1.

1 General

Based on the flow rate and design pressure, the line sizing and wall thickness
calculations would have to be carried out for the design life of 40 years. The survey
results will provide the existing wall thickness of the pipeline. As over the 24-years of
operation, the pipeline may have been subjected to varied environmental, physical and
internal loads that could have resulted in erosion, corrosion and degradation of the
pipeline wall thickness, resulting in a reduced wall thickness than initially provided. The
current wall thickness measured by the survey team, would be checked against the
design values to determine the percentage diminishing of the material, which in return
will ensure whether the pipeline will be able to withstand the external and internal
pressures during the rest of its lifetime and maintain integrity.

1.2 Design Criteria

The wall thickness check shall be performed based on DNV 1981. The pipeline shall be
checked against the following possible modes of failure.

1.3 Method of Analysis

The current wall thickness must be derived from the survey findings and checked for
hoop stress criteria. The Hoop stress from internal pressure must be limited in the
pipeline in accordance with the requirement of Section 4.2.2 of DNV 1981. If the
pipeline wall thickness is not able to withstand the hoopstress, the wall thickness has to
be redesigned.

2 Pipeline On-bottom Stability

2.1 General

On-bottom stability analysis shall be performed for the pipeline system employing
MATHCAD, and in accordance with DNV RP E305/DNV-RP-F109 standards. Stability is
verified by the following equation given in Section 2.5 of DNV-RP-F109.
2.2 Design Criteria for Stability of Offshore Pipeline

2.2.1 Lateral Stability

The lateral stability analysis shall be performed for the following conditions:
 100-year return period wave data + 100 years return period current data.
 Omni-directional of wave and current

2.2.2 Vertical Stability

Vertical stability of a pipeline shall be checked by determining the pipeline sinkage and
ensuring that the pipe is not buoyant in all conditions. Calculation shall be perform
using in-house spread sheets based on DNV RP F109. Vertical Stability is verified by the
following equation:

3 Minimum Bend Radius (MBR) and Ovality Check

3.1 General
An important parameter to consider in the long term integrity of the HDPE pipeline is
the MBR. The bending radius is determined by the bending characteristic of the product
pipe, increasing with the diameter. Ovality is another defect which could cause the pipe
to change shape which inturn reduces its efficiency in the long run.
The minimum bend radius and ovality checks for HDPE pipeline shall be performed
using a series of calculations that involve material properties of HDPE, employing
MATHCAD.

3.2 Method of Analysis

3.2.1 Minimum Bend Radius

The Bending radius of the existing pipe is calculated using formulae from strength of
materials that involves the bending moment and modulus of elasticity. Then the
obtained bending radius is checked if it is in allowable limit at various portions along
the pipeline. If the MBR is not within the allowable limit, the pipe section has to be
replaced.
3.2.2 Ovality Check

The out of roundness or ovality of the pipeline has to be checked because this could
affect the longterm integrity of the pipeline. Pipeline ovality is calculated by the
following equation.

Acceptable ovality of a pipe should be determined by user, but as a guideline, 5% is a

typical acceptance criteria, and ASME defaults to 8%.

4 Process Flow Simulation

4.1 General
The steady state hydraulic analysis shall be performed using the PIPESIM software to
obtain the key process data for pipeline.

4.2 PIPESIM Simulation

The steady-state hydraulic analysis shall be performed using PIPESIM for the rigid and
flexible pipeline segments to generate:
 Pressure profiles
 Temperature profiles
 Product densities
Mean ambient conditions shall be used for normal operation simulation and max
ambient conditions shall be used for design simulation at the respective field.

4.3 Design Cases

Flow rates, operating temperatures and pressures for the subsea pipeline shall be
extracted from input data by client. Design temperatures and pressures shall be
extracted from Bid Package.

4.4 Configuration
Models shall be built according to the pipeline physical properties (i.e. wall thickness,
length) and given process conditions
5 Diffuser System Check
5.1 General

The goal of an outfall diffuser system is to accomplish rapid initial mixing of effluent
water with ambient water in order to minimize the detrimental effects of the discharge
on the ocean. The purpose of the diffuser system check is to ensure that the existing
conditions of the diffuser system serves its goal efficiently. The port diffuser system is
inspected and along with the input data from the Client, the efficiency of the diffuser is
calculated for dilution requirements, nozzle alignment and angle.

5.2 Method of analysis

The diffuser characteristics like diffuser length, depth of discharge, port size and
spacing are obtained from the Client.

5.2.1 Flow Distribution

The division of the outflow between the various ports should be fairly even. The
Internal system hydraulics check will analyse if the flow along the manifold is uniform.

5.2.2 Velocity in Diffuser

The flow velocity in all parts of the diffuser should be checked and determined if it is
high enough to prevent disposition of any residual particles. If deposition has taken
place in any part of the diffuser, this could lead to constrictions in the cross section of
the pipe or outlet over an extended period of time which would result in reduction of
velocity in the diffuser, a cycle that would accelerate the deposition process. The final
result may be complete clogging of the diffuser ports and complete failure of the
diffuser system to perform its dispersal function.

5.2.3 Accumulations and dirt in the diffuser

Diffusers will accumulate grease, slimes and grit which could decrease the cross
sectional area and increase the friction factor thereby reducing the flow. Cleaning can
be accomplished by flushing or pulling a ball through the line.
5.2.4 Seawater Intrusion

Sea water entering the effluent pipeline will be stagnant and will tend to trap grit and
other accumulations. Such deposits reduce the hydraulic capacity of the diffuser,
thereby limiting its usefulness for future years affecting the overall integrity of the
outfall pipeline. The ports should have even flow efficiency to avoid seawater intrusion.

5.2.5 Total Head loss

The total head loss in the waste water diffuser system should be checked that it is kept
reasonably small.

5.2.6 Port and Nozzle Check

For optimum dilution the jets in the diffuser should discharge horizontally, with no
initial upward component of velocity. The inside of the hole should be checked to
minimize clogging and inorder to provide a discharge coefficient which will remain
constant over the rest of the service life.

5.2.7 Stability of the Diffuser

The vertical and lateral stability of the diffuser should be analysed such that the diffuser
is able to withstand the hydrodynamic forces.

6 Cathodic Protection for Diffuser system

6.1 General

The diffuser system shall be checked against corrosion by means of an inspection

survey. Any requirements for external coating or cathodic protection is decided based
on the survey observations. The need for cathodic protection and analysis will be
performed in MATHCAD.

6.2 Cathodic Protection

The basic design parameters to be used for the analysis include anode material and its
density, anode type, design life of the anode, mean current density, anode
electrochemical efficiency, seawater salinity, anode utilization factor, coating
breakdown factors and seawater resistivity.

6.3 Calculation Procedure

A spreadsheet shall be developed based on recommendations in DNV RP F103 to

determine the number of anodes required to satisfy the following criteria:
 maintenance of current throughout the design life of the diffuser.
 provide adequate protection on the final stage of the design life.
 maximum allowable anode spacing.