Development of High Pressure Composite Butt-Weld Joint

There is currently a need to develop high pressure composite butt-weld joint to meet the needs of deepwater activities. In this study, a tapered butt-weld composite joint configuration was proposed. Finite element analysis was conducted to validate the proposed structural configuration through stress-strain distribution analysis. Test samples were assembled using hand lay-up technique. The prepared specimens were hydro tested. The test results justified the proposed joint configurations. About 35.7% increase in bursting pressure in tapered butt-weld composite joint was observed over currently used composite butt-weld joint.