Behavior of Flexible Pipe Subjected to Internal Pressure

The increasing use of flexible pipes in subsea with high pressure/high temperature brings about much more challenges. Although there has been a simple prediction method for burst pressure, a more comprehensive prediction of the ultimate strength of flexible pipe subjected to internal pressure is essential for the safe use of flexible pipe under complex environments in terms of different failure modes. In this paper, based on the principle of virtual work, a theoretical model for stresses and deformations of the pipe under the short-term internal pressure have been developed and the obtained results have been compared with the ones from the FEM which is used to simulate the pipe under increasing internal pressure using ABAQUS. And the mechanical properties of two kinds of armor layers have been studied comprehensively considering different boundary conditions. The results and FEA models can be useful for the design of flexible pipes. Finally, the failure prediction of a complete model is discussed.