Three-Level Safety Evaluation of Suspended Sections of Underwater Buried Pipelines

The uneven riverbed, and the impact and scour actions by water flow, make the underwater buried pipeline vulnerable to exposure and suspension, and endanger the pipeline operation safety. To investigate the mechanical properties and failure behaviors of the suspended pipeline section under water impact, according to the failure mechanism of the pipeline, the statics and dynamics analyses of the pipeline were carried out, and the graded safety evaluation technique for the buried pipeline with suspended sections was presented. First, a “static strength safety evaluation under static loads” (level 1) was conducted according to the mechanical features and stress states of the pipeline’s suspended section. Second, a “resonance safety evaluation under dynamic loads” (level 2) was conducted based on the correlation between the natural vibration frequencies of the suspended pipeline and the vortex emission frequencies of water flow. Finally, the periodical change process of the pipeline’s alternating stress was studied to solve the fatigue damage and fatigue life of the pipeline, and the “fatigue strength safety evaluation under dynamic loads” (level 3) was performed. Thus, a 3-level safety assessment procedure for pipelines with suspended sections was proposed. The stabilizing measures for pipelines of poor safety were suggested, and through an example, a specific calculation process was provided. The work serves as a theoretical guide for the safety evaluation of the suspended sections of underwater buried pipelines.