Nonlinear Analysis of Pressurized Piping Elbows Subjected to Out-of-Plane Bending

Abstract

The behavior of piping elbows under bending and internal pressure is more complicated than expected. The main problem is that the coupling of bending and internal pressure is nonlinear; the resulting stress and displacement cannot be added according to the principle of superposition. In addition, internal pressure tends to act against the effect caused by the bending moment. If bending moment ovalise the elbow cross-section, with internal pressure acting against this deformation, then the ovalised cross section deform back to the original circular shape. It is then introduced the term “pressure reduction effect”, or in some literature, “pressure stiffening effect”. Current design piping code treats the pressure reduction effect equally for in-plane (closing and opening) moment and outof- plane moment. The aim of this paper is to present results of a detailed finite element analysis on the non-linear behavior of piping elbows of various geometric configurations subject to out-of-plane bending and internal pressure. Specifically the standard Rodabaugh & George nonlinear pressure reduction equations for in-plane closing moment are checked in a systematic study for out-of-plane moment against nonlinear finite element analysis. The results show that the pressure stiffening effects are markedly different for in-plane and out-of-plane bending.