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The critical location for fatigue damage in Steel Catenary Riser’s (SCR’s) often occurs within the Touchdown Zone (TDZ), where cyclic interaction of the riser with the seabed takes place. Riser-fluid-soil interaction at the TDZ is a complex phenomenon. In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique is used to investigate the velocity field and suction forces during riser-fluid-soil interaction for a two-dimensional cross section of 0.10 m diameter SCR at TDZ. Numerical simulation shows that the suction forces at the bottom of the riser are high enough to pull the clay upward when it departs from the seabed during the heave action. The influence of suction and water on trench formation mechanism is discussed.

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