Submarine sediment density flows and their impact on subsea infrastructure: How far, how fast, how dense?
Event details
| Date | 13.11.2015 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Benoit Spinewine. Senior Engineer, Team Leader Seabed Mobility at Fugro GeoConsulting and Guest Lecturer at Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
With the gradual depletion of nearshore resources and technological advances in oil and gas production, developments are now often located further offshore beyond the continental shelf, in environments of steeper slopes susceptible to mass movement events. The presentation highlights the motivation behind the development of numerical models capable of simulating the dynamic evolution of submarine sediment density flow events from inception to runout, and the implications of the flow dynamics in terms of the level of risk imposed on subsea infrastructure upon impact. At first, the presentation highlights the types of submarine sediment density flows of engineering significance, and discusses some of the key questions that remain to be addressed by further research. It then introduces two depth-averaged, two-dimensional models for debris flow runout that rely on radically different solution methods (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics and the Finite Volume Method). The models can both utilize non-linear rheological soil models, and have the capability to include mechanisms for strength degradation resulting either from strain accumulation or the entrainment of ambient fluid. The two models are cross-validated on an hypothetical test case, and then used to illustrate the effect that soil rheology may have on the flow conditions at the point of impact against a pipeline. It highlights the crucial role of flow viscosity, and more generally, the importance of a proper rheological characterization for the purpose of impact analyses. It also discusses modelling of the dynamic structural response of a pipeline to flow impact, using the finite element suite Sage Profile 3.0. The presentation then discusses ongoing developments aimed at proposing a unified framework for debris flow/turbidity current modelling using a two-layer approach.
Bio : Benoit Spinewine obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, on dam-break induced sediment transport. He then spent two years at the University of Illinois working on submarine turbidity currents. He has tackled the related challenges by combining experimental investigations, specialized numerical techniques, and field applications. He has over 10 years’ experience in applied and fundamental research, has authored 18 journal publications and over 50 communications at specialty conferences and congresses. While maintaining a guest-lectureship at University of Louvain-la-Neuve on coastal & maritime hydraulics and computational methods, he is now mainly applying his expertise on offshore industry projects at Fugro GeoConsulting.
Bio : Benoit Spinewine obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, on dam-break induced sediment transport. He then spent two years at the University of Illinois working on submarine turbidity currents. He has tackled the related challenges by combining experimental investigations, specialized numerical techniques, and field applications. He has over 10 years’ experience in applied and fundamental research, has authored 18 journal publications and over 50 communications at specialty conferences and congresses. While maintaining a guest-lectureship at University of Louvain-la-Neuve on coastal & maritime hydraulics and computational methods, he is now mainly applying his expertise on offshore industry projects at Fugro GeoConsulting.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Brice Lecampion & Katrin Beyer
Contact
- Dr Mário J. Franca, Hydraulic constructions Laboratory, EPFL (LCH)