Bending Capacity of Girth-Welded Pipes Available to Purchase

In the last ten years, several studies were completed with the aim to define a design format for the local buckling of pipes subjected to differential pressure, axial load and bending moment. Experimental tests were carried out and simplified analytical solutions were developed in order to predict the pipe bending moment capacity and the associated level of deformation. Standard finite element (FE) structural codes, such as ABAQUS, ADINA, ANSYS, etc., were and are used as a “numerical testing laboratory”, where the model is suitably calibrated to few experimental tests. The outcomes of these research efforts were implemented in the design equations enclosed in international design rules, as DNV OS-F101. The local buckling design formats, included in these rules, give the limit bending moment and associated longitudinal strain as a function of the relevant parameters. The effect of the girth weld is introduced with a reduction factor only for what regards the strain at limit bending moment. This paper addresses the effects of the presence of the girth weld on both limit bending moment and corresponding compressive longitudinal strain. A 3-dimensional (3D) FE model developed in ABAQUS has been developed to perform a parametric analysis. The FE model results are shown to compare reasonably well with full scale experiments performed for on-shore pipelines. The limit bending moment is reduced by the weld misalignment and this reduction is also dependent on both internal pressure load and linepipe material mechanical strength. The FE results are compared with the limit bending moment calculated with DNV OS-F101.