Equivalent Layer Approaches to Predict the Bisymmetric Hydrostatic Collapse Strength of Flexible Pipes

The hydrostatic collapse strength of a flexible pipe is largely dependent on the ability of its carcass and pressure armor to resist radial loading and, therefore, its prediction involves an adequate modeling of these layers. Hence, initially, this work proposes a set of equations to estimate equivalent thicknesses and physical properties for these layers, which allows their modeling as equivalent orthotropic cylinders. These equations are obtained by simulating several two-point static ring tests with a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model based on beam elements and using these results to form datasets that are analyzed with a symbolic regression (SR) tool. The results of these analyses are the closed-form equations that best fit the provided datasets. After that, these equations are used in conjunction with a three-dimensional shell FE model and a previously presented analytical model to study the dry and wet hydrostatic collapse mechanisms of a flexible pipe. The predictions of these models agreed quite well with the collapse pressures obtained in experimental tests thus indicating that the use of the equivalent approach is promising.