The failure of a cracked submarine pipeline subjected to the underwater explosion shock is probabilistically analyzed in this paper. A simple procedure is presented, in which the Monte Carlo method is used to estimate the bending stress distribution, and an analytical method is used to estimate the fracture failure probability. The results obtained from the present method are compared with those obtained from direct Monte Carlo simulations. Both are in good agreement. From the studies in this paper, it is concluded that the most dangerous case is that the crack is perpendicular to the tension stress. The influence of crack model uncertainty is significant. FOSM method is also used, which greatly underestimates the failure probabilities for the problem studied in this paper.

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
Submarine Pipeline, Underwater Explosion Shock, Fracture Failure, Crack, Probabilistic Risk Analysis, cracks, underwater vehicles, fracture, failure (mechanical), explosions, shock wave effects
Topics:
Failure, Fracture (Materials), Probability, Shock (Mechanics), Underwater pipelines, Pipelines, Fracture (Process), Stress
1.
Zong, Z., Lam, K. Y., and Liu, G. R., 1998, “Numerical Simulations of Scattering of an Underwater Shock Wave by a Half Cylinder Fixed on the Seabed,” Proc., 3rd High Performance Computing Asia, Singapore, 3, pp. 983–988.
2.
Zong
,
Z.
,
Lam
,
K. Y.
, and
Liu
,
G. R.
,
1999
, “
Probabilistic Risk Prediction of Submarine Pipelines Subjected to Underwater Explosion Shock
,”
ASME J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng.
,
121
, pp.
251
–
254
.
3.
Cole, R. H., 1948, Underwater Explosion, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 228–269.
4.
Newman, J., 1978, Marine Hydrodynamics, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 362–373.
5.
Hellen, K., 1985, Introduction to Fracture Mechanics, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, NY.
6.
Gdoutos, E. E., 1990, Fracture Mechanics Criteria and Applications, Kluwer Academic Publisher.
7.
Chen, E. P., 1977, “Elastodynamic Crack Problems,” Mechanics of Fracture, 4, Sih, C. C., ed., Noordhoff International Publisher, The Netherlands,pp. 1–58.
8.
Baker
,
B. R.
,
1962
, “
Dynamic Stresses Created by a Moving Crack
,”
ASME J. Appl. Mech.
,
29
, pp.
449
–
458
.
9.
Ichikawa, M., 1988, Structural Reliability, Kaibundo Publishing House, Japan, pp. 79–92.
10.
Melchers, R. E., 1987, Structural Reliability, Analysis and Prediction, Ellis Horwood Limited, New York, NY, pp. 1–73.
11.
Sundarajan, C. R., ed., 1995, Probabilistic Structural Mechanics Handbook, An International Thomson Publishing Company, New York, NY, pp. 27–52, pp. 650–683.
Copyright © 2001
 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.