Grant: Engage Plus Grants Program

Vortex-induced vibration of a pipeline is caused when flowing water removes the sediment covering a pipelinethat is buried beneath a watercourse crossing, such as a river or stream. Once a finite length of pipe is fullyexposed, vortices will begin to shed from above and below the pipe in a periodic manner. Vortex sheddinginduces vibrations in the pipeline that can eventually result in its failure, potentially causing significantenvironmental and economic damages. The proposed research project aims to produce an engineering softwaremodel that can predict the risk of pipeline failure due to vortex-induced vibrations. The software tool will bedeveloped through a series of computational fluid dynamics simulations of vortex-induced vibration insubmerged pipelines. The simulations will build a fundamental understanding of the impact of various riverflow conditions and pipeline geometrical parameters on the onset, magnitude, and frequency of vortex-inducedvibration. In particular, the length of the exposed pipe and its distance from the riverbed-which may benon-uniform across its span-on vortex-induced vibration will be investigated. From the simulations, asoftware-based model for predicting the onset, magnitude, and frequency of vortex-induced vibration will bedeveloped to provide engineers a more accurate approach to assessing the risk of pipeline failure at watercoursecrossings. Considering the many pipeline crossings in North America, this research project will translate intosafer environmental conditions and significant cost savings for pipeline maintenance and repair.