Numerical modeling of local scour below a piggyback pipeline in currents

Local scour below a piggyback pipeline in steady currents is investigated numerically. A piggyback pipeline comprises two pipelines that are arranged in the so-called piggyback configuration with the small pipeline being located directly above the large pipeline. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the transport equation for suspended sediment concentration are solved using a finite element method. The bed scour profile is determined through solving sediment mass conservation equation. The numerical model is validated against experimental data available in literature on scour below a single pipeline. Computations are carried out for the diameter ratio [the small pipe diameter (d) to the larger one (D)] of 0.2 and the gap (G, between the two pipelines) to the large diameter ratio G/D ranging from 0.0 to 0.5. It is found that the flow and the scour profiles are influenced significantly by the gap ratio.