Transient heat transfer from an offshore buried pipeline during start-up working conditions

The 2D heat transfer from offshore, completely buried pipelines is studied with reference to transient working conditions. In particular, the start-up case is considered (i.e., the case of a pipeline initially at equilibrium with the surrounding soil). Two different start-up cases are investigated: the step-rising case and the smooth-rising case. (In the latter, the steady-state wall temperature is reached in a finite time.) The energy balance equation is written in a dimensionless form and solved numerically by means of a finite element method. The dimensionless temperature field in the soil and the thermal power exchanged per unit length by the pipeline with the soil are determined. A comparison with a simpler one-dimensional model of the phenomenon (“extra-soil layer” approximation) is performed.