Transverse Deformation of Pressurised Pipes With Different Axial Loads

Abstract

Pipelines residing on the seabed are exposed to various hazards, one of them being denting, hooking and release of the pipeline by e.g. anchors or trawl gear. As a pipeline is displaced transversely in a hooking event, an axial tensile load resisting the displacement builds up in the pipeline. This study examines the effect of applying three different axial loads (zero, constant, and linearly increasing) to a pipe while simultaneously deforming it transversely. A fairly sharp indenter conforming to the prevailing design codes was used to deform the pipes. These three tests were repeated with an internal pressure of about 100 bar for comparison. Adding an axial load appeared to increase the pipe’s stiffness in terms of the force-displacement curve arising from deforming the pipe transversely. The internal pressure also increased the stiffness, and produced a more local dent in the pipe compared with the unpressurised pipes. All tests were recreated numerically in finite element simulations. Generally, the results of the simulations were in good agreement with the experiments.