Lateral deformation behaviour of structural internal replacement pipe repair systems

Abstract

Structural internal replacement pipe (SIRP) systems are emerging composite technologies for the repair of circumferentially cracked host pipes or pipes with joints subject to lateral deformation caused by the surface loads from vehicular traffic. However, laboratory experiments to investigate the suitability of different SIRP systems in repairing full-scale pipes are a very costly and time-consuming process. This paper investigated numerically the behaviour of SIRP repair systems under lateral deformation using the three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA model was validated from the results of the full-scale experimental test. The effect of the crack width of the host pipe, thickness, and material properties of the SIRP, on the bending behaviour of the pipe repair system, was evaluated. The results of the analyses show that the effect of the thickness and elastic modulus of the SIRP on the lateral deformation behaviour is dependent on the width of the circumferential crack in the host pipe. A simplified analytical model based on Fibre model analysis (FMA) and incorporating an average stress factor for host pipes with a narrow crack width was developed to reliably describe the lateral deformation behaviour of the SIRP systems.