Buckling response of subsea pipeline with irregular corrosion defect under external pressure

Abstract

The subsea pipeline is prone to corrosion due to the combined influence of a complex environment and internal fluid. The corrosion defect results in the local thinning of the wall thickness of the pipeline, affecting the pipeline collapse response under external pressure. In the present study, the buckling response of subsea pipelines with irregular corrosion defect is analyzed. First, a method for calculating the critical buckling pressure of pipelines with irregular corrosion defect is proposed. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified by comparing it with finite element (FE) results and experimental tests. Then, the effects of defect size, steel grade and diameter-to-thickness ratio on the defect interaction and critical buckling pressure of the pipeline are explored. Finally, the application range of the present method is extended by considering defect length, initial ovality and internal pressure.