Experimental Study on Vortex-Induced Vibrations of Submarine Pipeline Near Seabed Boundary in Ocean Currents

Unlike most previous studies on vortex- induced vibrations of a cylinder far from a boundary, this paper focuses On the influences of close proximity of a submarine pipeline to a rigid seabed boundary upon the dynamic responses of the pipeline in ocean currents. The effects of gap-to-diameter ratio and those of the stability parameter on the amplitude and frequency responses of a pipeline are investigated experimentally with a novel hydro-elastic facility. A comparison is made between the present experimental results Of the amplitude and frequency responses for the pipes with seabed boundary effects and those for wall-free cylinders given by Govardhan and Williamson (2000) and Anand ( 1985). The comparison shows that the close proximity of a pipeline to seabed has much influence on the vortex- induced vibrations of the pipeline. Both the width of the lock-in ranges in terms of V, and the dimensionless amplitude ratio A(max)/D become larger with the decrease of the gap-to-diameter ratio e/D. Moreover, the vibration of the pipeline becomes easier to occur and its amplitude response becomes more intensive with the decrease of the stability parameter, while the pipeline frequency responses are affected slightly by the stability parameter.

Correlation of transport and magnetic critical currents in melt-processed YBa2Cu3O7-δ thick films

Transport critical current measurements have been carried out on melt-processed thick films of YBa2Cu3O7-δ on yttria-stabilized zirconia in fields of up to 8 T both within grains and across grain boundaries. These measurements yield Jc values of ∼3000 A cm-2 at 4.2 K and zero magnetic field and 400 A cm -2 at 77 K and zero magnetic field, taking the entire sample width as the definitive dimension. Optical and scanning electron microscopy reveals that the thick-film grains consist typically of a central "hub" region ∼50 μm in diameter, which is well connected to radial subgrains or "spokes" which extend ∼1 mm to define the complete grain structure. Attempts have been made to correlate the transport measurements of inter- and intra-hub-and-spoke (H-S) critical current with values of this parameter derived previously from magnetization measurements. Analysis of the transport measurements indicates that current flow through H-S grains is constrained to paths along the spokes via the grain hub. Taking the size of the hub as the definitive dimension yields an intra-H-S grain Jc of ∼60 000 A cm-2 at 4.2 K and 0 T, which is in reasonable agreement with the magnetization data. Experiments in which the hub is removed from individual grains confirm that this feature determines critically the J c of the film.

Ocean currents-induced pipeline lateral stability on sandy seabed

Unlike previous mechanical actuator loading methods, in this study, a hydrodynamic loading method was employed in a flow flume for simulating ocean currents induced submarine pipeline stability on a sandy seabed. It has been observed that, in the process of pipeline losing lateral stability in currents, there usually exist three characteristic times: (1) onset of sand scour; (2) slight lateral displacement of pipeline; and (3) breakout of pipeline. An empirical linear relationship is established between the dimensionless submerged weight of pipeline and Froude number for describing pipeline lateral stability in currents, in which the current-pipe-soil coupling effects are reflected. Scale effects are examined with the method of "modeling of models," and the sand particle size effects on pipeline stability are also discussed. Moreover, the pipeline stability in currents is compared with that in waves, which indicates that the pipeline laid directly upon the sandy seabed is more laterally stable in currents than in waves.

The effect of variable currents on internal solitary waves

The effect of variable currents on internal solitary waves is described within the context of a variable coefficient Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation, and the approximate slowly varying, solitary-wave solution of this equation. The general theory which leads to the variable coefficient KdV equation is described; a derivation for the special case when the solitary wave and the current are aligned in the same direction is given in the Appendix. Using further simplifications and approximations, a number of analytical expressions are obtained for the variation in the solitary wave amplitude resulting from variable shear in the basic current or from when the basic current is a depth-independent flow which is a simple representation of a geostrophic current, tidal flow or inertial wave.

One-dimensional improvement and two-dimensional and 3-dimensional treatments for stable oscillation condition, mode structure and power output in high-speed-flow lasers

For high-speed-flow lasers, the one-dimensional and first-order approximate treatment in[1] under approximation of geometrical optics is improved still within the scope of approx-imation of geometrical optics. The strict accurate results are obtained, and what is more,two- and three-dimensional treatments are done. Thus for two- and three-dimensional cases, thestable oscillation condition, the formulae of power output and analytical expression of modesunder approximation of geometrical optics (in terms of gain function) are derived. Accord-ing to the present theory, one-and two-dimensional calculations for the typical case of Gerry'sexperiment are presented. All the results coincide well with the experiment and are better thanthe results obtained in [1].In addition, the applicable scope of Lee's stable oscillation condition given by [1] is ex-panded; the condition for the approximation of gcometrical optics to be applied to mode con-structure in optical cavity is obtained for the first time and the difference between thiscondition and that for free space is also pointed out in the present work.