Spectrum Pipelines module
Spectrum-Upheaval Buckling
Upheaval buckling assessment of trenched and buried pipelines to DNV-RP-F110, from backfill suitability to the soil and rock cover required.
Spectrum-Upheaval Buckling assesses upheaval buckling (UHB) of trenched and buried pipelines in accordance with DNV-RP-F110.
As a first step, the module assesses whether the soil is suitable to mitigate upheaval buckling. Undrained global and local failure checks establish whether it can be used as backfill.
In very weak clay with a low undrained shear strength, deep-seated failure may be an issue. The soil fails locally: the clay flows around the pipe, which slowly moves upwards until it is eventually exposed. Such soil cannot be used as backfill and must be educted out of the trench. Some soil slurry still remains after eduction, so the module calculates the rock cover height needed to mitigate UHB for a range of slurry layer depths.
- Where soil alone is enough to mitigate upheaval buckling, the minimum depth of soil cover is recommended
- Where it is not, a combination of rock cover over soil backfill is calculated for each out-of-straightness (OOS) height
- A soft foundation check for potential downward failure, with the additional rock cover needed to mitigate it
Codes and standards
- DNV-RP-F110
Demo, licence or question
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Book an online demo, ask for licence pricing or put a technical question to the engineers behind Spectrum Pipelines.
- Developed by SK Eng. in association with Z-Subsea Energies
- Help windows with expected values for every input
- Results on one concise screen you can print or save