The Strength Analysis of Adhesive Joints of Pipe Lines in Deep Sea Environment by FEM

Considering the adhesive joint widely used in industry, and its successful use in repairing systems in offshore pipelines, its application for pipe lines in deep sea is proposed. As pipe lines underwater are subjected to tension, bending, internal and external pressure, and adhesive joints have the singular stress fields at the end of interfaces of different materials, adhesive joints of pipes lines are the weakest parts in term of strength. This research studied the strength of adhesive joints of pipe lines under tension, bending, internal and external pressure, and the combination of these loadings using finite element analysis. It was determined that the adhesive joints of pipe lines are more prone to failure along the adhesive-pipe interface under bending compared to other loadings. Moreover, the effects of adhesive thickness and cover length on the strength of adhesive joint are investigated in this paper.