Assessment of offshore pipelines using dynamic lateral stability analysis

• The development of a dynamic lateral stability analysis package is reviewed.
• Relationship between pipeline significant weight and lateral displacement is studied.

On-bottom stability analysis of offshore pipelines is a challenging task and the design based absolute static equilibrium often leads to a conservative pipe of heavy weight. Dynamic lateral stability analysis to predict the pipeline behavior under a certain sea state is preferred by the pipeline engineering community. This paper reviews the development of a new dynamic lateral stability analysis package. A systematic study of on-bottom stability analysis is then conducted using the developed package. The analysis results are compared with authoritative design recommended practice and summarized as guidelines in form of figures and tables. This allows a quick estimation of required pipeline weight in design.