Pipeline Stream Crossings

Abstract

The design of stream crossings for pipelines appears to have been a rather controversial engineering topic in the gas and oil industry for some time. This is quite natural since pipelines are such a vital link in the transportation of the petroleums. A stream crossing on such a pipeline is always a potential source of trouble and many of the designs adopted have not proved to be as satisfactory as it was hoped they would be. Therefore, it is little wonder that there should be quite a divergence of opinions still in existence concerning best methods of design of these vital structures. The purpose of this paper is to present still another discussion of this subject for your consideration, this time from the viewpoint of an engineer outside of the industry. It is built up primarily from the basic concepts of mechanics and hydrodynamics together with what empirical information could be obtained upon the previous behaviour of various types of pipe line crossings.