A Comparative Study on the Post-Buckling Behavior of Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes(RTPs)Under External Pressure Considering Progressive Failure

The collapse pressure is a key parameter when RTPs are applied in harsh deep-water environments.To investigate the collapse of RTPs,numerical simulations and hydrostatic pressure tests are conducted.For the numerical simulations,the eigenvalue analysis and Riks analysis are combined,in which the Hashin failure criterion and fracture energy stiffness degradation model are used to simulate the progressive failure of composites,and the“infinite”boundary conditions are applied to eliminate the boundary effects.As for the hydrostatic pressure tests,RTP specimens were placed in a hydrostatic chamber after filled with water.It has been observed that the cross-section of the middle part collapses when it reaches the maximum pressure.The collapse pressure obtained from the numerical simulations agrees well with that in the experiment.Meanwhile,the applicability of NASA SP-8007 formula on the collapse pressure prediction was also discussed.It has a relatively greater difference because of the ignorance of the progressive failure of composites.For the parametric study,it is found that RTPs have much higher first-ply-failure pressure when the winding angles are between 50°and 70°.Besides,the effect of debonding and initial ovality,and the contribution of the liner and coating are also discussed.

A Stiffness Surface Method to Analyze the Cross-Sectional Mechanical Properties of Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes Subjected to Axisymmetric Loads

Axial and hoop stiffness can describe the elastic responses of reinforced thermoplastic pipes(RTPs)subjected to axisymmetric loads,such as tension,compression,pressure,and crushing loads.However,an accurate analytical prediction cannot be provided because of the anisotropy of RTP laminates.In the present study,a stiffness surface method,in which the analytical expressions of the axial and hoop stiffness are derived as two concise formulas,is proposed.The axial stiffness formula is obtained by solving the equilibrium equations of RTPs under a uniaxial stress state based on the homogenization assumption,whereas the hoop stiffness formula is derived from the combination of the elastic stability theory,the classical lamination theory,and NASA SP-8007 formula.To verify the proposed method,three types of RTPs are modeled to conduct the quasi-static analyses of the tension and crushing cases.The consistency between numerical and analytical results verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method on the prediction of the axial and hoop stiffness of RTPs,which also proves the existence of stiffness surfaces.As the axial stiffness is proportional to the radii,the axial stiffness surface consists of a series of straight lines,which can be used to predict both thin-walled and thick-walled RTPs.Meanwhile,the hoop stiffness is more applicable for thin-walled RTPs because the proposed method ignores the proportional relationship between the homogenized hoop elastic moduli and the reciprocal radii in helical structures.

Stochastic Failure Analysis of Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes Under Axial Loading and Internal Pressure

This study explores how parametric uncertainties in the production affect failure tensile loads of reinforced thermoplastic pipes(RTPs)under combined loading conditions.The stress distributions in RTPs are examined with three-dimensional(3D)elasticity theory,and the analytical micromechanics of composites are evaluated.To evaluate the failure mechanisms for RTPs,3D Hashin–Yeh failure criteria are combined with the damage evolution model to establish a progressive failure model.The theoretical model has been validated through numerical simulations and axial tensile tests data.To analyze how randomness of relevant parameters affects the first-ply failure(FPF)tensile load and final failure(FF)tensile load in RTPs,many samples are produced with the Monte–Carlo approach.The stochastic analysis results are statistically evaluated through the Weibull probability density distribution function.For the randomness of production parameters,the failure tensile load of RTPs fluctuates near the mean value.As the ply number at the reinforced layer increases,the dispersion of failure tensile load increases,with a high probability that the FPF tensile load of RTPs is lower than the mean value.

Mechanical Properties Study of Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes Under A Tensile Load

This paper presents a study on the tensile properties of reinforced thermoplastic pipes(RTPs). A mechanical model of RTPs with an arbitrary number of reinforced layers under tensile action is constructed by combining the constitutive relationship of elastoplastic materials with the continuous displacement condition. On this basis, the effects of various parameters such as the winding angle, the number of structurally reinforced layers, and the inner polyethylene(PE) liner thickness on the tensile properties of the RTPs were analyzed, and a tensile test was carried out for validation. The results showed that the winding angle of the structurally reinforced layers was the main factor affecting an RTP's tensile performance— decreases in the winding angle significantly improved its tensile ability,especially the longitudinal strength. With ±45° as the demarcation point, the winding angle smaller than ±45° will result in higher strength in longitudinal direction, and the lifting effect on RTP's mechanical properties of the increasing number of reinforcement layers was better than that of the increasing thickness of the lining layer;when the winding angle was larger than ±45°, the opposite results were obtained. The fibre load was more sensitive to the winding angle than the PE load.

Optimizing Winding Angles of Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes Based on Progressive Failure Criterion

This paper examines a scheme to optimize the multiple winding angles of reinforced thermoplastic pipes(RTPs)under internal and external pressures.To consider the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the material under changes of winding angle due to deformation,we use three-dimensional(3D)thick-walled cylinder theory with the 3D Hashin failure criterion and theory of the evolution of damage to composite materials,to formulate a model that analyzes the progressive failure of RTPs.The accuracy of the model was verified by experiments.A model to optimize the multiple winding angles of the RTPs was then established using the model for progressive failure analysis and a multi-island genetic algorithm.The optimal scheme for winding angles of RTPs capable of withstanding the maximum internal/external pressure was obtained.The simulation results showed that the ply number of the reinforced layer has a prominent nonlinear effect on the internal and external pressure capacity of the RTPs.Compared with RTPs with a single angle of±55°,the multiple winding angle overlay scheme based on the multi-angle optimization model improved the internal and external pressure capacity of the RTPs,and the improvement in the external pressure capacity was significantly better than the internal pressure carrying capacity.

Theoretical Prediction of the Bending Stiffness of Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes Using a Homogenization Method

The accurate prediction of bending stiffness is important to analyze the buckling and vibration behavior of reinforced thermoplastic pipes(RTPs)in practical ocean engineering.In this study,a theoretical method in which the constitutive relationships between orthotropic and isotropic materials are unified under the global cylindrical coordinate system is proposed to predict the bending stiffness of RTPs.Then,the homogenization assumption is used to replace the multilayered cross-sections of RTPs with homogenized ones.Different from present studies,the pure bending case of homogenized RTPs is analyzed,considering homogenized RTPs as hollow cylindrical beams instead of using the stress functions proposed by Lekhnitskii.Therefore,the bending stiffness of RTPs can be determined by solving the homogenized axial elastic moduli and moment of inertia of cross sections.Compared with the existing theoretical method,the homogenization method is more practical,universal,and computationally stable.Meanwhile,the pure bending case of RTPs was simulated to verify the homogenization method via conducting ABAQUS Explicit quasi-static analyses.Compared with the numerical and existing theoretical methods,the homogenization method more accurately predicts the bending stiffness and stress field.The stress field of RTPs and the effect of winding angles are also discussed.

Performance Quality Testing under Combined Loading of Polyethylene Pipes Reinforced with Aramid Fiber

This paper presents the results of the performance quality testing of polyethylene pipes reinforced with aramid fibers, intended for applications such as discharging and gathering oil pipelines, and describes the test rig specifically designed for this purpose. The pipe specimens are submitted to impact with a device that simulates the collision of a pickaxe, and of a backhoe loader. After the impact, the pipes are tested under combined loading comprising internal pressure, and transverse loading; some pipe specimens without previous impact are tested as well. The results show that the reinforced thermoplastic pipes can fully withstand maximal operating pressure levels in the presence of damage and additional transverse loading.