Numerical analysis of stress distribution in the pressurized composite pipe buried in the soil

Abstract

In the present research work, a comprehensive study on the stress analysis in the two composite pipes bonded by a layer of DP 410 adhesive and a socket buried in the soil has been performed. The pipe material was considered as a four layers of epoxy-fiber glass with different fiber orientations (cross-ply, angle-ply and quasi-isotropic). The soil dimensions and properties as well as the traffic load (H-20) were based on AASHTO. The simulation of the stress analysis was performed using ANSYS software. In the present study, the influences of bed distance, temperature change, internal pressure, traffic load, fiber orientation angle and layups, and gap distance on stress distribution in the buried composite pipe have been investigated. The findings revealed that the annual temperature change in the soil and the pipe enhances the stresses in the joint components to a maximum value of 5.5 MPa at a pipe temperature of −22 °C. Moreover, the outcomes indicated that the adhesive layer is the most sensitive component to any rise in the load prism, as well as other loads, for a buried pipe at a depth of 120 cm. The maximum and minimum state for von Mises stress component were related to, in turn, quasi-isotropic and angle-ply laminations.