On the Axisymmetric Response of a Damaged Flexible Pipe

This work focuses on the structural analysis of a damaged 9.13″ flexible pipe to pure and combined axisymmetric loads. A set of experimental tests was carried out considering one up to ten broken wires in the outer tensile armor of the pipe and the results obtained are compared to those provided by a previously presented finite element (FE) model and a traditional analytical model. In the experimental tests, the pipe was firstly subjected to pure tension and, then, the responses to clockwise and anti-clockwise torsion superimposed with tension were investigated. In these tests, the induced strains in the outer armor were measured. Moreover, the axial elongation of the pipe was monitored when the pipe is subjected to tension, whilst the twist of the pipe was measured when torsion is imposed. The experimental results pointed to a slight decrease in the stiffness of the pipe with the increasing number of broken wires and, furthermore, a redistribution of forces among the intact wires of the damaged layer with high stress concentration in the wires close to the damaged ones. Both theoretical models captured these features, but, while the results obtained with the FE model agreed well with the experimental measurements, the traditional analytical model presented non-conservative results. Finally, the results obtained are employed to estimate the load capacity of the pipe.