Unbonded flexible risers have become the main means of extracting hydro carbonates from deep waters. So, understanding the complex structural integrity of flexible risers has become a crucial issue for the offshore industry. In this paper, an experimental test and a detailed finite element analyses were carried out on a scaled down model of a flexible riser pipe in order to understand its bending behavior. The model used consists of four layers which include two cylindrical polycarbonate tubes and two steel helical layers. One helical layer, wounded around the pipe assembly, represents the carcass layer in an actual flexible riser whilst the other represents the riser tendon armour layers. The model was subjected to a three point bending load in order to study its bending-curvature behavior. The test data was then compared with the FE numerical results which predicted a similar nonlinear trend but under predicts the strain at tendon layers.

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