Asymptotic Behavior of Heavy Column and Riser Stability Boundaries

Columns, marine risers, pipelines, hydraulic columns, and legs of tension leg platforms can be modeled for customary Euler buckling analysis by a single model which, in its most general form, applies to risers. Previous work has shown that numerical algorithms fail to provide stability boundaries for long risers. Asymptotic analyses for long columns have been developed as early as 1941 but the results are either incomplete or incorrect. The goals of this paper are to develop a long-column buckling theory, indicate errors in holding theories, and complete the numerical data available in the literature.