Development of Experimental Methods for Ice-Pipe-Soil Interactions
Development of Experimental Methods for Ice-Pipe-Soil Interactions
Offshore developments in northern regions are faced with the unique issues presented by iceberg interactions with surface and subsea infrastructure. Surface laid subsea pipelines and cables are especially susceptible to Ice-Pipe-Soil interactions due to their vast layouts and the difficulty of deploying mitigation measures. Both physical and numerical modelling tools were developed to assess the risk presented by such interactions. Physical modelling techniques were developed for small, medium and large scale testing, each designed for parameter verification for numerical analysis. To facilitate the evaluation, the problem was subdivided as the Ice-Pipe and Pipe-Soil interactions. To assess the Ice-Pipe interaction a Rapid High Intensity Testing Apparatus (RHITA) was developed, inverting the problem and driving full scale pipes or cables over lab grown iceberg keels. This apparatus measures ice failure loads and localized pipe pressures. The Pipe-Soil interaction is influenced predominately by the resistance of the soil to pipe penetration and was studied using a geotechnical centrifuge. A new centrifuge longbox capable of supporting tests on significant pipe lengths was developed. Using this new tool, a series of tests were developed to assess pipe strains and tensions during an ice pipe interaction. An additional series of high rate penetration centrifuge tests were conducted to measure the soil response. The data collected from this suite of tests contributed to the development and verification of numerical models, reassembling the various aspects of the Ice-Pipe-Soil interaction to assist with analysis and design.
Shawn Thompson; Gerry Piercey; Jeff Barrett; Andrew MacNeill
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Session 1: New facilities, new equipment, and measuring techniques
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-131