APIA2003 Australian Pipeline Industry Association Darwin, 2003

ASSESSMENT OF FREE SPANNING PIPELINES ACCORDING TO THE NEW DNV-RP-F105

Olav Fyrileiv, Muthu Chezhian, Kim J. Mrk & Edwardus Ng Det Norske Veritas ABSTRACT
Free spans often become a problem in pipeline design and operation due to uneven seabed or seabed scouring effects. The costs related to seabed correction and span intervention are in many projects considerable, despite of this free spans are often designed applying presumably conservative concepts and very simple analytical tools. The DNV guideline no 14 (GL14) for free spanning pipelines has been updated and issued as an Recommended Practice (DNV-RP-F105) to account for recent technical research and development and accumulated experience in applying GL14. Standard industry practice up till now has been to apply some sort of on-set criterion for Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) on free spans. This is a simple and often over-conservative approach. DNV has realised that there is a need for a simple criterion to be used in screening etc. Therefore the new DNV-RP-F105 contains such a criterion. Further, exceeding the on-set of VIV the spans are permitted to vibrate and accumulate fatigue damage as long as this does not threaten the integrity of the pipeline. This is ensured by the fatigue criterion with an associated set of calibrated safety factors. This paper will give a brief introduction to the changes in the new Recommended Practice compared to Guideline no 14. Emphasis will be given on the major benefits obtained by using the DNV-RPF105 compared to older methods/codes. Case studies based on real free span analyses are also presented to show the benefits of using this updated code in terms of allowing longer spans and thereby minimising free span intervention costs.

1 INTRODUCTION
Free spans become a problem in pipeline design and operation due to uneven seabed or seabed scouring effects. The costs related to seabed correction and span intervention are often considerable. On the other hand the potential costs related to a fatigue failure of a pipeline are enormous. Despite these aspects, free spans are normally designed applying unduly conservative concepts and often very simple analytical tools.
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The DNV guideline no 14 (GL 14) for free spanning pipelines was issued in 1998 and has been used on a large number of projects and gained general acceptance in the industry. This guideline has been reviewed and updated lately to account for technical development and research within this field, to account for experience in applying the guideline and to improve the user friendliness. The new document is issued as a Recommended Practice (RP) following the updated naming convention for DNV codes. The major benefits in using the new Recommended Practice comprise: A simplified screening criterion; Complete fatigue criteria including wave loading; An ultimate limit state criterion; Updated VIV models for pipe in trench; Improved structural response quantities and Updated pipe-soil modelling The vortex shedding frequency caused by a flow normal to a free span is governed by the Strouhals number, the pipe outer diameter and the flow velocity. As the flow velocity increases and thereby the shedding frequency reaches one of the natural frequencies of the span, the span starts to vibrate and the vortex shedding along the span gets correlated by the vibration of the span. In this way the vortex shedding frequency and the VIV get locked-in with the natural frequencies of the span over a certain range of flow velocities. In this way the span may fail due to over-stress or fatigue. Until recently, the standard industry practice with respect to free span design was to apply some sort of on-set criterion against VIV. This is a simple but often over-conservative approach, not allowing any VIV at all. The potential savings in engineering costs due to simple calculations will normally be exceeded by the costs of unnecessary seabed correction and span intervention works. The major objection against the on-set criterion is, however, that no safety factor is given in the codes/standards for such a criterion. The consequence is that this essential aspect is left to engineering judgement. This further implies that the safety level varies substantially from one pipeline design to another. DNV has realised that there is a need for a simple criterion to be used in early design phase and screening of survey results in order to ascertain when more detailed analysis is required. Therefore the new DNV-RP-F105 contains such a screening criterion. In shallow waters, the direct wave loading may be significant. The new DNV-RP-F105 gives guidance on how to account for such loads in fatigue calculations and in the check of the ultimate limit state for a free spanning pipeline. In many cases local scouring or erosion underneath the pipeline causes free spans to develop. There has been significant uncertainty on how to assess free spans with a low gap and/or located in a trench. The new DNV-RP-F105 also contains updated models for flow and pipeline response in the vicinity of the seabed based on comprehensive CFD analyses and model tests In order to make the Recommended Practice more accurate and user-friendly, the structural response models and pipe-soil modelling has been reviewed and significantly updated based on a large number of finite element analyses.

2 DESIGN CRITERIA 2.1 General

If vibrations due to vortex shedding or direct wave loads are allowed it must be ensured that the accumulated fatigue damage does not threaten the integrity of the pipeline. The fatigue criterion as given in GL 14, has been kept without any changes except for a change in the safety factors to correspond with DNV-OS-F101. Fatigue calculations are both comprehensive and complex to perform. Therefore, a simple and conservative alternative is given in the new Recommended Practice. This screening criterion is to be used for early design checks, first screening of survey results et cetera. With respect to complexity it is more or less similar to the commonly used on-set criterion for VIV, while its safety factor approach ensures a fatigue life of at least 50 years. Regardless of whether vibrations of a free span are allowed or not, the ultimate limit state (ULS) has to be checked. This is to ensure that the span is not failing due to excessive loading, e.g. by local buckling. The ULS criterion should also be checked according to GL14, but it was not explicitly stated how the extreme load effects due to VIV and wave action should be calculated.

2.2 Fatigue criterion

The fatigue damage assessment is based on the well-known accumulation law by Palmgren-Miner:

Dfat =

ni Ni

(2.1)

Dfat is the accumulated life time fatigue damage from environmental wave and current loading. is the allowable damage ratio and ni is the number of cycles corresponding to the stress range block Si and is given by: (2.2) n i = P()f v Texp

where P() is the probability of a (combined) wave or current induced flow event, fv is the dominating vibration frequency of the considered pipe response and Texp is the time of exposure to fatigue load effects (i.e. design lifetime). Ni is the number of cycles to failure at stress range Si defined by the SN (fatigue) curve as shown below.
1000

(a1;m1)
Stress Range, S 100

SSW (a2;m2)

10

1 1.E+03

NSW
1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10

No of cycles, N

Figure 2-1 - Typical SN curve.

The SN curve is typically based on fatigue tests and different curves exist for different weld details and environmental conditions for crack initiation and growth, see DNV-RP-C203.

2.3 ULS criterion

The ultimate limit state (ULS) shall be checked according to the relevant criteria in DNV-OS-F101. The most relevant one for ULS is the load-controlled local buckling criterion. Then static and dynamic bending moments, axial force and pressure effects shall be accounted for. The maximum dynamic bending moment due to VIV and/or direct wave action may be found from the dynamic stresses predicted by the so-called VIV response model and/or the direct wave load model. In cases where the direct wave action is significant, detailed modelling of the soil response at the shoulders may be required as the extreme conditions may cause large deformations/local sliding at the shoulders. As a simplification, the boundary conditions for the free span may be assumed as pinned-pinned for the calculation of wave actions and ULS check.

2.4 Screening criterion

The screening criterion is similar to the commonly used on-set criterion. The difference is that while the on-set criterion is based on no vibrations at all, the safety factors to be applied with the screening criterion will in reality allow for some vibrations under extreme environmental conditions. However, due to its simplicity and therefore missing ability to capture the complexity of a vibrating free span it must be more restrictive than the fatigue criterion. The in-line screening criterion requires that the in-line natural frequency, f0,in, must fulfil: U c,100 year L / D in f 0,in (2.3)
f > 1 in 250 VR ,onset D
in where Uc,100 year is the 100 year return period current flow at pipe level, VR ,onset is the on-set value

for in-line VIV, D is the outer diameter of the pipe, L the span length, is the extreme current flow over total flow ratio and f and in are safety factors. The safety factors have been calibrated against full fatigue analyses to provide a fatigue life in excess of 50 years. A lot of cases with different pipe diameter, span lengths and environmental conditions have been analysed to establish the safety factors. A similar criterion is given for the cross-flow frequency. In order to ensure that fatigue analysis due to direct wave action is not required, the following condition has to be fulfilled: U c,100 year (2.4) > 0 .5 U w ,1year + U c,100 year If this is not the case, then a full fatigue analysis, due to in-line VIV and direct wave action, is required.

2.5 Safety Factors

The safety factors to be used with the screening and fatigue criteria are given in the DNV-RP-F105. The factors have been calibrated towards a specified target probability level for fatigue using the safety class concept, which takes account of the failure consequences, see DNV-OS-F101, Section 2. In this way a set of partial safety factors to be applied with the fatigue criterion is given for each of the individual safety classes (Low, Normal and High).

3 UPDATED CALCULATION MODELS 3.1 Introduction

Due to experience gained through design projects, verification and free span assessments of operating pipelines and due to recent research and development, the DNV Guideline 14 was updated and issued as a Recommended Practice. Some of the updates deal with hydrodynamics and the loads side while other deals with the structural response and fatigue calculation.

3.2 VIV response model updates

The calculation of Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) is based on the so-called response models providing a link between the hydrodynamic parameters such as reduced velocity, KeuleganCarpenter number, current flow ratio etc and the vibration amplitude. Knowing the vibration amplitude makes it easy to calculate the stress range and the associated fatigue damage accumulation. The in-line VIV response model in DNV-RP-F105 is slightly modified compared to the one in GL14: Small modifications by including the mode shape factor in the response model The reduction functions for turbulence intensity and flow angle have been revised slightly A reduction function accounts for reduced in-line VIV in wave dominated conditions DNV-RP-F105 represents the state-of-the-art understanding of the cross-flow behaviour in case of single modal response and is considered to give response on the conservative side. The following changes have been implemented: The effect of a pipe in the vicinity of a trench has been implemented, see Hansen et al, (2001) A correction function for effective mass is given The mode shape factor has been implemented in the amplitudes directly Based on the Ormen Lange laboratory tests, the onset value has been modified slightly

3.3 Force model

The variation in flow velocity caused by waves may give rise to other oscillatory loads than those caused by vortex shedding. The model used for fatigue analysis against direct wave is denoted as the Force Model. It applies to the in-line direction in conditions where the wave-induced flow is governing (i.e. substantially larger that the current flow velocity) and in-line vibrations due to VIV are mitigated by the presence of waves. The approach is similar to standard fatigue analysis with Morison type of loading known from other types of offshore structures and may be handled by time domain or frequency domain analyses. Time domain analyses with Rain Flow counting technique is tractable in case of large non-linearities in the loading and/or structural response but may be extremely time consuming for most practical purposes. The recommended approach in DNV-RP-F105 is a frequency domain solution for the short term-fatigue damage due to combined current and direct wave actions in a single sea-state based on: Palmgren-Miner approach using SN-curves; A linearized drag term in the Morison equation based on conservation of fatigue damage; The effect of co-linear mean current included in the drag linearization term; A narrow banded fatigue damage with semi-empirical correction to account for wide-band characteristic; The formulation presented in DNV-RP-F105 has been successfully verified against comprehensive time domain simulations using standard rain flow counting techniques and applies to the vast
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majority of free span scenarios with well defined boundary conditions, see e.g. Mrk and Fyrileiv (1998). In addition to an explicitly given force model in the frequency domain, updated hydrodynamic force coefficients which are needed in the force model are also given in the DNV-RP-F105. Here, the drag coefficient, CD, and inertia coefficient, CM, to be used are functions of: the Keulegan Carpenter number, KC; the current flow ratio, = Uc/ Uc + Uw ; the gap ratio; the trench depth; Reynolds number, Re and the pipe roughness In addition the cross-flow vibration level, (Az/D) also influences the drag coefficient. The base case force coefficients for a pipe (rough and smooth) located far from the seabed is taken in compliance with recognised references, see Sumer and Fredse (1997), Blevins (1994), DNV Classification Note CN30.5 (1991), DNV81 (1981). It is noted that the available sources provide somewhat different recommendations in particular as a function of Reynolds number. In DNV-RPF105, the dependency of the Reynolds number is embedded in the cylinder roughness effect. The recommendations in DNV-RP-F105 regarding hydrodynamic coefficients follow GL14 to a large extent but gentle modifications are introduced when deemed appropriate. The effects of gap ratio, trench depth and current flow ratio have been assessed using comprehensive CFD analyses, see Hansen et al, (2001). These effects constitute the most significant changes compared to older codes like GL14.

3.4 Structural response

The DNV-RP-F105 has also been updated with respect to structural response quantities such as natural frequencies and associated stress ranges. The most essential changes are: Stiffening effect of concrete coating is given explicitly Updated and simplified soil stiffnesses Improved accuracy of simplified response quantities (beam theory) Standard industry practice, with respect to all types of coating, is to account for the additional loads caused by the coating, e.g. increased weight and drag forces. On the other hand, any increased load carrying capacity is normally to be disregarded. This is the case for several pipeline design codes, see for example DNV OS-F101. However, a study revealed that the stiffening effect of a thick concrete coating is significant and should be accounted for to obtain good estimates of the structural response of a free span. An analytical model of concrete coated pipes developed by Ness and Verley (1996, 1995) to study strain concentrations during pipe lay was used as basis for this study. This model accounts for cracking in the tensile zone and sliding between concrete coating and the steel pipeline in case the shear capacity of the corrosion coating is exceeded. In addition the increased, localised bending at the field joints is considered in the model. Some modifications of the soil stiffness expressions in GL14 have been made. In particular, they have been expanded to account for the effects of the weight of the free span where applicable, and for the extent of the support length on the shoulder. The support length on the shoulder depends much on the soil type, and recommendations for this length are given, based on FEM analysis, in lieu of measured data. The stiffness formulas also depend on pipe diameter, contact width, void ratio of soil and submerged unit weight of soil and are thus rather elaborate to use. To simplify the stiffness calculations when normal conditions prevail, when insufficient data are available and/or when no detailed stiffness analysis is carried out, the new DNV-RP-F105 provides a set of simplified formulas for dynamic stiffness.
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In case classical beam theory solution is used to estimate the natural frequencies, the main uncertainties are related to the effect of the effective axial force and the support conditions provided by the soil at the span shoulders. Restricting the use of beam theory solutions to tensile and moderate compressive effective axial forces may solve the first aspect. By doing so, the sagging of the pipe and associated non-linear effects are limited. Assuming a theoretical pinned-fixed boundary condition is the standard industry approach towards the second aspect. Such a boundary condition is clearly not physically correct for a free span and may be both overly conservative and nonconservative depending on the soil stiffness and the span length. By introducing the effective span length, as the length of a virtual span with fixed-fixed boundary conditions having the same frequency as the real span with flexible supports, a very good estimate for the structural response may be achieved by beam theory solutions. A large number of non-linear FE analyses with varying span length, soil stiffness and axial force have been performed to obtain a database for span response quantities. With basis in these data, an expression for the effective span length based on the relative soil versus beam bending stiffness has been established.

3.5 SN curves
Another significant change is the recommendation regarding the SN curve to be used for fatigue calculations. In GL14 the old F2 curve is given as an appropriate SN curve. Now, the DNV-RP-F105 states that the recommendations in DNV-RP-C203 should be followed if not more detailed data from e.g. fatigue tests or fracture mechanical analysis is available. DNV-RP-C203 give recommendations for SN-curves based on weld geometry, misalignment tolerances, crack initiation point and crack initiation and growth environment.

4 EXAMPLES 4.1 North Sea Case

To demonstrate the effects of the main updates in the new DNV-RP-F105, a simple case has been analysed using a 40 gas export pipeline with a D/t of 42. The pipeline is coated with 100 mm concrete and is located on 80m water depth in a typical North Sea environment. As the considered stretch is far away from the inlet, the temperature of the gas is equal to the ambient temperature. The operating pressure is 130 bar. The seabed consists of loose sand, which causes free spans due to scouring. A design life of 50 years is assumed in the calculations. First different codes, DNV Class Note 30.5 (CN 30.5), DNV Guideline no 14 (GL 14) and the new DNV-RP-F105, have been compared. The results in terms of fatigue lives (minimum of in-line and cross-flow) are shown in Figure 4-1. Here the fatigue lives have been calculated using the same frequencies and associated stresses for the spans in order to compare directly the changes in response models and associated sets of safety factors. From the comparison it is seen that the old CN 30.5 allows longer spans than the newer codes. This is mainly caused by the non-conservatively high onset value for cross-flow and the use of safety factors on frequencies in the newer codes. The high onset value for cross-flow in CN 30.5 implies that cross-flow is not governing for any of the span lengths shown, while for GL14 and the new RP, cross-flow is governing for fatigue lives equal to the design life. From Figure 4-1 it is also seen that GL14 yields more conservative results than the RP. This is as expected and mainly due to the slight relaxation of safety factors in DNV-RP-F105 which is more consistent with the fatigue criterion in DNV-OS-F101.

It may be concluded that the new DNV-RP-F105 allows longer spans than GL 14 whereas using the old CN 30.5 is not recommended as it does not reflect the updated knowledge and data about response model in general and onset of cross-flow VIV in particular.
Fatigue lives using different codes (different response model and safety factors, same frequencies)
10000 RP-F105 GL 14 CN30.5 50 years 1000

Fatigue life (years)

100

10

1 40 45 50 55 60 Span Length (m) 65 70 75 80

Figure 4-1 - Comparison between fatigue lives using different codes, i.e. different response models with associated sets of safety factors.

When scouring causes free spans, a trench will develop underneath the span. The effect of such a trench is accounted for in DNV-RP-F105. Its effect on the fatigue lives is clearly illustrated in Figure 4-2 where the same spans have been analysed with and without a trench. The trench will influence on the cross-flow response, the cross-flow induced in-line and the in-line direct wave action. It is seen that for the design life of 50 years, the allowable span length increases from 60m to 67m as the trench depth reaches 1.5m. Another effect accounted for in the new DNV-RP-F105 is the stiffening effect of concrete coating. In this case, with a relatively thick coating and a thin steel wall, the relative increase in total bending stiffness of the pipe cross-section is estimated to 30%. As seen from Figure 4-3, this increases the allowable span length from 60m to 64m. The concrete coating will have a beneficial effect on the natural frequencies as the total bending stiffness increases. However, since most field joint coatings do not provide the same stiffening effect, they will give rise to bending concentration in case of vibrations caused by VIV. Therefore, a stress concentration of the same magnitude as the stiffening effect is conservatively assumed for the fatigue calculations caused by VIV. In case of direct wave loading, the load and therefore the bending moment, will be the same in the girth welds irrespective of the stiffening effect of the coating. These aspects is clearly shown in Figure 4-3 where the force model (direct wave action) dominates the fatigue life for span lengths shorter than 50m while the VIV is dominating for longer spans.

Effect of trench
10000 no trench trench - 0.7m trench - 1.5m 50 years 1000

Fatigue life (years)

100

10

1 40 45 50 55 60 Span Length (m) 65 70 75 80

Figure 4-2 - Effect of pipe in trench.

Fatigue lives using RP-F105
10000 no concrete stiffnening concrete stiffnening 50 years 1000

Fatigue life (years)

100

10

1 40 45 50 55 60 Span Length (m) 65 70 75 80

Figure 4-3 - Concrete coating stiffening effect on fatigue life.

One significant update in the new DNV-RP-F105 is the concept of effective span length and the associated boundary condition coefficients. This update will of course have no effect, if the structural response quantities are established by use of finite element analysis. However, in many projects, the simplified beam expressions are used, and standard practice until now has been to apply some sort of pinned-fixed boundary condition.
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A comparison between the natural frequencies found by FE analyses and the new DNV-RP-F105 estimates using simplified boundary conditions, is shown in Figure 4-4. The FE analyses were performed at a real 40 pipeline case and observed free spans using the measured seabed configuration and span lengths. The following comments to the FE analyses apply: No concrete coating stiffening effect was accounted for. A low added mass coefficient, Ca = 1.1-1.2, was applied. Unrealistic low dynamic soil stiffness (300 kN/m/m) was applied. In order to compare the results, the same added mass and soil stiffness were used in the DNV-RPF105 expressions for the horizontal frequency as in the FE analyses. As seen from the figure, the boundary condition for a free span may be considered as close to pinned-pinned for short spans. When the span length increases, the effective boundary condition approaches asymptotically the fixed-fixed case. This tendency is also shown in Figure 4-4 and is confirmed by the FE analyses of the real spans. The reason for the small scatter shown in the FE results is partly different gaps and thereby different added masses, and partly the fact that all the real spans are not idealistic single spans on a flat seabed but may be affected by small neighbourhood spans. Anyway it may be concluded from this comparison that the updated expressions in DNV-RPF105 provides, for this case, natural frequencies of the same accuracy as a non-linear finite element analysis.
Horisontal frequencies
0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

fixed-fixed

f0
0.3 RP-F105 span 0.2

0.1

pinned-pinned

0.0 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Figure 4-4 - Natural frequencies from FE analyses compared to estimates based on simplified boundary conditions.

As most free span designs and assessments are performed using some sort of simplified, beam theory expressions, a final code comparison has been performed using the structural response quantities associated with the different codes. For CN 30.5, the classical pinned-fixed boundary condition is used.

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The maximum allowable span lengths for a design life of 50 years are listed in Table 4-1. It is seen that the new Recommended Practice allows significantly longer spans than Guideline no 14 due to the updates discussed previously in this paper.
Table 4-1 Maximum allowable span lengths according to different codes.
Code Max span length (m)

CN 30.5 GL 14 DNV-RP-F105 no trench, no concrete DNV-RP-F105 in trench, concrete stiffening

54 47 60 69

4.2 South-East Asian Case

A gas pipeline linking an onshore processing plant in an island to the onshore facility in South-East Asian waters was recently assessed. The pipeline had been in service since early 1990s. During the recent survey, numerous free spans were revealed. The seabed in this area is generally flat and is predominantly soft sandy clay and for some stretches, the seabed is made of medium dense sand. Especially when the soil type is prone to scouring and is known to be fairly mobile, the free spans may arise and disappear with time. Apart from the problems related to free spans arising from scouring, large velocity, internal solitary waves have been reported in these geographical locations. DNV performed an independent free span assessment for the critical spans, and those that have low residual fatigue life were identified. Maximum allowable span lengths were presented for varying gaps, so that the span analysis results can be used in conjunction with time histories of free span evolutions. Sensitivity studies for the environmental data were performed, due to the lack of comprehensive long-term distributions. Based on the sensitivity study, areas that require better environmental data were recommended. The analyses revealed the extent of free span rectification that was required. Spans which require immediate rectification and areas where monitoring/ surveys would provide a safe alternative were identified. The pipeline has an outer diameter of 711mm, a wall thickness of 16mm and is of X65 steel. Fatigue analyses were carried out on both the hotspot on the outer surface and the inner surface. Appropriate coating modelling, concrete stiffness factors were applied along the KP ranges. Operational pressures and temperatures were used to assess the fatigue damage that has been accumulated so far. To assess the effect of variation in gaps under the pipe, sensitivity analyses were performed on the fatigue lives. Analyses for all cases were performed with gaps on 0.2m, 0.5m and 1.0m, and the results are plotted in Figure 4-5. The effect of pipe-in-trench was also studied for the gap of 0.5m and the results are shown in Figure 4-6. The trench depth is referred to as d in the plots. These plots can also be used in future scenarios when there are new free spans evolving due to scouring and the gap varies with time, assuming that there is no change in the operational parameters and environmental conditions.

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F1 air - Effect of gap

1000 Gap=0.2m Gap=0.5m Gap=1.0m Design Life=30years

100 Fatigue life (years) 10 1 70 72 74 76 78 80 Span length (m) 82 84 86 88 90

Figure 4-5 - Effect of span gap

F1 air - Effect of trench
1000 Gap=0.5m, d=0.0m Gap=0.5m, d=0.8m Gap=0.5m, d=1.1m Design Life=30years

100 Fatigue life (years) 10 1 70 72 74 76 78 80 Span length (m) 82 84 86 88 90

Figure 4-6 - Results of different trench depths underneath the pipe span.

If the design of the free spans were based on the traditional on-set criterion, the maximum allowable span length would be much shorter.

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5 MULTI-MODE VIV TESTS AND DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS

A test program was performed at Marintek to gain experience and data with respect to VIV response of long free spans, Ormen Lange (2001, 2002). The test programme is described by Sreide et al (2001). Analysis of the results, Nielsen (2002), concluded in an outline of how the interaction between multiple cross-flow (CF) and in-line (IL) VIV modes could be treated for long free spans. On this basis, project specific recommendations for long free spans have been developed, built on the design methodology of DNV-RP-F105. Figure 5-1 shows the set-up of the test rig with its removable clamp support enabling changes of the span length. The model scale was 1: 17, and a Froude scaling law was applied. The bending stiffness of the test pipe reflected the bending stiffness of the Ormen Lange pipe, while the tension in the pipeline was adjusted in the tests by a pre-tensioning device. The L/D span length ratio was varied between 145 and 350.

Figure 5-1 VIV test rig with clamp supports.

By towing the test rig through water in a ship model tank, the VIV were measured for different flow velocities or reduced velocities as used in the response models. During towing both the strain at different locations were measured by strain gages and the vertical and horizontal displacements were measured by use of video. The multi-mode behaviour of the long free spans can be seen vividly in the model test results conducted at Marintek, Ormen Lange (2001, 2002). In Figure 5-2 the multi-mode behaviour of the free span with an L/D ratio of 215 is shown. The Y-Displ and Z-Displ denote the displacement in the inline and the cross-flow directions. Figure 5-2 is based on the displacement measurements during the time window of 454 and 464 seconds. The first two cross-flow modes and the first three inline modes are active. Similar multi-mode behaviour has been observed in several test cases. In principle, there is no limitation to the span length in DNV-RP-F105. The basic cross-flow VIV response is, however, based on single mode response and hence focuses on short to moderately long spans. For cases of very long spans exposed to high current velocities for long duration, the multimode behaviour for inline, cross-flow and cross-flow induced inline needs to be taken into account. DNV-RP-F105, applies so-called response models to predict the vibration amplitudes due to vortex shedding. These response models are empirical relations between the reduced velocity and the nondimensional response amplitude. The response models are based on test data and a few hydrodynamic and structural parameters.
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Figure 5-2 - Multi-mode behaviour of free spans in model tests

As the flow velocity increases and thereby the shedding frequency reaches one of the natural frequencies of the span, the span starts to vibrate and the vortex shedding along the span get correlated by the vibration of the span. In this way the vortex shedding frequency and the VIV get locked-in with the natural frequencies of the span over a certain range of flow velocities. The response frequency may differ from the calm water natural frequency, Nielsen (2002) and Larsen et al (2001). This is related to change in added mass. As the vibration amplitude of the span increases, the motion of the pipe will change the relative flow velocity and will therefore at a certain limit have influence on the vortex shedding. In this way the VIV could be considered as a displacementcontrolled load. The response models given in the DNV-RP-F105, were studied for its applicability on long free spans. Based on the results from the model VIV tests conducted at Marintek, the response models which needed to be modified were identified. It was found that the inline response model given in DNV-RP-F105, was indeed very adequate and was able to capture the inline response behaviour of long free spans, even for higher modes. The cross-flow response model required some modifications, in order to capture the observed VIV response behaviour. Two cross-flow response model options were proposed and tested for their suitability. Fatigue analysis has also been performed on the stress series measured in the model tests and this has been successfully used to verify and validate the presented computational procedure. Uncertainty in the model test based fatigue estimates has been assessed and sensitivity studies have been carried out. Reasons for deviations and potential problem areas for long free spanning pipelines have been identified. The main findings from the VIV tests and development of a project specific design guideline may be summarised as: Response models for cross-flow have been identified and examined. DNV-RP-F105 in-line response model is found to be sufficient and applicable.
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Added mass effect has been included to calculate the response cross-flow frequency. A design guideline has been proposed and the computational method has been verified and validated against model test performed at Marintek. The ratio between fatigue estimates based on the computational method and fatigue estimates based on model test results agree reasonably well and the deviations are within a quantifiable range. For more details reference is made to Mrk et al (2003).

6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

A short introduction to the main updates in this new DNV-RP-F105 for free spanning pipelines has been given. The following observations and comments apply: The updated response models and associated safety factors represent a slight relaxation compared to Guideline 14. The new DNV-RP-F105 accounts for the effect of a trench underneath the spanning pipe. This effect is found to be significant and should be accounted for when free spans develop due to scouring. For pipelines with a thick concrete coating, the effect on the estimated fatigue life due to the stiffening effect of the coating is found to be significant. A new set of boundary condition coefficients has been established which provides good estimates for the structural response of single free spans on a relatively flat seabed. A comparison between different codes revealed that the new DNV-RP-F105 allows significantly longer spans than other older codes. Based on recent tests on long spans, guidelines for multimode response have been established and will be included in future revisions of the DNV-RP-F105. The main conclusion from the case study presented in this paper is that the new DNV-RP-F105 is recommended to be used for free span assessment as it represents state-of-art in free span design and will minimise the costs related to seabed correction and span intervention work.

REFERENCES
Blevins, R.D., Flow-Induced Vibrations, Krieger Publishing Company, Florida, 1994. DNV, Rules for Submarine Pipeline Systems, Det Norske Veritas, 1981. DNV-OS-F101, Submarine Pipeline Systems, Det Norske Veritas, 2000. DNV Guidelines No. 14, Free Spanning Pipelines, 1998. DNV-RP-F105, Free Spanning Pipelines, March 2002. DNV-RP-C203, Fatigue Strength Analysis of Offshore Steel Structures, October 2001. DNV CN 30.5, Environmental Conditions and Environmental Loads, March 2000. Hansen, E.A., Bryndum, M., Mrk, K., Verley, R., Sortland, L. and Nes, H., Vibrations of a Free Spanning Pipeline Located in the Vicinity of a Trench, OMAE2001. Larsen, C.M., Vikestad, K., Yttervik, R. and Passano, E., 2001: Empirical model for analysis of vortex induced vibrations Theoretical background and case studies. Proceedings of 20th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, OMAE 2001, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2001.
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Mrk, K.J., Fyrileiv, O., Verley, R., Bryndum, M., Bruschi, R. Introduction to the DNV Guideline for Free Spanning Pipelines, OMAE98, Lisboa, July 6-9, 1998. Mrk, K.J., Fyrileiv, O., Chezhian, M., Nielsen, F.G., Sreide, T. Assessment of VIV Induced Fatigue in Long Free Spanning Pipelines, 22nd International conference on Offshore Mechanics and Artic Engineering, (OMAE2003-37124), Cancun, Mexico, June 8-13, 2003. Ness, O. and Verley, R.L.P, Strain Concentrations in Pipelines with Concrete Coating: An Analytical Model, Proc. of the 14th Int. OMAE Conf., 1996. Nielsen, F.G., A suggested procedure for estimating Vortex Induced Vibrations for long free spanning pipelines, Norsk Hydro Report, 2002. Nielsen, F.G., Kvarme, S.O. and Sreide, T., VIV response of long free spanning pipelines, 21st International conference on offshore mechanics and artic engineering, (OMAE), Oslo, Norway, 2002. Ormen Lange project Ormen Lange 3D model tests, Marintek report 512326.00.01, March, 2001. Ormen Lange project Ormen Lange 3D Phase II model tests, Marintek report 512352, July, 2002. Sumer B.M. & Fredse, J. Hydrodynamics around Cylindrical Structures, Advanced Series on Ocean Engineering Volume 12, World Scientific, London, 1997. Sreide, T. Paulsen G. and Nielsen, F.G. Parameter Study of Long Free Spans, Proc. Of the Eleventh (2001) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference (ISOPE) Stavanger, Norway, 2001 Verley, R.L.P and Ness, O., Strain Concentrations in Pipelines with Concrete Coating: Full Scale Bending Tests and Analytical Calculations, Proc. of the 13th Int. OMAE Conf, 1995. - o0o -

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