A Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of the Bending Behavior of Unbonded Flexible Pipes

Author(s):  
Tatiana Vargas-Londoño ◽  
José Renato M. de Sousa ◽  
Carlos Magluta ◽  
Ney Roitman

Due to its compound cross-section, the prediction of the structural response of flexible pipes to loads such as their self-weight, internal and external pressure, movements imposed by the floating system and environmental loads such as currents, waves and wind is quite complex. All these loads generate stresses and strains in the cross section of the pipe that have to be properly evaluated in order to ensure integrity of the line. Research has been done on the local behavior of flexible pipes under combined axisymmetric loads as well as under bending loads. However, there is a lack of research combining both axisymmetric and bending loads, as also in the study of the strains in the tensile amour layers of the pipes, aspects which are important for the calibration of theoretical models to predict such behavior. Based on that, this study aims to evaluate the local behavior of flexible pipes under combinations of axisymmetric (tension, and internal pressure) and bending loads via a series of experimental tests in a 9.13″ I.D pipe. In the experimental tests, the behavior of the pipe was studied for three load combinations: i) bending combined with tension; ii) bending combined with internal pressure; and iii) bending combined with tension and internal pressure. Based on these tests, the authors obtained the strains in the tensile armor layer, axial elongation due to tension, axial reaction forces due to internal pressure, and deflection due to bending. These measurements were used to calibrate a theoretical model devoted to simulate the pipe’s response, getting accurate results for stiffness and stresses of the pipe in each scenario.

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Mohajer Rahbari ◽  
Mengying Xia ◽  
Xiaoben Liu ◽  
J. J. Roger Cheng ◽  
Millan Sen ◽  
...  

In service pipelines exhibit bending loads in a variety of in-field situation. These bending loads can induce large longitudinal strains, which may trigger local buckling on the pipe's compressive side and/or lead to rupture of the pipe's tensile side. In this article, the post-buckling failure modes of pressurized X65 steel pipelines under monotonic bending loading conditions are studied via both experimental and numerical investigations. Through the performed full-scale bending test, it is shown that the post-buckling rupture is only plausible to occur in the pipe wall on the tensile side of the wrinkled cross section under the increased bending. Based on the experimental results, a finite element (FE)-based numerical model with a calibrated cumulative fracture criterion was proposed to conduct a parametric analysis on the effects of the internal pressure on the pipe's failure modes. The results show that the internal pressure is the most crucial variable that controls the ultimate failure mode of a wrinkled pipeline under monotonic bending load. And the post-buckling rupture of the tensile wall can only be reached in highly pressurized pipes (hoop stress no less than 70% SMYS for the investigated X65 pipe). That is, no postwrinkling rupture is likely to happen below a certain critical internal pressure even after an abrupt distortion of the wrinkled wall on the compressive side of the cross section.


Author(s):  
Jose´ Renato M. de Sousa ◽  
George C. Campello ◽  
Antoˆnio Fernando B. Bueno ◽  
Eduardo Vardaro ◽  
Gilberto B. Ellwanger ◽  
...  

This paper studies the structural response of a 6.0″ flexible pipe under pure tension considering two different situations: the pipe is intact or has five wires broken in its outer tensile armor. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model devoted to analyze the local mechanical response of flexible pipes is employed in this study. This model is capable of representing each wire of the tensile armors and, therefore, localized defects, including total rupture, may be adequately represented. Results from experimental tests are also presented in order to validate the theoretical estimations. The theoretical and experimental results indicate that the imposed damage reduced the axial stiffness of the pipe. High stress concentrations in the wires near the damaged ones were also observed and, furthermore, the stresses in the inner carcass and the pressure armor are affected by the imposed damage, but, on the other hand, the normal stresses in the wires of the inner tensile armor are not.


Author(s):  
Alfredo Gay Neto ◽  
Clóvis de Arruda Martins ◽  
Celso Pupo Pesce ◽  
Christiano Odir C. Meirelles ◽  
Eduardo Ribeiro Malta ◽  
...  

Usually when a large internal fluid pressure acts on the inner walls of flexible pipes, the carcass layer is not loaded, as the first internal pressure resistance is given by the internal polymeric layer that transmits almost all the loading to the metallic pressure armor layer. The last one must be designed to ensure that the flexible pipe will not fail when loaded by a defined value of internal pressure. This paper presents three different numerical models and an analytical nonlinear model for determining the maximum internal pressure loading withstood by a flexible pipe without burst. The first of the numerical models is a ring approximation for the helically rolled pressure layer, considering its actual cross section profile. The second one is a full model for the same structure, considering the pressure layer laying angle and the cross section as built. The last numerical model is a two-dimensional (2D) simplified version, considering the pressure layer as an equivalent ring. The first two numerical models consider contact nonlinearities and a nonlinear elastic-plastic material model for the pressure layer. The analytical model considers the pressure armor layer as an equivalent ring, taking into account geometrical and material nonlinear behaviors. Assumptions and results for each model are compared and discussed. The failure event and the corresponding stress state are commented.


Author(s):  
Alfredo Gay Neto ◽  
Clo´vis de Arruda Martins ◽  
Celso Pupo Pesce ◽  
Christiano Odir C. Meirelles ◽  
Eduardo Ribeiro Malta ◽  
...  

Usually, when a large internal fluid pressure acts on the inner walls of flexible pipes, the carcass layer is not loaded as the first internal pressure resistance is given by the internal polymeric layer. The internal polymeric layer transmits almost all that loading to the metallic pressure resistant layer, or pressure armor layer. This layer must then be designed to ensure that the flexible pipe will not fail when loaded by a defined value of internal pressure. The present paper presents three different numerical models and one simple analytical model for determining the maximum internal pressure loading for a flexible pipe. The aim is to avoid pipe burst. The first numerical model is a ring approximation for the helically rolled pressure layer, considering its cross section as built. A second one is a full model for the same structure, considering the pressure layer laying angle and the cross section as built. The third numerical model is a 2D simplified version, considering the pressure layer as an equivalent ring. The first two numerical models consider contact nonlinearities and a nonlinear elastic-plastic material model for the pressure layer. The failure event and the corresponding stress state are discussed. Assumptions for each model are compared and discussed, with comparative results.


Author(s):  
Qiang Cheng ◽  
Baobao Qi ◽  
Hongyan Chu ◽  
Ziling Zhang ◽  
Zhifeng Liu ◽  
...  

The combination of sliding/rolling motion can influence the degree of precision degradation of ball screw. Precision degradation modeling and factors analysis can reveal the evolution law of ball screw precision. This paper presents a precision degradation model for factors analysis influencing precision due to mixed sliding-rolling motion. The precision loss model was verified through the comparison of theoretical models and experimental tests. The precision degradation due to rolling motion between the ball and raceway accounted for 29.09% of the screw precision loss due to sliding motion. Additionally, the total precision degradation due to rolling motion accounted for 21.03% of the total sliding precision loss of the screw and nut, and 17.38% of the overall ball screw precision loss under mixed sliding-rolling motion. In addition, the effects of operating conditions and structural parameters on precision loss were analyzed. The sensitivity coefficients of factors influencing were used to quantitatively describe impact degree on precision degradation.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 764
Author(s):  
Jarosław Bartnicki ◽  
Yingxiang Xia ◽  
Xuedao Shu

The paper presents chosen aspects of the skew rolling process of hollow stepped products with the use of a skew rolling mill designed and manufactured at the Lublin University of Technology. This machine is characterized by the numerical control of spacing between the working rolls and the sequence of the gripper axial movement, which allows for the individual programming of the obtained shapes of parts such as stepped axles and shafts. The length of these zones and the values of possibly realizable cross-section reduction and obtained outlines are the subject of this research paper. The chosen results regarding the influence of the technological parameters used on the course of the process are shown in the present study. Numerical modelling using the finite element method in Simufact Forming, as well as the results of experimental tests performed in a skew rolling mill, were applied in the conducted research. The work takes into account the influence of cross-section reduction of the hollow parts and the feed rate per rotation on the metal flow mechanisms in the skew rolling process. The presented results concern the obtained dimensional deviations and changes in the wall thickness determining the proper choice of technological parameters for hollow parts formed by the skew rolling method. Knowledge about the cause of the occurrence of these limitations is very important for the development of this technology and the choice of the process parameters.


Author(s):  
Peter Carter ◽  
D. L. Marriott ◽  
M. J. Swindeman

This paper examines techniques for the evaluation of two kinds of structural imperfection, namely bulging subject to internal pressure, and out-of-round imperfections subject to external pressure, with and without creep. Comparisons between comprehensive finite element analysis and API 579 Level 2 techniques are made. It is recommended that structural, as opposed to material, failures such as these should be assessed with a structural model that explicitly represents the defect.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4272
Author(s):  
Stefano Invernizzi ◽  
Francesco Montagnoli ◽  
Alberto Carpinteri

The present paper investigates the influence of the specimen size of EN-AW6082 wrought aluminium alloy subjected to very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) tests. The hourglass specimens were tested under fully reversed loading condition, up to 109 cycles, by means of the ultrasonic fatigue testing machine developed by Italsigma® (Italy). Three specimens groups were considered, with a diameter in the middle cross-section ranging from 3 mm up to 12 mm. The stress field in the specimens was determined numerically and by strain gauge measurements in correspondence of the cross-section surface. The dispersion of experimental results has been accounted for, and data are reported in P-S-N diagrams. The decrease in fatigue resistance with increasing specimen size is evident. Theoretical explanation for the observed specimen-size effect is provided, based on Fractal Geometry concepts, allowing to obtain scale independent P-S*-N curves. The fatigue life expectation in the VHCF regime of the EN-AW6082 aluminium alloy full-scale components is rather overestimated if it is assessed only from standard small specimens of 3 mm in diameter. Experimental tests carried out on larger specimens, and a proper extrapolation, are required to assure safe structural design.


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