Numerical simulation on the dynamic response of submarine pipelines under blast loading

To study the damage mechanism of the blast loading on submarine pipelines, numerical simulation was conducted on the dynamic response of pipelines under blast loading using the finite element software ANSYS/LS-DYNA. Considering the distance from the blast center, the fluid in pipelines and other factors, the pipelines in the following operational modes were simulated respectively, i.e., exposed pipeline with fluid, buried pipeline with fluid, exposed pipeline without fluid and buried pipeline without fluid. The following simulation results were obtained. First, the acting force of blast loading on exposed submarine pipelines is much higher than that on buried submarine pipelines. Second, under the same conditions, pipelines with fluid are more resistant to blast shock than those without fluid. Third, both front side and back side of a pipeline may suffer damage when it is shocked by blast loading. Fourth, the shorter the distance from the blast center is, the higher the vertical acceleration of the submarine pipeline right facing the blast center is, the shorter time it takes to generate peak acceleration and the greater the destructive power on pipelines is. The research results can provide reference for the optimization design, safety construction and operation of submarine pipelines.