Proposed OHTC Formula for Subsea Pipelines Considering Thermal Conductivities of Multi-Layered Soils

Abstract

Subsea pipelines are designed to transport mixtures of oil, gas, and their associated impurities from a wellhead that can be in excess of approximately 100 °C, while the external temperature may be approximately 5 °C. Heat can be lost from a subsea pipeline containing a high-temperature fluid to the surrounding environment. It is important that the pipeline be designed to ensure that the heat loss is small enough to maintain sufficient flow from the unwanted deposition of hydrate and wax, which occurs at a critical temperature of about 40 °C. Therefore, it is essential to estimate the heat loss of a subsea pipeline in various circumstances. In previous studies, overall heat transfer coefficient(OHTC) formulas were considered only for a single soil type. Thus, it is difficult to characterize the OHTC of the actual seabed with multiple soil layers. In this paper, an OHTC formula that considers multi-layered soils is proposed for more precise OHTC estimation.

Document type: Article