Axisymmetric structural behaviours of composite tensile armoured flexible pipes

Abstract

To address the weight and corrosion challenge in deep-water, replacing the steel tensile armour in flexible pipes with composite materials is an alternative conceptual approach. An axisymmetric structural responses model is built for this novel composite armoured flexible pipe, with interlayer gaps that may occur in the unbonded structure considered through an iterative algorithm. The tensile strength of steel and composite armoured pipes are predicted based on different constitutive relations of steel and composite. Essential quantities are obtained, such as tensile stiffness, deformations of each layer and interlayer gaps or contact pressures. Considering the helix form of carcass and pressure armour, a finite element model is established for the verification of the theoretical model. Case study shows that the tensile stiffness of flexible pipe is overestimated with the interlayer gap ignored. Compared with steel armoured flexible pipe, the composite armoured pipe, whose tensile stiffness decreases less as external pressure increases, meanwhile has higher values of tensile ultimate strength and torsion stiffness. Some suggestions about fiber types and volume fraction for composite tensile strips are given to ensure good performance of axial tensile strength and stiffness.