Full Scale Cyclic Fatigue Testing of Dented Pipelines and Development of a Validated Dented Pipe Finite Element Model

Author(s):  
Brock Bolton ◽  
Vlado Semiga ◽  
Sanjay Tiku ◽  
Aaron Dinovitzer ◽  
Joe Zhou

Dents in buried pipelines can occur due to a number of potential causes; the pipe resting on rock, third party machinery strike, rock strikes during backfilling, amongst others. The long-term integrity of a dented pipeline segment is a complex function of a variety of parameters, including pipe geometry, indenter shape, dent depth, indenter support, pressure history at and following indentation. In order to estimate the safe remaining operational life of a dented pipeline, all of these factors must be accounted for in the analysis. The goal of the full scale experimental program described in this paper is to compile a database of full scale dent test results that encompasses many of the dent types seen in the field, including plain dents, dents interacting with girth and long seam welds, and dents interacting with metal loss features, in both the unrestrained and restrained condition. The dents are pressure cycled until a fatigue failure occurs in the dent. Typical data recorded includes indentation load/displacement curves, applied pressures, pipe wall OD strains along the axial and circumferential centerlines, and axial and circumferential dent profiles. The full scale tests are being performed on behalf of PRCI and US DoT. This paper is intended to show the matrix of dents considered to date and present a representative summary of the data recorded. In addition to presenting the full scale test program and resulting data, this paper summarizes ongoing efforts to develop a validated pipeline dent integrity assessment model. The model under development makes use of the aforementioned full scale experimental data, to validate a finite element model of the denting and re-rounding process for a variety of dent scenarios (i.e. depths, restraints, indenter sizes). The paper discusses the efforts under way to develop and validate the finite element model with the goal being to estimate the fatigue life. The paper is an extension of work discussed in a previously presented IPC paper [1].

Author(s):  
Sanjay Tiku ◽  
Vlado Semiga ◽  
Aaron Dinovitzer ◽  
Geoff Vignal

Dents in buried pipelines can occur due to a number of potential causes; the pipe resting on rock, third party machinery strike, rock strikes during backfilling, amongst others. The long-term integrity of a dented pipeline segment is a complex function of a variety of parameters, including pipe geometry, indenter shape, dent depth, indenter support, pressure history at and following indentation. In order to estimate the safe remaining operational life of a dented pipeline, all of these factors must be accounted for in the analysis. The paper discusses the full-scale dent testing being completed to support the development of pipeline integrity management criteria and is a continuation of the work discussed in previous IPC papers [1,2]. The material and structural response of the pipe test segments during dent formation and pressure loading has been recorded to support numerical model development. The full scale experimental testing is being completed for pipe test specimens in the unrestrained and restrained condition using different indentation depths and indenter sizes. The dents are pressure cycled until fatigue failure in the dent. This paper presents typical data recorded during trial including indentation load/displacement curves, applied pressures, strain gauges along the axial and circumferential centerlines, as well as dent profiles. The use of the full-scale mechanical damage test data described in this paper in calibrating and validating a finite element model based integrity assessment model is outlined. The details of the integrity assessment model are described along with the level of agreement of the finite element model with the full scale trial results. Current and future applications of the integrity assessment model are described along with recommendations for further development and testing to support pipeline integrity management.


Author(s):  
Brock Bolton ◽  
Vlado Semiga ◽  
Aaron Dinovitzer ◽  
Sanjay Tiku ◽  
Chris Alexander

Detectable dents in buried pipelines can occur due to a number of potential causes; the pipe resting on rock, third party machinery strike, rock strikes during backfilling. The integrity of a dented pipeline segment is a complex function of a variety of parameters, including pipe geometry, indenter shape, dent depth, indenter support and pressure history at and following indentation. In order to estimate the safe remaining operational life of a dented pipeline, all of these factors must be accounted for in the analysis. The following paper summarizes ongoing efforts to develop a validated pipeline dent integrity assessment model. The model under development makes use of experimental tests to validate a finite element model of the denting and re-rounding process for a variety of dent scenarios (i.e. depths, restraints, indenter sizes). The results of the finite element model are then used in conjunction with the estimated pressure-time history in an integrity assessment procedure to estimate the safe remaining operational life of the pipe segment. The paper presents a discussion of the full scale fatigue tests carried out on dented pipeline segments and the efforts under way to develop and validate a finite element model of the experimental specimens with the goal of estimating the experimental fatigue life.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Muff ◽  
Anders Wormsen ◽  
Torfinn Hørte ◽  
Arne Fjeldstad ◽  
Per Osen ◽  
...  

Abstract Guidance for determining a S-N based fatigue capacity (safe life design) for preloaded connectors is included in Section 5.4 of the 2019 edition of DNVGL-RP-C203 (C203-2019). This section includes guidance on the finite element model representation, finite element based fatigue analysis and determination of the connector design fatigue capacity by use of one of the following methods: Method 1 by FEA based fatigue analysis, Method 2 by FEA based fatigue analysis and experimental testing and Method 3 by full-scale connector fatigue testing. The FEA based fatigue analysis makes use of Appendix D.2 in C203-2019 (“S-N curves for high strength steel applications for subsea”). Practical use of Section 5.4 is illustrated with a case study of a fatigue tested wellhead profile connector segment test. Further developments of Section 5.4 of C203-2019 are proposed. This included acceptance criteria for use of a segment test to validate the FEA based fatigue analysis of a full-scale preloaded connector.


Author(s):  
Dongxu Li ◽  
Brian Uy ◽  
Farhad Aslani ◽  
Chao Hou

Spiral welded stainless tubes are produced by helical welding of a continuous strip of stainless steel. Recently, concrete-filled spiral welded stainless steel tubes have found increasing application in the construction industry due to their ease of fabrication and aesthetic appeal. However, an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of this type of structure is still needed due to the lack of proper design guidance and insufficient experimental verification. In this paper, the mechanical performance of concrete-filled spiral welded stainless steel tubes will be numerically investigated with a commercial finite element software package, through which an experimental program can be designed properly. Specifically, the proposed finite element models take into account the effects of material and geometric nonlinearities. Moreover, the initial imperfections of stainless steel tubes and the form of helical welding will be appropriately included. Enhancement of the understanding of the analysis results can be achieved by extending results through a series of parametric studies based on the developed finite element model. Thus, the effects of various design parameters will be further evaluated by using the developed finite element model. Furthermore, for the purposes of wide application of such types of structure, the accuracy of the behaviour prediction in terms of ultimate strength based on current design codes will be studied. The authors herein compared the load capacity between the finite element analysis results and the existing codes of practice.


Metals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingwen Zhang ◽  
Liming Yu ◽  
Yongchang Liu ◽  
Zongqing Ma ◽  
Huijun Li ◽  
...  

The as-welded sectors of China Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor (CFETR) vacuum vessel (VV) have very tight tolerances. However, it is difficult to investigate the welding stress and distortion without the production of a full-scale prototype. Therefore, it is important to predict and reduce the welding stress and distortion to guarantee the final assembly by using an accurately adjusted finite element model. In this paper, a full-scale finite element model of the 1/32 VV mock-up was built by ABAQUS which is a powerful finite element software for engineering simulation, and three different tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding sequences were simulated to study the effect of welding sequences on the welding stress and distortion. The results showed that the main welding stress happened on the weld zone, and the maximum distortion occurred on the shell near the welding joints between the inboard segment (PS1) and the lower segment (PS4). The inboard segment (PS1), upper segment (PS2), and lower segment (PS4) distorted to inside of the shell perpendicularly, while the equatorial segment (PS3) distorted to outside of the shell perpendicularly. According to the further analysis, the maximum welding stresses in sequence 1, sequence 2, and sequence 3 were 234.509 MPa, 234.731 MPa, and 234.508 MPa, respectively, and the average welding stresses were 117.268 MPa, 117.367 MPa, and 117.241 MPa, respectively, meanwhile, the maximum welding displacements in sequence 1, sequence 2, and sequence 3 were 1.158 mm, 1.157 mm, and 1.149 mm, respectively, and the average welding displacements were 1.048 mm, 1.053 mm, and 1.042 mm, respectively. Thus, an optimized welding sequence 3 was obtained and could be applied to the practical assembly process of the 1/32 VV mock-up.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Luczak ◽  
Simone Manzato ◽  
Bart Peeters ◽  
Kim Branner ◽  
Peter Berring ◽  
...  

This paper presents selected results and aspects of the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research oriented for the experimental and numerical study of the structural dynamics of a bend-twist coupled full scale section of a wind turbine blade structure. The main goal of the conducted research is to validate finite element model of the modified wind turbine blade section mounted in the flexible support structure accordingly to the experimental results. Bend-twist coupling was implemented by adding angled unidirectional layers on the suction and pressure side of the blade. Dynamic test and simulations were performed on a section of a full scale wind turbine blade provided by Vestas Wind Systems A/S. The numerical results are compared to the experimental measurements and the discrepancies are assessed by natural frequency difference and modal assurance criterion. Based on sensitivity analysis, set of model parameters was selected for the model updating process. Design of experiment and response surface method was implemented to find values of model parameters yielding results closest to the experimental. The updated finite element model is producing results more consistent with the measurement outcomes.


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