Pipelines installed by the reel lay method are plastically deformed during installation. The nominal level of plastic deformation is determined by the vessel equipment geometry and pipe dimensions. The natural variation of wall thickness and yield strength determines the potential differences in bending stiffness (also called mismatch) that can occur between adjacent pipe joints. These mismatches cause a localized peak in strain and can drive gross deformation of the pipe, which may result in a buckle if not addressed at the engineering stage. The slenderness of a pipe and the strain hardening capacity determines the capacity of a pipe to handle the effects of mismatches during reeling A minimum wall thickness for reeling design equation has been defined for seamless pipe and has a proven track record and demonstrable reliability. There is a recent increase in the level of interest in cold worked pipe such as HFI/HFW, which appears to be an attractive cost effective alternative to seamless pipes. HFI/HFW potentially has inferior strain hardening properties due to cold forming, but have superior tolerance control of yield strength and wall thickness. This paper presents the results of a reliability based study, demonstrating the applicability of existing minimum wall thickness for reeling criteria, when applied to HFI/HFW linepipe.

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