Dynamics of a near-surface pipeline tow

Installation of ocean pipeline can involve near-surface towing conditions through waves. This paper presents a method for evaluating the response of the pipeline in waves in order to predict bending stresses. The investigation covers the effects of back tension, towing depth, pipe stiffness and wave frequency. Techniques for determining numerical solutions for the response of the pipeline and the bending moment have been developed and these results compare favourably with the experiments.