Open AccessEvaluation of Tsunami Scouring on Subsea Pipelines
Author(s) -
R. Komata
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.179
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/326/1/012010
Subject(s) - subsea , pipeline transport , seabed , geology , geotechnical engineering , pipeline (software) , marine engineering , environmental science , engineering , oceanography , mechanical engineering , environmental engineering
It is important that subsea pipelines are designed and maintained to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis, especially in earthquake-prone regions such as Japan. Tsunami scouring of the seabed may reduce the amount of soil covering a subsea pipeline, exposing it to harmful wave action. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of a subsea pipeline by calculating the tsunami scouring volume for representative tsunamis via numerical analysis. As a case study, we determined how subsea pipelines in the Kashima-nada sea area, Japan, would be affected. The results obtained indicate that for both a level 2 tsunami and a level 1 tsunami, scouring does not significantly affect the pipeline and no construction is subsequently required to restore the soil cover.