Full-Scale Reeling Tests of HFI Welded Line Pipe for Offshore Reel-Laying Installation

Abstract

During reel-laying repeated plastic strains are introduced into a pipeline which may affect strength properties and deformation capacity of the line pipe material. Conventionally the effect on the material is simulated by small-scale reeling simulation tests. For these, coupons are extracted from pipes that are loaded in tension and compression and thermally aged, if required. Afterwards, specimens for mechanical testing are machined from these coupons and tested according to the corresponding standards. Today customers often demand additional full-scale reeling simulation tests to assure that the structural pipe behavior meets the strain demands as well. Realistic deformations have to be introduced into a full-size pipe, followed by aging, sampling and mechanical testing comparable to small-scale reeling. In this report the fitness for use of a four-point-bending test rig for full-scale reeling simulation tests is demonstrated. Two high-frequency-induction (HFI) welded pipes of grade X65M (OD = 323.9 mm, WT = 15.9 mm) from Salzgitter Mannesmann Line Pipe GmbH (MLP) are bent with alternate loading. To investigate the influences of thermal aging from polymer-coating process one test pipe had been heat treated beforehand, in the same manner as if being PE-coated. After the tests mechanical test samples were machined out of the plastically strained pipes. A comparison of results from mechanical testing of material exposed to small- and full-scale reeling simulation is given. The results allow an evaluation of the pipe behavior as regards reeling ability and plastic deformation capacity.