Journal of Engineering Mathematics 38: 1331, 2000.

2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods:

applications for cable and pipeline laying

D. M. STUMP and G. H. M. VAN DER HEIJDEN

Department of Mathematics, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia QLD 4072, Australia.
e-mail: dms@maths.uq.z.an

Received 11 November 1998; accepted in revised form 20 May 1999

Abstract. The geometrically exact theory of linear elastic rods is used to formulate the general three-dimensional
problem of a twisted, clamped rod hanging under gravity and subject to buoyancy forces from a fluid. The resulting
boundary-value problem is solved by the method of matched asymptotic expansions. The truncated analytical
solution is compared with results obtained from a numerical scheme and shows good agreement. The method is
used to consider the near-catenary application of a clamped pipeline.

Key words: rod theory, matched asymptotic expansions, boundary layers, catenary, heavy cables, pipelines,
buoyancy forces

1. Introduction

The problem of a long, twisted rod hanging under gravity occurs in a variety of industrial
applications, such as pipeline laying, cable systems, and conveying. This paper considers a
rod of arbitrary sag which is subject to clamped boundary conditions at the two ends and has
also had twist inserted between the two ends. The objective is to develop a mathematical model
for the three-dimensional stiffened catenary (including both gravity and buoyancy forces) and
to solve the equations by means of matched asymptotics as well as numerical techniques.
In order to motivate a specific application, we idealise a pipeline being laid by the so-called
J-lay method from a barge on to the sea floor a distance D below, as shown in Figure 1. The
pipeline is held clamped on deck of the vessel at an adjustable but fixed angle 1 , with the
sea surface, and approximately assumes the shape of a catenary. However, under the action
of the wind the barge can undergo a displacement and yaw, which causes the cable to adopt
a non-planar shape. This effect is included in the analysis in a quasi-static way through the
prescription of the surface position and the angle 1 .
It is important to note at the outset that the example shown in Figure 1 is illustrative and
is intended to place this work in an industrial setting. It is not our intention to provide a
comprehensive model of all the practical issues, such as the S-lay configuration or the use
of stingers associated with pipeline laying and other industrial technologies. This is a detailed
subject, and a more complete discussion of some of the difficulties associated with pipeline
laying can be found in Brown and Elliott [1].
The problem of a clamped hanging rod has an extensive history in the applied mechan-
ics literature. The shallow-sag problem is a prototype example in solid mechanics of the
method of matched asymptotic expansions for linear equations (e.g. Nayfeh [2, pp. 387
415], Kevorkian and Cole [3, pp. 37117]. The deeply sagged problem and the presence of
14 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

Figure 1. A pipeline being laid from a barge.

twist insertion complicates the analytical formulation and produces nonlinear boundary-layer
equations. Despite the obvious importance, the problem of the deeply sagged rod hanging
under gravity has a much more limited history of study.
Several papers in the literature deal with boundary layers in planar deep, stiffened catenar-
ies. Plunkett [4] has attempted a matched asymptotic expansion for planar problems involving
drill strings and hanging cables without twist. However, as Rienstra [5, pp. 99108] has
pointed out, in the formulation of the boundary-layer problem Plunkett linearises his Equation
14, which produces an inner-layer solution that is good only for small angular deflections from
the horizontal, while the outer layer has large angular deflections. Consequently, the matching
procedure is inaccurate. Dixon and Rutledge [6] perform the same analysis for the pipelaying
problem and propagate this mistake. Konuk [7] attempts to correct the two-dimensional work
in Plunkett [4], but continues to make the inner-layer solution mistake. Wolfe ([8] and [9]),
uses the full three-dimensional Cosserat theory of rods to formulate the planar problem for
a wide class of constitutive laws. He proves the existence of solutions, but does not obtain
explicit solutions for any boundary-value problem.
There have also been numerical studies of the three-dimensional problem within the in-
dustrial context. Konuk [7] and [10], studies the three-dimensional pipelaying problem nu-
merically, but considers only dead-load boundary conditions (i.e. prescribed end torque). The
shortcomings of this approach have been pointed out by Brown and Elliot [1] who also treat
the more realistic case of rigid boundary conditions (i.e. prescribed end rotation).
This study is an extension of work by Stump and Fraser [11] on the planar convection
of fabric strips under gravity and low tension to the three-dimensional hanging cable. This
paper makes two contributions: first, it gives the general formulation of the three-dimensional
problem including twist, buoyancy, and general clamped boundary conditions; second, the
leading-order nonlinear boundary-layer equation is solved exactly and matched to the outer
solution for arbitrarily large deflections from the horizontal. The analytical expressions are
compared with the results of numerical calculations and show good agreement.
This study is organised as follows. In Section 2, the mathematical formulation is developed
and the key singular perturbation parameter is identified. In Section 3, the asymptotic analysis
for both the inner and outer layers is developed and then matched by use of the notion of an
intermediate length scale. In Section 4, the asymptotic results are compared to a sample of
numerical calculations obtained from a stiff-equation solver. Section 5 closes the study with
some final remarks.
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 15

2. Mathematical formulation

The large deflection theory of linear elastic rods is used to model the general problem of a rod
hanging under gravity and in the presence of buoyancy forces from a surrounding fluid. The
rod is assumed to be circular in cross-section, to be inextensible and unshearable, and to have
a straight untwisted stress-free reference state.
The arclength parameter s for a rod of length L is measured from one end of the rod, and
the vector function R(s), with components (X, Y, Z), describes the position of the centre line
of the rod relative to a Cartesian co-ordinate frame {i, j , k} chosen such that the gravitational
acceleration points in the j direction.

2.1. T HE GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The development of the equations governing the inextensible, flexible rod can be found in a
number of references (e.g. Love [12, pp. 381396]; Antman [13, pp. 259323]; Champneys,
van der Heijden, and Thompson [14]). The system of equations is:

0
T R 0 + V 0 mg j + F = 0,

0
QR 0 + M 0 + R 0 V = 0,
R 0 R 0 = 1,
(1)
R 0 V = 0,


M = B R 0 R 00 ,
Q = KN 0 ,

where ( )0 denotes differentiation with respect to arclength s. The various physical quantities
within Equation (1) are: the tension T ; the shear force V ; the weight per arclength of the rod
mg (m is mass per arclength and g is the gravitational acceleration); the buoyancy force per
arclength F ; the twisting moment Q; the bending moment M; the bending stiffness B = EI ;
the torsional stiffness K = GJ ; and the rate of material twist N 0 . The constants G and E are,
respectively, the shear modulus and Youngs modulus. I is the second moment of area and J
is the polar moment of inertia. For a circular cross-section rod it is straightforward to show
that B and K are related by

K 1
= , (2)
B 1+
where is Poissons ratio.
The buoyancy force, which acts perpendicular to the tangent of the rod, has been con-
sidered for the planar rod by Pedersen [15], and is adapted for the three-dimensional rod in
Appendix A. The buoyancy force is given by:

F = mf g[j (R 0 j )R 0 + (D R j )R 00 ] , (3)

where mf is the mass of the displaced fluid per arclength of the rod. For a cable hanging in
air, mf is often negligible in comparison to m, the mass density of the rod. However, for the
pipeline application shown in Figure 1, mf can be close to m.
16 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

It is worth pointing out that, despite the appearance, Equation (1) consists of only 11
independent equations due to the inextensibility constraint Equation (1)3 which implies that
all derivatives of R have only two independent components.
The integration of Equation (1) requires the specification of the 10 geometric boundary
conditions

R(0) = A0 , R 0 (0) = B 0 ,
(4)
R(L) = A1 , R 0 (L) = B 1 ,

(B 0 and B 1 are unit vectors and thus have only two independent components) and an addi-
tional equation involving the twisting moment Q. In order to find this last condition, first note
that the formation of the scalar product of R 0 with Equation (1)2 gives Q0 = 0, which implies
that Q is an unknown constant along the rod. There are two possibilities for specifying the
final boundary condition:
1. Specified torque. The value of the constant Q is prescribed. This is a dead load situation.
2. Specified rotation. The values of all three Euler angles (, , ) shown in Figure 1 are
prescribed. In order for this to be consistent with a constant twisting moment Q along the
rod, it is necessary to keep track of the rotation of the rod about its axis along the length
of the rod. In Appendix B an Euler angle formulation is used to derive the boundary
condition
Z L
R0 j

1 = 2 T w 0 R 0 R 00 j ds, (5)
0 1 (R j )
2

where T w = N 0 L/(2 ) is the total twist, and the Euler angle 1 describes the rotation of
the rod about the tangent in the top-end clamp. As explained in Appendix B, under normal
conditions we have 1 = 0.
Thus, for rigid loading, 1 is imposed, Q = 2 KT w/L is unknown, and Equation
(1) has to be solved in conjunction with Equation (5). For this, an iterative scheme may
be used in which the total twist T w is first guessed and successively updated by use of
Equation (5).
The clamped boundary conditions presented in Equation (4) represent a fixed-grip situation
where the vectors R 00 at the ends s = 0 and s = L are computed as part of the solution process.
In the pipe-laying process shown in Figure 1, the components of the tangent vector B 0 and
the total rod length L are not known a priori and must be found as part of the solution process
by asserting that the components of the vector R 00 (0) vanish. Alternatively, the procedure
presented below can be used to formulate a simply-supported boundary condition for R 00 (0)
at the sea floor with the rod length L being determined by a lift-off condition, such as the
vanishing of the vertical component of the tangent. However, since simply-supported bound-
ary conditions generate rapid changes in the vector R 00 , while clamped boundary conditions
generate rapid changes in the tangent vector R 0 , the former do not have as much effect on the
position vector R as the latter due to the higher order of differentiation. Therefore, we confine
our interest in this study to clamped boundary layers, which are more severe and potentially
more likely to cause crimping.
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 17

To proceed with the analysis, dimensionless quantities (denoted by overbars) are formu-
lated by reference to the length of the rod, L, and the weight of the buoyant rod, m(1 )gL,
as the characteristic length and force, where the parameter
mf
=
m
is the ratio of the fluid to rod densities (the inverse of the specific gravity). The resulting
dimensionless quantities are given by

s F K R
s = , F = , = , R = ,
L m(1 )g B L
M Q
M = , Q = , N 0 = LN 0 , (6)
m(1 )gL 2 m(1 )gL2
T V D
T = , V = , D = .
m(1 )gL m(1 )gL L

These are substituted in Equation (1) to provide the dimensionless system (overbars are
dropped hereafter)

0
T R 0 + V 0 j /(1 ) + F = 0,

0
QR 0 + M 0 + R 0 V = 0,
R 0 R 0 = 1,
(7)
R 0 V = 0,


M = 2 R 0 R 00 ,
Q = 2 N 0 ,

where the dimensionless bending rigidity parameter

B
2 =
m(1 )gL3

is typically << O(1). The dimensionless buoyancy force Equation (3) has the form

F = [j (R 0 j )R 0 + (D R j )R 00 ]. (8)
1
The dimensionless forms of the geometric boundary conditions are still given by Equation
(4) (except the L is replaced with 1), while the final twist boundary condition is given either
by

Q = 2 (2 T w), (9)

or by Equation (5). In many applications, T w is O(1), so Q is O( 2 ), which is assumed to

be the case in the remainder of this study. This completes the formulation of the governing
equations.
18 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

2.2. I NTEGRATION OF THE EQUATIONS

The integration of the governing equations is accomplished as follows. First, Equation (8) is
substituted in (7)1 , and the result is then integrated to obtain
 
D (R j )R 0
T + R 0 + V sj + C = 0, (10)
1 1

where C is a constant vector to be determined as part of the problem. Next, the formation of
the vector product of R 0 with Equation (7)2 and the elimination of Q and M via Equations
(9) and (7)5 gives

V = 2 2 T w(R0 R 00 ) R 000 R 0 (R 00 R 00 ) , (11)

where use has also been made of the relationship R 0 R 000 = R 00 R 00 obtained from the
differentiation of Equation (7)3 . The formation of the scalar product of R 0 with Equation (10)
yields an expression for the tension T ,

(R j D)
T = s(R 0 j ) C R 0 + , (12)
1
which is inserted with Equation (11) in Equation (10) to obtain

s(R 0 j ) C R 0 R 0 sj + C
 (13)
+ 2 2 T w(R0 R 00 ) R 000 R 0 (R 00 R 00 ) = 0.

This is an extraordinary equation for the shape of the rod, since the buoyancy parameter has
dropped out explicitly; it does, of course, still figure in the nondimensionalisation and in the
rod tension Equation (12). The next section discusses the asymptotic analysis needed to solve
Equation (13).

3. Asymptotic analysis

The solution of Equation (13) follows the classical methods of singular perturbation theory
Kevorkian and Cole [3, pp. 36117]. Away from the ends of the rod (i.e. the outer region), the
tension force T is an O(1) quantity, while the other forces and moments are at most O().
Near the clamped ends, the tangent vector may change rapidly, depending on the boundary
conditions, over the scaled distance = s/ so that T and V are O(1), in which case there
is a boundary layer in the inner region. The solution of Equation (13) in the inner and outer
regions is considered separately, and the solutions are then patched together by matching with
an intermediate co-ordinate.

3.1. T HE OUTER SOLUTION

The quantities R(s) and C are expanded in regular perturbation series in the parameter :

R(s) = R 0 (s) + R 1 (s) + 2 R 2 (s) + ,

(14)
C = C 0 + C 1 + 2 C 2 + ,
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 19

which are substituted in Equation (13) to obtain a succession of equations in powers of , the
first two of which are

O(1) : s(R 00 j ) C 0 R 00 R 00 sj + C 0 = 0,
O() : s(R 00 j )R 01 + s(R 01 j )R 00 (C 1 R 00 )R 00 (15)
(C 0 R 01 )R 00 (C 0 R 00 )R 01 + C1 = 0 .

The use of the inextensibility condition Equation (7)3 provides the additional constraints that
R 00 R 00 = 1 and R 00 R 01 = 0.
The O(1) solution is obtained as follows. The expressions R 0 = x0 i + y0 j + z0 k and
C 0 = cx i + cy j + cz k are inserted into Equation (15)1 in order to produce a set of component
equations that are solved by elementary means. The O(1) solution is
( ) ( )
c s c
x0 = |cx | sinh1 p + |cx | sinh1 p
y y
+ X0 ,
cx2 + cz2 cx2 + cz2
p q
y0 = cx2 + (cy s)2 + cz2 + cx2 + cy2 + cz2 + Y0 , (16)

cz
z0 = x0 + Z0 ,
cx

where = cx /|cx |, and (X0 , Y0 , Z0 ) are additional constants of integration. This is the three-
dimensional catenary lying in a plane making an angle = arctan(cz /cx ) with the (i, j )
co-ordinate plane. The constants (cx , cy , cz ) are still unknown and will be determined in the
matching process. We can already observe, however, that solutions come in pairs (concave-
up or concave-down) as the x0 and z0 components of Equation (16) are invariant under a
simultaneous sign change of cx and cz .
The solution to the O() equation is found from the formation of two successive vector
products of R 00 with Equation (15)2 , which yields:

R 00 (R 00 R 01 ) s(R 00 j ) C 0 R 00 + R 00 (R 00 C 1 ) = 0 . (17)

The use of the triple vector product identity and inextensibility gives

R 00 (R 00 C 1 ) C 1
R 01 = . (18)
s(R 00 j ) C 0 R 00

The solution of Equation (18) for R 1 = x1 i +y1 j +z1 k and C 1 = dx i +dy j +dz k is obtained
through the use of Equation (16) along with elementary integrations to yield

R 1 (s) = (|cx |cz dz + cz2 dx )I1 (s) |cx |dy I2 (s) + dx I3 (s) i

+ (cx2 dy + cz2 dy )I1 (s) (cz dz + |cx |dx )I2 (s) j
 (19)
+ (|cx |cz dx + cx2 dz )I1 (s) cz dy I2 (s) + dz I3 (s) k
+X1 i + Y1 j + Z1 k,
20 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

where (X1 , Y1 , Z1 ) are integration constants and

cy s
I1 (s) = p ,
(cx2 + cz2 ) cx2 + (cy s)2 + cz2
1
I2 (s) = p ,
cx2 + (cy s)2 + cz2
!
cy s 1 cy s
I3 (s) = p sinh p .
cx2 + (cy s)2 + cz2 cx2 + cz2

3.2. T HE INNER SOLUTION

The solution to Equation (13) may have boundary layers at either end. We derive the form
of the boundary layer solution near s = 0 and subsequently adapt this result to obtain the
solution near s = 1.
Within the boundary layer near s = 0 the tangent vector changes rapidly on O(s/), so we
introduce the scaled co-ordinate = s/ and expand the position vector with the series

R(s) = A0 + R( ) = A0 + R 0 ( ) + 2 R 1 ( ) + . (20)

In the boundary layer, Equation (13) is rewritten in terms of R( ) as

n 0 0
o 0 000 0 00 00
(R j ) C R R R R (R R )
0 00
+2 T w(R R ) j + C = 0, (21)
0
where R = dR/d . The insertion of Equations (14)2 and (20) in Equation (21) provides a
hierarchy of equations in powers of , the first two of which are
0 0 000 0 00 00
O(1) : (C 0 R 0 )R 0 + R 0 + R 0 (R 0 R 0 ) = C 0 ,
0 0 0 0 0 0
O() : (R 0 j )R 0 (C 1 R 0 )R 0 (C 0 R 1 )R 0
0 0 000 0 00 00 0 00 00
(22)
(C 0 R 0 )R 1 R 1 R 1 (R 0 R 0 ) 2R 0 (R 1 R 0 )
0 00
j + 2 T w(R 0 R 0 ) + C 1 = 0.

It is noted that for O(1) values of T w, twist appears first in the O() equation.
0
The solution to the O(1) equation is obtained by forming the vector product of R 0 with
Equation (22)1 to get
0 00
(R 0 R 0 )0 = (R 0 C 0 )0 , (23)

and then integrating this, we have

0 00
R 0 R 0 = R 0 C 0 + D 0 , (24)
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 21

where D 0 is a constant integration vector. Equation (24) is the equation for the planar elastica
whose solution has been considered by Coyne [16].
In accordance with the principle of least degeneracy (Van Dyke [17, pp. 8687]), it is
expected that as , R 0 decays asymptotically to a straight line with the form R 0
0 0 0
R0 (), where R 0 () is a still undetermined constant vector. In order to find R 0 (), we
0
take the limit of Equation (24) as , which requires that R 0 () = C 0 in order for
0
the right side of Equation (24) to remain bounded. Also note that the tangent vector R 0 in the
boundary layer starts out equal to B 0 at = 0. Thus, we expect the inner solution R 0 to lie in
the plane spanned by B 0 and C 0 since twist has no effect at this order of approximation. It is
convenient to define a set of basis vectors (e , e , N ) by

C0 B0 N
N = , e = , e = e N , (25)
|C 0 | |B 0 N |

so that R 0 lies in the (e , N ) plane. Thus, we expect the inner solution to have the form

R 0 ( ) = [( ) ]e + h( )N , (26)

where, as , the components ( ) and h( ) approach the values

0, h , 0 0, h0 1,

and is restricted to the range 0 6 6 . The introduction of Equation (26) into Equation
(24) and the taking of the limit gives

D 0 = |C 0 |e , (27)
00
since R 0 0. Next, the elimination of D 0 from Equation (24) and the formation of the vector
0
product with R0 yields the equation
00 0
h i
R 0 = R 0 R 0 N e |C 0 |, (28)

which is further simplified with the introduction of the rescaled co-ordinate

d d
r = |C 0 |, = |C 0 | , (29)
d dr

to obtain

d2 R 0 dR 0 h i
= R 0 N e
. (30)
dr 2 dr
Equation (30) provides the separated component equations:

d2 dh d2 h d
2
= , 2
= . (31)
dr dr dr dr
22 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

Straightforward integration and use of the boundary conditions as r , along with the
inextensibility constraint |dR 0 /dr| = |C 0 |, gives
s
d 1 2 dh 2
= , = + . (32)
dr |C 0 | 4 dr |C 0 | 2

Further integration yields the solution

 
2 r
= sech + r0 ,
|C 0 | |C 0 |
  (33)
r 2 r
h = h0 + tanh + r0 ,
|C 0 | |C 0 | |C 0 |
where r0 and h0 are integration constants. The rescaled co-ordinate r is eliminated from these
expressions, which are then substituted in Equation (26) to obtain the leading-order inner-layer
solution
  p  
2
R 0 ( ) = sech |C 0 | + r0 e
|C 0 |
  p 
2
+ h0 + tanh |C 0 | + r0 N . (34)
|C 0 |
The integration constants (r0 , , h0 ) are determined by the boundary conditions at = 0,
that is, R 0 (0) = 0 and dR 0 (0)/d = B 0 , which give the formulas
1/2
s
1 1 |B 0 C 0 | 2
1
r0 = sech 1 ,

2 2 |C 0 |2
(35)
2 2
= sech r0 , h0 = tanh r0 .
|C 0 | |C 0 |
In order to obtain a solution for the boundary layer near s = 1, we introduce the scaled
co-ordinate = (1 s)/ and the expansion

R(s) = A1 + R( ) = A1 + R 0 ( ) + 2 R 1 ( ) + . (36)

An analysis similar to the one above gives

  p  
2
R 0 ( ) = sech |j C 0 | + r1 e
|j C 0 |
  p 
2
+ h1 + tanh |j C 0 | + r1 P , (37)
|j C 0 |
where the local vector system near s = 1 is given by
j C0 B1 P
P = , e = , e = e P . (38)
|j C 0 | |B 1 P |
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 23

The integration constants (r1 , , h1 ) are determined by the boundary conditions at = 0,

that is, R 0 (0) = 0 and dR 0 (0)/d = B 1 , which give the formulas
1/2
s
1 1 |B 1 (j C 0 )|2
1
r1 = sech 1 ,

2 2 |j C 0 |2
(39)
2 2
= sech r1 , h1 = tanh r1 .
|j C 0 | |j C 0 |

3.3. M ATCHING THE INNER AND OUTER SOLUTIONS

The matching between the inner and outer solutions is conducted with the method of interme-
diate co-ordinates (Kevorkian and Cole [3, pp. 36117]). At the left-hand boundary, the ar-
clength s and the boundary-layer co-ordinate are both expressed in terms of an intermediate
co-ordinate () by

s = , = ,

where () is such that () and /() are both o(1), and is fixed. The inner solution at
s = 0 has the form:
 
R(s) = A0 + R 0 + , (40)

while the outer expansion becomes

R(s) = R 0 ( ) + R 1 ( ) + . (41)

The matching process

n   o
lim A0 + R 0 + = lim {R 0 ( ) + R 1 ( ) + } (42)
0 0

leads to the O(1) and O() conditions:

A0 = R 0 (0),
 
2 (43)
e + h0 N = R 1 (0).
|C 0 |

Note that the first equation determines the constants (X0 , Y0 , Z0 ).

A similar matching process between the outer solution and the inner solution near s = 1
gives the O(1) and O() equations:

A1 = R 0 (1),
 
2 (44)
e + h1 P = R 1 (1).
|j C 0 |
24 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

Equation (44)1 provides a set of three nonlinear equations for the determination of C 0 . There
are two solutions: a tensile solution (concave up) with cx < 0 and a compressive solution (con-
cave down) with cx > 0. Since typically the cx < 0 solution is the physically realised one, only
this solution is considered in the present study. Once C 0 is known, (r0 , h0 , , r1 , h1 , )
are found from Equations (35) and (39). Equations (43)2 and (44)2 then provide six linear
equations for the components of C 1 and the integration constants (X1 , Y1 , Z1 ). Higher-order
constant terms (e.g. C 2 in the C expansion of Equation (14)2 ) can be obtained by solving for
additional terms in the inner and outer solutions and continuing with the matching process.
This is a difficult task since the higher order inner-layer equations (e.g. Equation (22)2 ) can
no longer be solved analytically.

4. Comparison with numerical results

In this section we compare the truncated analytical solution constructed in the previous section
with results obtained by numerically integrating Equation (13). We will only consider the case
of specified rotation, in which Equation (5) is enforced. The boundary conditions at the water
surface s = 1 are then naturally expressed in terms of Euler angles. The angles defined in the
Appendix B are as follows: 1 := (1) is the stern angle; 1 := (1) the yaw angle of the
ship; and 1 := (1) the rotation angle of the rod in the clamp. With these definitions, B 1 in
Equation (4) can be written in terms of the Euler angles as

B 1 = cos 1 cos 1 i + sin 1 j + sin 1 cos 1 k. (45)

For simplicity we take A0 = 0, B 0 = i. Solution of the problem then requires the specification
of the following six parameters:

a1 , a2 , a3 , 1 , 1 , 1 , (46)

where (a1 , a2 , a3 ) are the dimensionless components of A1 .

The system is solved numerically by using COLNEW, a slightly modified version of the
general-purpose collocation code COLSYS (Ascher et al. [18]) for solving boundary-value
problems in ordinary differential equations. Once a solution to the problem is found, the
bending moment and tension can be obtained from the Equations (7)5 and (12), respectively,
and the shear force, subsequently, from Equation (10). Although the system of equations is
stiff for small , COLNEW experiences no problems with as small as 0001, provided a
sufficiently fine mesh is used. Convergence problems when integrating the stiff system of
equations for a twisted pipeline have been reported by Konuk [10].
Figure 2 shows a comparison of the analytical results with the numerical calculations for
a1 = 075,a2 = 02, a3 = 01 and 1 = 0, 1 = /2 and 1 = 0 for = 005. (From a
mathematical viewpoint, this is not a particularly small value of and has been chosen so that
the differences between the approximate and numerical solutions can be seen readily.) The
solid line shows the results of numerical calculations, while the long dash line shows the two-
term outer solution, and the dotted lines show the one-term inner solutions. The agreement is
very reasonable and becomes better for smaller values of , as shown in Figure 3 for = 001.
We note that the total twist T w is numerically found to be 14025/(2 ) and 13286/(2 ) for
the = 005 and = 001 cases, respectively, thus confirming our assumption that T w is
O(1).
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 25

Figure 2. (a) Side view and (b) top view of the outer (dashed), inner (dotted) and numerical (solid) solution of the
hanging rod (a1 = 075, a2 = 02, a3 = 01, 1 = 0 , 1 = 90 , 1 = 0 , = 005, = 075).

Figure 3. (a) Side view and (b) top view of the outer (dashed), inner (dotted) and numerical (solid) solution of the
hanging rod (a1 = 075, a2 = 02, a3 = 01, 1 = 0 , 1 = 90 , 1 = 0 , = 001, = 075).

In applying the analysis to the laying of a clamped pipeline, it is natural to assume an initial
near-catenary shape for the pipeline (a true catenary is not attainable as long as is non-zero),
which is the situation within the industrial context. The number of independent boundary-
value parameters is then reduced by two. In order to see this recall that the dimensional
catenary in the (i, j ) plane, with rectangular co-ordinates (X, Y ), has the form (see, e.g.,
Meriam and Kraige [19, pp. 305307])
 
T0 mgX
Y = cosh 1 ,
mg T0
mgs
(s) = arctan , (47)
T0
 2
T0 T2
L =
2
+ D 20 2 ,
mg mg
where: T0 is the horizontal component of the tension at the top of the catenary, and D is the
water depth. The various quantities in Equation (47) are evaluated at the end point s = L and
equated with the various boundary conditions, which gives the dimensionless equations
 
a1
a2 = cosh 1 ,

26 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

Figure 4. Near-catenary solutions: (a) side view and (b) top view of the outer (dashed), inner (dotted) and
numerical (solid) solution of the hanging rod (a2 = 2a1 , a3 = 01, 1 = 90 , 1 = 0 , = 005, = 075).

Figure 5. Near-catenary solutions: (a) side view and (b) top view of the outer (dashed), inner (dotted) and
numerical (solid) solution of the hanging rod (a2 = 2a1 , a3 = 01, 1 = 90 , 1 = 0 , = 001, = 075).

1
1 = arctan , (48)

(a2 + )2 = 1 + 2 ,
where is the dimensionless end tension given by
T0
= . (49)
mgL
It follows that by specifying one of the quantities a1 , a2 or 1 (or any relationship among
them), all three (and ) are fixed.
Figures 4 and 5 show near-catenary solutions satisfying a2 = 2a1 (giving 1 = 8030 ,
a1 = 0421760, a2 = 0843519, = 0170995), a3 = 01 and 1 = 90 , for = 005 and
= 001. Again, the results of the numerical calculations are shown by solid lines, while the
long-dash line shows the two-term outer solution and the dotted lines show the one-term inner
solutions. The agreement becomes excellent for the smaller value = 001.

5. Concluding remarks

The method of matched asymptotic expansions has been used to solve the general problem
of a clamped bent and twisted three-dimensional rod hanging under gravity and buoyancy
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 27

Figure 6. The rod element used for calculating the buoyancy force.

forces. Both fixed twisting moment and fixed rotation boundary conditions are considered.
The leading-order term of the inner expansion and the first two terms of the outer expansion
are obtained in closed form. To this level of approximation twist does not play a role. The
analytical formulation gives good agreement with numerical solutions of the full system of
equations. The analysis is also applied to the near-catenary shapes that occur for the laying of
a clamped heavy cable or a pipeline.

6. Appendix A: The buoyancy force

The buoyancy force acting on an element of the three-dimensional rod is derived from a
modification of Pedersens analysis [15]. Figure 6 shows a rod element of length ds in a fluid
that exerts pressures on the lateral sides. To be consistent with Figure 1, gravity points in the
j direction. The Frenet basis system {R 0 , n = R 00 /|R 00 |, b = R 0 n} is shown on the lower
cross-sectional face of the element, and the angular co-ordinate measures the inclination of
points along the lateral surface of the rod from the normal direction n (positive is inclined
towards the binormal b). For clarity, the length of the element ds has been exaggerated relative
to the rod radius a. Within the fluid, the pressure distribution is given by

p = f g(D y) , (A1)

where: y is the vertical co-ordinate of a point in the fluid, and f is the fluid density.
In order to calculate the buoyancy force, the pressure distribution must be integrated over
the lateral sides of the element. Since the rod element is bent with a radius of curvature 1/|R 00 |,
the infinitesimal surface area on the compressive side of the element is slightly smaller than
that on the tensile side. The surface area of the small shaded region in Figure 6 is given by

dA = a[1 a|R 00 | cos ] d ds

and the outward normal to the element is

H = n cos + b sin .

The total buoyancy force acting on the rod element is obtained by evaluating the integral
Z
F ds = p H dA , (A2)
28 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden

which must be carried out using the y co-ordinates of the points on the lateral face of the rod
element (as described by in Figure 6) in Equation (A1). It is straightforward to show that
the y co-ordinate around the lateral perimeter of the rod element can be written

y = R j + a(n j ) cos + a(b j ) sin ,

where the vertical co-ordinate of the centre line of the rod element is given by Y = R j . The
substitution of the various terms in (A2) provides the formula
R 2
F = f ga 0 (D R j a(n j ) cos a(b j ) sin )
(A3)
(n cos + b sin )(1 a|R 00 | cos ) d ,

which, after evaluation of the integral and the introduction of mf = f a 2 yields

F = mf g[(n j )n + (b j )b + (D R j )R 00 ] . (A4)

Equation (3) is obtained by using the vector identity

j = (n j )n + (b j )b + (R 0 j )R 0

in Equation (A4).

7. Appendix B: The twist formulation

In order to apply displacement-controlled boundary conditions, a local frame of so-called

directors {d 1 , d 2 , d 3 } is introduced at each point along the rod. The director d 3 points along
the rod tangent, that is, d 3 = R 0 , while d 1 and d 2 form an arbitrarily oriented set of mutually
orthogonal vectors in the cross-section of the rod. The Euler angles , , relate the local
director frame to the fixed frame {i, j , k} as follows:
d 1 = ( sin cos + cos sin sin ) i sin cos j

+ (cos cos + sin sin sin ) k,

d 2 = (sin sin + cos cos sin ) i cos cos j (B1)

+ ( cos sin + sin cos sin ) k,

d 3 = cos cos i + sin j + sin cos k.

Note that the two angles and completely determine the orientation of the tangent vector
d 3 and, after an integration, the centreline of the rod. The third angle is required to specify
the orientation of the other two directors (d 1 , d 2 ). A fully rigid loading condition is obtained
by specification of the three Euler angles at both ends of the rod.
The parametrisation of Equation (B1) in terms of Euler angles is such that it respects the
actual application of the three angles in practice. Specifically, if the transformation matrix in
Equation (B1) is denoted by R, then we have the decomposition

R = R R R , (B2)
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 29

where R represents a counterclockwise rotation about k through an angle , R represents a

clockwise rotation about j through an angle , and R represents a counterclockwise rotation
about d 3 through an angle (see Figure 1). By the nature of the problem, at the top end of the
clamped rod only the first two angles will normally be imposed so that the angle is zero. We
now derive an equation for which imposes the zero-angle boundary condition.
We start by noting that the rate of change of the director frame can be written

d 0i = u d i (i = 1, 2, 3), (B3)

where u = R 0 R 00 = 1 d 1 + 2 d 2 + 3 d 3 is the curvature vector expressed in terms of

the director basis at a rod location. The use of Equation (B1) in Equation (B3) provides the
relations

0 = 1 cos 2 sin ,
0 = (1 sin + 2 cos ) / cos , (B4)
0 = 3 + tan (1 sin + 2 cos ) ,

for the rates of change of the Euler angles. The information contained in Equations (B4)1 and
(B4)2 is effectively already contained in Equation (1), so we need to be concerned only with
the equation for . Now note that

1 = u d 1 = (R 0 R 00 ) d 1 = R 00 d 2 ,
(B5)
2 = u d 2 = (R 0 R 00 ) d 2 = R 00 d 1 ,

and that 3 = N 0 . Equations (B1) and (B5) then allow Equation (B4)3 to be rewritten as
 
0 = N 0 + tan (R 00 k) cos (R 00 i) sin . (B6)

The use of Equation (B1)3 yields the expressions

R0 k
sin = R 0 j , sin = p ,
1 (R 0 j )2
(B7)
p R0 i
cos = 1 (R 0 j )2 , cos = p ,
1 (R 0 j )2

which allows the right-hand side of Equation (B6) to be expressed in terms of Cartesian system
variables as
R0 j

0 = N 0 0 R 0
R 00
j. (B8)
1 (R j )2

Integration along the length of the rod gives

30 D.M. Stump and G.H.M. van der Heijden
Z L
0 R0 j

1 = N L 0 R 0 R 00 j ds, (B9)
0 1 (R j )
2

where 1 = (L) is the twist angle imposed at the top end of the rod, and the origin of the
angle has been chosen such that (0) = 0 (this fixes a direction for d 1 , and hence d 2 , in
the rods cross-section). Note that (R 0 R 00 ) j is the curvature of the rod about j , so for
a rod deforming in the (i, j ) plane, the accrued angle 1 along the entire length of the rod
equals the total twist. It is important to note that the above analysis assumes that does not go
through /2, at which angle a singularity occurs. For a heavy cable or pipeline hanging under
gravity, this assumption is normally satisfied.

Nomenclature

s, L arclength co-ordinate, rod length; i, j , k Cartesian basis vectors;

, , Euler angles; D depth of immersion fluid;
X, Y, Z Cartesian components of the position R(s),R 0 (s) position and tangent vectors;
vector;
T,Q tangential tension and twisting mo- V,M shear force and bending moment vec-
ment; tors;
m, g rod mass density per arclength and F the buoyancy force per arclength;
gravitational acceleration;
N 0, T w the rate of material rotation and the B, K bending and torsional rigidities;
total twist along the rod;
E, G, Youngs modulus, shear modulus, I, J the second area moment and polar
and Poissons ratio; moment of inertia;
n, b principal normal and binormal vec- mf , the linear mass density of displaced
tors; fluid, the ratio of mass densities
mf /m;
A0 , A1 position boundary conditions; B0, B1 tangent boundary conditions;
, the dimensionless bending rigidity C, C n constant force vector and compo-
and the ratio of torsional rigidity to nents on O(n );
bending rigidity;
R n (s) O(n ) position vector in the outer x0 , y0 , z0 components of R 0 ;
layer;
cx , cy , cz components of C 0 ; signum(cx );
X0 , Y0 , Z0 integration constants for R 0 (s); angle between catenary plane and the
x-axis;
x1 , y1 , z1 components of R 1 ; dx , dy , dz components of C 1 ;
X1 , Y1 , Z1 integration constants for R 1 (s); , R( ) scaled co-ordinate and position vec-
tor for boundary layer near s = 0;
R n ( ) O( n ) position vector in the inner e , e , N local basis vectors at s = 0;
layer;
( ), h( ) components of R 0 ( ); D 0 , r0 , , h0 integration constants for R 0 ( );
r rescaled boundary layer co-ordinate; , R( ) scaled co-ordinate and position vec-
tor for the boundary layer near s =
L;
R n ( ) O(n ) position vector in the inner e , e , P local basis vectors at s = L;
layer;
r1 , , h1 integration constants for R 0 ( ); (), intermediate co-ordinates for match-
ing the layers;
 Matched asymptotic expansions for bent and twisted rods 31
a1 , a2 , a3 components of the dimensionless A1 ; , T0 parameters for near-catenary solu-
tions;
, a angle between normal and binormal p, f , y fluid pressure, volume density of the
vectors, rod radius; fluid, vertical co-ordinate in the fluid;
H , dA outward lateral normal and infinitesi- d1, d2, d3 material director basis;
mal surface area of rod element;
u the curvature vector; 1 , 2 , 3 components of the curvature vector in
the director basis.

Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the Australian Research Council Large Grant and Interna-
tional Project Programmes as well as by a UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council Fellowship. Thanks to J. M. T. Thompson, A. R. Champneys, and W. B. Fraser for
helpful discussions. The comments of S. W. Rienstra are also gratefully acknowledged.

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