Stability of pipeline in curved route during offshore pipeline installation

The pipeline stability during laying for a curved route has been investigated with various offshore pipeline projects which were successfully performd recently. During a curved laying operation, it is very difficult to keep pipeline in the designed route if pipeline being in contact with seabed doesn't create enough resistant force against the external force. To maintain the designed configuration in a curved route, a sufficient lateral force created by the pipeline/soil interaction should be provided The lateral force is a function of submerged pipeweight, contact length, soil property, embedment size of pipe, etc. For a decided pipe for the project, the laterral resistance required to maintain the route is dependent on the external force, contact length, soil property and embeded depth. This paper introduces how to control the laybarge to keep the curved route and shows how to estimate the allowabel stable radius for variouse pipelines during laying in a curved route.