Fracture investigation of corroded pipelines with varying corrosion sizes

• Main Author: Chong, Yi Qun
• Other Authors: Xiao Zhongmin
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/68327
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Offshore pipelines are widely used for transporting fluids, mostly fuels in the form of liquid or air. They are required to function around the clock ideally without issues like leakage. However in the reality it is very hard to achieve such perfection. During manufacturing, small defects like hairline cracks are inevitable. During the laying of the pipes on the seabed, or continuous use, it also undergoes tensile and bending loadings, which may create or worsen existing defects. Corrosion is another matter as the pipes are easily subject to it on land before laying, or when operating under the sea for an extended period of time. Hence structural failure may easily be resulted. The main focus of this project is to look into the fracture response of corroded pipes. Simulations using ABAQUS will be run in place of actual experiments. By using Finite Element Analysis, results can be obtained with relative accuracy with much lesser time and cost. The simulations will run under three varying parameters, namely corrosion thickness, corrosion width, and magnitude of internal pressure. The Crack Tip Opening Displacement of each case will then be obtained and used as the basis for comparing fracture toughness.