Numerical investigation of the SIFs of the external surface crack in rigid pipe reinforced with FRP

Conference paper (2018)

Authors

Z. Li Support Marine and Transport Techology
X. Jiang Transport Engineering and Logistics - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
J.J. Hopman Ship Design, Production and Operations - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering , Marine and Transport Technology
Department
Marine and Transport Technology
Copyright: © 2018 Z. Li, X. Jiang, J.J. Hopman
Finite element method Stress intensity factor Offshore rigid pipe External surface crack
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Published Date

2018

Language

English

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Department

Marine and Transport Technology

Abstract

Fatigue is one of the major challenges of offshore rigid pipes. The surface crack is the main manifestation. Fatigue cracks are evolved from surface cracks which are frequently appear in the external surface of rigid pipes. Under fatigue loads, the surface cracks may continue to propagate and finally develop into penetrated cracks, which may cause leakage and serious accidents.
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening technology is already a reliable technique for structure maintenance in onshore pipelines and penetrated cracks in load-bearing circular hollow sections (CHS). Nevertheless, the research gap of surface crack in rigid pipes reinforced with FRP is seriously restricting the development of FRP reinforcement application.
This paper aims to investigate the surface crack growth in the external surface of rigid pipes reinforced with FRP under bending. Stress intensity factors along the crack front are computed through finite-element (FE) models. The numerical results show that under FRP reinforcement, surface crack growth rate decreases significantly which ensures the safety use of rigid pipes in offshore industry.