are defined as the extent
of scour pits along and normal to the pipeline, respec-
tively, and the span height is defined as the clearance be-
tween the bottom of the pipeline to the seabed. The sur-
veying results show that, the lengths of the scour pits are
mostly 10–30 m, the maximum being 46 m (Fig.5); the
widths are 8–20 m, the maximum being 27 m; the depths
and span heights are 0.2–1.0 m and 0–0.75 m, respectively,
the maxima being 1.3 m and 1.1 m, respectively.

Fig.4 Distribution of scour pits under the pipeline, together with the surface map of two scour pits, the location
of the surface map being denoted by an arrow. The refracted sounders from the pipeline on top of the pits were
filtered out, which caused the false phenomenon that the pipeline on top of the pits looks interrupted.

Fig.5 Distribution of the length L of the scour pits along the pipeline.

where L is the length of free span; w is the submerged

4 Calculation of the Maximum Allowable weight of the pipeline per meter, which can be expressed as
Free Span Length w = m⋅ g =
Both the static and dynamic (vortex shedding) analysis
methods were used to evaluate the MAFSL of the pipe- 4⎣
(
π⎡ 2
) ( )
Do − Di2 ρ s + Dc2 − Do2 ρc + Di2 ρ f − Dc2 ρ w ⎤ g , (2)
⎦
line using the actual parameters and measured (or esti-
mated) conditions of the pipeline according to the com- where m is the mass of the pipeline per meter; Do, Di, and
bined analysis method (CAM) proposed by MMS (1997). Dc are the outside, inside, and overall (including concrete
weight coating) diameters, respectively; ρs, ρc, ρf, and ρw
4.1 MAFSL Estimation Using the Static Analysis are the densities of steel, concrete weight coating, pipe-
Method line contents, and sea water, respectively; and g is the
acceleration due to gravity.
The static analysis method is used to calculate the The maximum bending moment MMAX can also be ex-
MAFSL through the maximum bending moment MMAX , pressed in terms of pipeline properties and allowable
which can be described by the following equation (MMS, bending stress as follows (MMS, 1997):
1997; Shah et al., 1986):
M MAX = zσ b , (3)
wL2 wL2 wL2
≤ M MAX ≤ , usually M MAX = being taken, (1) where z is the pipeline section modulus, and σb is the
12 8 10
 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10 5

maximum allowable bending stress, both of which will be The aforementioned pipeline section modulus z can be
described later in this section. expressed as
By substituting Eq.3 into Eq.1, the maximum allowable
π ⎛ Do4 − Di4 ⎞
span length L can be determined by z= ⎜ ⎟⎟ . (5)
32 ⎜⎝ Do ⎠
10 zσ b
L= . (4) The maximum allowable stresses used for calculating
w
σb can be seen in Fig.6 and Table 2.

Fig.6 Sketch maps showing stresses on spanning pipelines. (a) Longitudinal stress; (b) Bending stress and Pois-
son’s effect; (c) Hoop stress; (d and e) Poisson’s effect.

Table 2 Stresses on spanning pipelines

Stress Sketch map(s) Maximum allowable stress(es)
PMAOP Do
Hoop stress σh Fig.6c σH =
2t
σ L max = fl ( SMYS )
Longitudinal stress σl Fig.6a
( −σ H )2 − 4 (σ H2 −σ C2 max ) ⎤⎥
1
σ L1, L 2 = ⎡⎢σ H ±
2⎣ ⎦
Poisson’s effect σp Figs.6b, d and e σ P =−ν 0σ H
Combined stress σc σ C max = f combined ( SMYS )
σ b1 = min ( σ L max −σ P , −σ L max −σ P )
Bending stress σb Fig.6b σ b 2 = min ( σ L1 −σ P , σ L 2 −σ P )
σ b = min (σ b1 , σ b 2 )

The longitudinal stress limit σLmax is calculated as the Poisson’s effect is determined based on the maximum
longitudinal stress factor multiplied by the Specified hoop stress:
Minimum Yield Strength (SMYS) of the free-span pipe-
line (ASME B31.8, 1995): σ P =−ν 0σ H , (8)

σ L max = fl ( SMYS ) , (6) where ν0=0.3 is the Poisson’s ratio.

The maximum allowable bending stress based on the
where fl is the longitudinal stress factor. ASME B31.8 longitudinal stress limit is
(1995) suggested fl=0.8.
The maximum hoop stress is calculated based on the σ b1 = min ( σ L max −σ P , −σ L max −σ P ) . (9)
maximum allowable operating pressure PMAOP of the pipe-
line (MMS, 1997): The maximum combined stress can be calculated based
on the Specified Minimum Yield Strength (SMYS) of the
PMAOP Do free-span pipeline (ASME B31.8, 1995):
σH = , (7)
2t
σ C max = f combined ( SMYS ) , (10)
where t is the wall thickness of the pipeline.
6 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10

where fcombined is the combined stress factor. ASME B31.8 and the other represents the longitudinal stress in com-
(1995) suggested fcombined =0.9. pression. The minimum of the absolute values of the roots
The maximum combined stress can also be calculated determines the maximum allowable bending stress based
based on the Von Mises Equation (MMS, 1997): on the combined stress limit:

σ C max = σ h2 −σ l σ h +σ l2 . (11) σ b 2 = min ( σ L1 −σ P , σ L 2 −σ P ) . (13)

The maximum allowable bending stress σb is taken as

Combining Eqs.10 and 11 yields
the smaller one based on the longitudinal stress limit σb1
and combined stress limit σb2.
( −σ H )2 − 4 (σ H2 −σ C2 max ) ⎤⎥ .
1
σ L1, L 2 = ⎡⎢σ H ± (12) Based on the above theories, the calculated MAFSL of
2⎣ ⎦
the DF1-1 submarine pipeline under static hydrodynamic
Poisson’s effect is subtracted from both roots of σL. conditions is 56 m. The parameters used for the calcula-
One root of σL represents the longitudinal stress in tension, tion are listed in Table 3.
Table 3 Parameters used for calculating the allowable maximum span length
Parameter Value Explanation
Do 22in=0.5588 m Pipe outside diameter
Dc 0.70 m Overall diameter including concrete coating
t 15.9 mm Pipe wall thickness
tc 60 mm Concrete coating thickness
ρc 3040 kg m-3 Density of concrete coating
ρs 11391 kg m-3 Density of steel
ρf 32.3–81.6 kg m-3 (57 kg m-3 was used) Density of pipeline content (gas)
ρw 1020 kg m-3 Density of seawater
νk 1.05×10-6 m2 s-1 Kinematic viscosity of sea water
E 2.07×1011 Pa Young’s Modulus
SMYS 400 MPa Specified minimum yield strength of the pipe
PMAOP 10 MPa Maximum allowable operating pressure
e 0.6 m Gap between pipeline and seafloor

4.2 MAFSL Estimation by General VIV Analysis I=

π
64
(
Do4 − Di4 . ) (16)
Vortex-induced vibrations occur as the result of peri- The pipeline dynamic mass can be expressed as
odic shedding of vortices from the pipeline. As the vortex
shedding frequency approaches the pipe natural frequency,
the free-span begins to resonate, which can result in rapid
π
( ) ( )
M = ⎡ Do2 − Di2 ρ s + Dc2 − Do2 ρc + Di2 ρ f + Dc2 ρ w ⎤ . (17)
4⎣ ⎦
pipeline failure (MMS, 1997). The analysis is based on
maintaining the reduced velocity around the pipeline at The value of 3.0 for the reduced velocity in Eq.14 typi-
less than 3.0–5.0, which corresponds to the onset of VIV cally corresponds to the following relation (Mouselli,
(Mork and Vitali, 1996). The reduced velocity is given by 1981):
f s < 0.7 f n , (18)
U
VR = , (14) where fs is the vortex shedding frequency which can be
f n Dc
calculated based on the Strouhal Number:
where VR is the reduced velocity of the flow around the
St U
pipeline; U is the current velocity at the pipeline span; fn fs = , (19)
is the pipeline natural frequency, which can be expressed Dc
as (Nielsen and Gravesen, 1985) where St has a linear relationship with the gap ratio as
follows:
kπ EI C EI
fn = 2
= , (15) ⎛ e ⎞
2L M L2 M St = 0.27 − 0.03 ⎜ ⎟, (20)
⎝ Dc ⎠
where C is the free span end fixity constant, which is
generally taken as 1.54 for simply supported ends and where e is the gap between pipeline and seafloor.
3.50 for fully fixed ends, but usually the free span ends The final solution for MAFSL can be obtained by sub-
will be partially fixed, so an average value of 2.52 is stituting Eq.15 into Eq.18 as follows:
suggested for the calculation (Shah et al., 1986); E is the 1
Young’s Modulus; M is the pipeline dynamic mass; I is ⎡ 0.7C EI ⎤ 2
the pipe moment of inertia which can be calculated as L<⎢ ⎥ . (21)
⎣ fs M⎦
 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10 7

flow induced VIV, which can be expressed as

4.3 MAFSL Estimation by Cross-Flow Induced VIV
⎛ρ ⎞
Analysis π3 ⎜ os + Cm ⎟
ρ
⎝ w ⎠
This method is based on partial safety factor design VR ,onset = , (24)
criteria (MMS, 1997). The limit state based on partial safe- 2 ⎛ 3 ρos
⎛ ⎞ 2⎞
1.5 + St ⎜⎜ π ⎜ + Cm ⎟ −1.5k s ⎟⎟
ty factor design is achieved by relating the pipeline natu- ⎝ ⎝ ρw ⎠ ⎠
ral frequency to the reduced velocity of the flow around
the pipe at the onset of cross-flow VIV. Several partial where Cm is the added mass coefficient, which is nor-
safety factors are employed in order to ensure that cross- mally set to 1.0 (DNV, 1991); ρos/ρw is the specific mass
flow VIV does not occur. The limit state equation that of the pipe and can be calculated by
describes the onset of cross-flow VIV is (MMS, 1997)
ρos ws
= , (25)
fn ≥
U
γ T Ψ D Ψ R ΨU . (22)
ρ w ww
VR ,onset D
where ws and ww are the dry weight of the pipe with con-
By combining Eqs.22 and 15, the MAFSL can be de- crete coating and the weight of displaced water, respec-
termined as follows: tively, which can be calculated as

L=
CVR ,onset D EI
, (23)
π
4⎣
( ) (
ws = ⎡ Do2 − Di2 ρ s + Dc2 − Do2 ρc ⎤ ,
⎦ ) (26)
γ T Ψ D Ψ R ΨU U M π
ww = Dc2 ρ w ; (27)
4
where γT is the safety class factor, whose values are des-
ignated to be 1.7, 2.0 and 2.3 for ‘low’, ‘normal’ and St is the Strouhal Number;
‘high’ safety classes, respectively (Vitali et al., 1997). ks is the the stability parameter, which is a function of
ΨD is the period transformation factor, which is related the structural damping ratio, dynamic mass, and outside
to the time for the current-induced VIV to reach the full diameter of the pipeline (Vitali et al. , 1997):
amplitude of vibration (Mathiesen et al., 1997). MMS
(1997) recommended that the value of this partial safety ⎛ρ ⎞
ks = π 2ζ ⎜ os − Cm ⎟ , (28)
factor be 1.0, while DNV (2002) suggested that the value ρ
⎝ w ⎠
should be 1.1.
ΨR is the natural frequency reduction factor. MMS where ζ is the structural damping ratio, and is a function
(1997) proposed that the value for this factor be normally of the logarithmic decrement coefficient δ (Rao, 1990):
set to 1.0, while DNV (2002) recommended a value of
2
1.15 or 1.2. ⎛δ ⎞
ΨU is the extreme current variability factor. This factor ⎜ ⎟ +1 −1
⎝π⎠
is also normally set to 1.0. If a large current variability is ζ =π , (29)
δ
expected in the area of the free span, this factor should be
set to 1.1 (Mork et al., 1997). where δ is the logarithmic decrement coefficient that can
VR, onset is the limitation criterion for the onset of cross- be set to 0.05 (MMS,1997).

Fig.7 The calculated values of MAFSL of DF1-1 submarine pipeline as a function of current velocity,
both the general VIV and cross-flow induced VIV analysis methods being used for the calculation. The
first letters L, M and H in the brackets denote that the safety class factor γT=1.7, 2.0 and 2.3, respectively
for the cross-flow induced VIV analysis, while the second letters L and H in the brackets denote
(ΨD,ΨR,ΨU)=( 1, 1, 1) and (1.1, 1.2, 1.1), respectively.
8 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10

Based on the above two dynamic analysis methods, the
calculated values of the MAFSL of the DF1-1 submarine
pipeline as a function of current velocity are shown in
Fig.7.
5 Discussion
The measured maximum near-bed velocity under ordi-
nary weather conditions in the study area can reach 0.9
m s-1 (Table 1), and the MAFSL of the pipeline under this
current velocity is 30 m when calculated by the cross-flow
induced VIV analysis method using the highest safety
factors (Fig.7); the pipeline investigation data showed
that there were seven spans longer than 30 m (Figs.5 and
9). Those spans may threaten the safety of the pipeline
severely, because cross-flow under ordinary weather con-
ditions may induce VIV, which can lead to fatigue failure
of the pipeline.
The study area is often hit by hurricanes and storms.
Qiao et al. (1997) proposed the wind speed, wind-gener-
ated wave height and wave period for return periods of 1,
5, 10, 20, 25, 50 and 100 years respectively. However, it
is very difficult to obtain data on current speed during
hurricanes, either because it is difficult to measure the
currents during hurricanes, or because the hindcast meth-
ods for hurricane-induced currents are not well developed
(MMS, 2006a). Using ADCPs (Acoustic Doppler Current
Profiler), MMS measured (and hindcasted using different
Table 4 Maximum wind speeds at 10m above sea level, significant wave heights and surface current velocities
during hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ivan in the Gulf of Mexico
Literature Hurricane Wind at 10 m above sea level (m s-1)
Katrina 55–60
MMS (2006b)
Rita 45–50
51.4
57.1
MMS (2004b) Ivan 48.9
25.9
49.2
models) the surface current speed in the Gulf of Mexico
during the hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ivan (MMS,
2006b; MMS, 2004b) (Table 4). MMS also provided de-
sign hurricane environmental criteria (including wind
speed, significant wave height and surface current) for dif-
ferent return periods (MMS, 2004a; MMS, 2004b) (Table
5). The measured and hindcasted surface current speeds
were found to have a good linear relationship with the
corresponding wind speed (Fig.8). Based on this linear re-
lationship, according to the wind speed for different return
periods in the study area proposed by Qiao et al. (1997),
the associated surface current speeds during hurricanes
for different return periods were estimated (Table 6).
MMS (2004a) studied the current profiles during hur-
ricane Lili. The results showed that the current velocity
dropped slightly in the upper mixed layer about 250 ft
(76.2 m) below the surface. So it was assumed that the
near-bed current velocities are close to the surface veloci-
ties during hurricanes in the study area and this would
insure the security of the pipeline. According to the above
theories and assumptions, the near-bed current velocity
coupled with tidal currents for the return period of 100
years can reach 2.0 m s-1. And the calculated MAFSL of
the pipeline is 20 m based on the cross-flow induced VIV
analysis using the highest safety factors. Therefore, it is
recommended that spanning pipelines longer than 20 m
should be noticed and supported, the locations of which
are displayed in Fig.9.
Significant wave height (m) Associated surface current (m s-1)
16 2.3
14 2.2
15.0 2.0
15.7 2.1
13.5 1.9
8.4 1.0
15.4 2.8

Table 5 Design hurricane environmental criteria for different return periods in the Gulf of Mexico
Literature Return Period (year) Wind at 10 m (m s-1) Significant wave height (m) Associated surface current (m s-1)
10 25.3 7.8 0.6
25 28.7 9.4 1.3
MMS (2004a)
100 37.5 12.2 1.7
1000 43.0 14.8 2.1
10 36.0 7.9 0.7
25 41.2 9.6 1.8
MMS (2004b)
50 45.0 10.9 2.0
100 48.9 12.2 2.3

Table 6 Estimated surface current velocities in the study area for different return periods
Return Period (year) Wind at 10 m (m s-1) Significant wave height (m) Associated surface current (m s-1)
1 26.8 5.4 1.04
5 32.6 7.2 1.35
10 35.6 8.5 1.51
20 37.9 9.7 1.63
25 38.5 10.0 1.66
50 40.2 10.8 1.75
100 44.0 11.9 1.95
 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10 9

Fig.8 Relationship between the maximum wind speed and the surface current velocity.

Fig.9 Scour pits threatening the safety of the pipeline, together with the surface map of some scour pits,
whose locations are denoted by arrows. Solid circles denote successive spans; stars denote scour pits
longer than 30 m, cross-flow under ordinary weather conditions being apt to induce VIV of the pipeline
spanning on those pits; hollow circles denote scour pits with lengths between 20 m and 30 m, hurricanes
likely inducing VIV of the pipeline spanning on those pits.

What is worse, some span shoulders between scour pits
are very short (4–37 m) (successive spans). As the scour
process continues, the pit will become larger at the ex-
pense of the span shoulder. Therefore, the weight of the
pipeline will rest on the soil over a shortening length of
the span shoulder. As a result, the soil of the span shoul-
der would fail when its bearing capacity is exceeded
(Sumer et al., 2001), which would cause a larger span
length. Eight such successive spans were found during the
pipeline route cruise, the locations of which are illustrated
in Fig.9. It can be seen from Fig.9 that the most hazard-
ous scour pits are along the pipeline section from KP42 to
KP51.
It should be noted that, as it is difficult to measure the
near-bed currents during hurricanes, the hurricane-in-
duced currents were estimated based on the wind speed
for different return periods in the study area as proposed
by Qiao et al. (1997) and on the linear fitted relationship
between wind speeds and associated surface current
speeds with data provided by MMS (2004a, 2004b,
2006b), and that the highest safety factors were used
when obtaining the MAFSL of 20 m using the cross-flow
induced VIV analysis method, making a MAFSL of 20 m
be conservative. The effects of waves under ordinary
weather conditions were not considered in the calculation
because of their slight influence on the seabed in the deep
water regime (regime III, CEP–KP57.5); however, waves
may have severe impacts on the seabed in the other two
regimes mentioned in Section 2 (regimes I and II, KP57.5–
Land). Moving sand waves may also have significant in-
fluence on the pipeline, so the calculated MAFSL of 20 m
is not applicable to the pipeline in regimes I and II.
6 Conclusions
Both the static and dynamic analysis methods were
used to study the maximum allowable free span length
(MAFSL) in the deep water regime (regime III, CEP–KP
57.5) of the pipeline off the west coast of Hainan Island.
The main conclusions from this study are as follows:
1) The MAFSL under static conditions is 56m; longer
spans may cause sags in the pipeline.
2) The calculated MAFSLs under ordinary weather
conditions and hurricane-induced currents for the 100-
year return period are 30 m and 20 m, respectively. The
aim is to avoid VIV by cross-flow induced VIV analysis
using the highest safety factors. It is recommended that
spanning pipelines longer than 20 m should be noticed
and supported.
3) Eight successive spans were found in the study,
which may also threaten the safety of the pipeline. The
most hazardous spans are along the pipeline section from
 10 XU et al. / J. Ocean Univ. China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research) 2010 9: 1-10
KP42 to KP51.
Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by the National
Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (Grant
No. 2005CB422304) and the Ocean University of China
Scientific Research Start-up Funds Project for Introduced
Talents.
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(Edited by Xie Jun)