Validation of a Computer Model for Flexible Pipe Crushing Resistance Calculations

Author(s):  
Aline Malcorps ◽  
Antoine Felix-Henry

Several types of laying equipments are used to install flexible pipelines for offshore field developments. These pipelines installation tools apply generally compressive radial forces to hold the pipe suspended weight. The deeper the pipeline has to be laid, the higher is its suspended weight and therefore the higher these radial loads need to be. As each flexible pipe construction is optimized for each field application, a design methodology is necessary to be able to evaluate the radial load acceptable by the flexible pipe. The failure mode associated with this type of loads is an instability thought to be similar to the hydrostatic collapse mode. Therefore an adequate design safety factor has to be considered. The water depth of offshore field developments becoming ever deeper, the resistance of the flexible pipe to installation loads becomes often a driving design criterion. A finite element model to address this type of loading has been developed and improved over the past years. To avoid over-sizing the flexible pipe with current design approach, this finite element model needed to be improved for the latest materials used and for higher crushing loads. To this effect, a new powerful test bench with a crushing load capacity of 1200 tons over one meter has been designed, procured and is now operational. It can handle pipes from 4" to 19" internal diameter. Many types of flexible pipe samples have been tested up to permanent deformation using bi-, tri- and quadri-caterpillar tensioners. The results of these tests have been used to validate a new finite element model using in particular non-linear elasto-plastic material laws. In this paper, several test results will be presented and compared with the calculations. The relevance of different possible design criteria depending on the type of loading regime, the slenderness of the pipe and the number of radially resistant layers, will also be discussed. This new model is operational and allows to optimize the flexible pipe design in particular for ultra-deep water applications down to 2500m or more.

Author(s):  
Eduardo Ribeiro Malta ◽  
Clóvis de Arruda Martins

In order to study the axial compressive behavior of flexible pipes, a nonlinear tridimensional finite element model was developed. This model recreates a five layer flexible pipe with two tensile armor layers, an external polymeric sheath, an orthotropic high strength tape, and a rigid inner core. Using this model, several studies were conducted to verify the influence of key parameters on the wire instability phenomenon. The pipe sample length can be considered as one of these parameters. This paper includes a detailed description of the finite element model itself and a case study where the length of the pipe is varied. The procedure of this analysis is here described and a case study is presented which shows that the sample length itself has no practical effect on the prebuckling response of the samples and a small effect on the limit force value. The postbuckling response, however, presented high sensitivity to the changes, but its erratic behavior has made impossible to establish a pattern.


Author(s):  
Olaf O. Otte Filho ◽  
Rafael L. Tanaka ◽  
Rafael G. Morini ◽  
Rafael N. Torres ◽  
Thamise S. V. Vilela

In the design of flexible pipes, predict the anchoring behavior on end fittings is always challenging. In this sense, Prysmian Surflex has developed a finite element model, which should help the end fitting design as well the prediction of the structural behavior and the acceptable maximum loads. The current model considers that the contact between armor-resin is purely cohesive and has been suitable for the design of end fittings [1] and [2]. But tests and new studies [3] and [4] indicate that only cohesive assumption would not be the best approach. Experimental data from prototype tests also show that the current model would not predict acceptable results for loads higher than those used in previous projects. This document will describe a study developed considering the friction and thermal contraction, instead of the cohesive phenomenon in the anchoring behavior analysis. Small scale tests were conducted in order to understand the anchoring relation between the resin and the wire used in the tensile armor. For this purpose, a special test device was developed to simulate an enclosure system. A parametric study was also performed to identify the cooling temperatures, coefficients of friction and contact properties parameters taken from small scale tests. The finite element model considers the thermal effects during exothermic curing. Using the new parameters obtained, a second model was developed. This model consists of only one real shaped bended wire inside an end fitting cavity. To validate the model, samples were tested on laboratory according anchoring design. The results of this round of tests were studied and corroborate the argument that use friction and thermal effects is better than use only the cohesive condition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 553 ◽  
pp. 769-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.A. Flores-Johnson ◽  
J.G. Carrillo ◽  
R.A. Gamboa ◽  
Lu Ming Shen

In this work, a 3D finite-element model of the ballistic impact of a multi-layered plain-woven aramid fabric style 720 (Kevlar®129 fibre, 1420 denier, 20×20 yarns per inch) impacted by a 6.7-mm spherical projectile was built at the mesoscale in Abaqus/Explicit by modelling individual crimped yarns. Material properties and yarn geometry for the model were obtained from reported experimental observations. An orthotropic elastic model with a failure criterion based on the tensile strength of the yarns was used. Numerical predictions were compared with available experimental data. It was found that the finite-element model can reproduce the physical experimental observations, such as the straining of primary yarns and pyramidal-shaped deformation after perforation. The permanent deformation of fabric targets predicted by the numerical simulations was compared with available experimental results. It was found that the model fairly predicted the permanent deformation with a difference of about 21% when compared with experiments.


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.


2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinglai Dang ◽  
Philemon C. Chan

This work demonstrates the feasibility of using a composite blast shield for hardening an overhead bin compartment of a commercial aircraft. If a small amount of explosive escapes detection and is brought onboard and stowed in an overhead bin compartment of a passenger aircraft, the current bins provide no protection against a blast inside the compartment. A blast from the overhead bin will certainly damage the fuselage and likely lead to catastrophic inflight structural failure. The feasibility of using an inner blast shield to harden the overhead bin compartment of a Boeing 737 aircraft to protect the fuselage skin in such a threat scenario has been demonstrated using field tests. The blast shield was constructed with composite material based on the unibody concept. The design was carried out using LS-DYNA finite element model simulations. Material panels were first designed to pass the FAA shock holing and fire tests. The finite element model included the full coupling of the overhead bin with the fuselage structure accounting for all the different structural connections. A large number of iterative simulations were carried out to optimize the fiber stacking sequence and shield thickness to minimize weight and achieve the design criterion. Three designs, the basic, thick, and thin shields, were field-tested using a frontal fuselage section of the Boeing 737–100 aircraft. The basic and thick shields protected the integrity of the fuselage skin with no skin crack. This work provides very encouraging results and useful data for optimization implementation of the blast shield design for hardening overhead compartments against the threat of small explosives.


2010 ◽  
Vol 455 ◽  
pp. 521-524
Author(s):  
Yong Tang ◽  
Bang Yan Ye ◽  
X.F. Hu ◽  
Qiang Wu

This paper studies drilling force of pore for hard-cutting material based on theoretical and experimental investigation during pore drilling process. A coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model of metal pore drilling process was established. Some key techniques such as material model, chip separation and damage criteria and dynamic mesh self-adapting technology in the finite element simulation of metal cutting process were discussed in details. The paper simulated dynamically the chip formation of the twist drilling process in which rigid plastic material model was selected for workpieces and thermal rigid models for tools. The results indicate that the proposed finite element model is not only correct but also feasible in the prediction of the variations of drilling force and torque with amount of feed.


Author(s):  
José Renato M. de Sousa ◽  
Carlos Magluta ◽  
Ney Roitman ◽  
Tatiana V. Londoño ◽  
George C. Campello

In this work, the response of a 2.5″ flexible pipe to combined and pure axisymmetric loads is studied. A set of experimental tests was carried out and the results obtained are compared to those provided by a previously presented finite element model. The pipe was firstly subjected to pure tension. After that, the response to torsion superimposed with tension combined or not with internal pressure and the response to internal pressure combined with tension were investigated. In all these cases, the induced strains in the tensile armors were measured. Moreover, the axial elongation of the pipe was monitored in the pure tension test, whilst the twist of the pipe was measured when torsion was imposed and the axial reaction force was monitored when internal pressure was applied. The experimental results obtained agreed very well with the theoretical estimations indicating that the response of the pipe to tension and internal pressure is linear, whilst its response to torsion is nonlinear due to friction between layers.


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