Numerical Simulation of JCO Pipe Forming Process and its Effect on the External Pressure Capacity of the Pipe

Author(s):  
Giannoula Chatzopoulou ◽  
Konstantinos Antoniou ◽  
Spyros A. Karamanos

Large-diameter thick-walled steel pipes during their installation in deep-water are subjected to external pressure, which may trigger structural instability due to excessive pipe ovalization with catastrophic effects. The resistance of offshore pipes against this instability mode strongly depends on imperfections and residual stresses introduced by the line pipe manufacturing process. In the present paper, the JCO pipe manufacturing process, a commonly adopted process for producing large-diameter pipes of significant thickness, is examined. The study examines the effect of JCO line pipe manufacturing process on the structural response and resistance of offshore pipes during the installation process using nonlinear finite element simulation tools. At first, the cold bending induced by the JCO process is simulated rigorously, and subsequently, the application of external pressure is modeled until structural instability is detected. For the simulation of the JCO manufacturing process and the structured response of the pipe a two dimensional generalized plane strain model is used. Furthermore, a numerical analysis is also conducted on the effects of line pipe expansion on the structural capacity of the JCO pipe.

Author(s):  
Giannoula Chatzopoulou ◽  
Spyros A. Karamanos ◽  
George E. Varelis

Large-diameter thick-walled steel pipes during their installation in deep-water are subjected to a combination of loading in terms of external pressure, bending and axial tension, which may trigger structural instability due to excessive pipe ovalization with catastrophic effects. In the present study, the UOE pipe manufacturing process, commonly adopted for producing large-diameter pipes of significant thickness, is considered. The study examines the effect of UOE line pipe manufacturing process on the structural response and resistance of offshore pipes during the installation process using nonlinear finite element simulation tools.


Author(s):  
Konstantinos Antoniou ◽  
Giannoula Chatzopoulou ◽  
Spyros A. Karamanos ◽  
Athanasios Tazedakis ◽  
Christos Palagas ◽  
...  

Large-diameter thick-walled steel pipes during their installation in deep-water are subjected to external pressure, which may trigger structural instability due to pipe ovalization, with detrimental effects. The resistance of offshore pipes against this instability is affected by local geometric deviations and residual stresses, introduced by the line pipe manufacturing process. In the present paper, the JCO-E pipe manufacturing process, a commonly adopted process for producing large-diameter pipes of significant thickness, is examined. The study examines the effect of JCO-E line pipe manufacturing process on the external pressure resistance of offshore pipes, candidates for deepwater applications using nonlinear finite element simulation tools. The cold bending induced by the JCO forming process as well as the subsequent welding and expansion (E) operations are simulated rigorously. Subsequently, the application of external pressure is modeled until structural instability (collapse) is detected. Both the JCO-E manufacturing process and the external pressure response of the pipe, are modeled using a two-dimensional (2D) generalized plane strain model, together with a coupled thermo-mechanical model for simulating the welding process.


Author(s):  
Stelios Kyriakides ◽  
Mark D. Herynk ◽  
Heedo Yun

Large-diameter pipes used in offshore applications are commonly manufactured by cold-forming plates through the UOE process. Collapse experiments have demonstrated that these steps, especially the final expansion, degrade the mechanical properties of the pipe and result in a reduction in its collapse pressure, upwards of 30%. In this study, the UOE forming process has been modeled numerically so that the effects of press parameters of each forming step on the final geometry and mechanical properties of the pipe can be established. The final step involves simulation of pipe collapse under external pressure. An extensive parametric study of the problem has been conducted, through which ways of optimizing the process for improved collapse performance have been established. For example, it was found that optimum collapse pressure requires a tradeoff between pipe shape (ovality) and material degradation. Generally, increase in the O-strain and decrease in the expansion strain improve the collapse pressure. Substituting the expansion by compression can not only alleviate the UOE collapse pressure degradation but can result in a significant increase in collapse performance.


Author(s):  
Giannoula Chatzopoulou ◽  
Spyros A. Karamanos ◽  
George E. Varelis

Thick-walled steel pipes manufactured through the UOE process are used in deep-water pipeline applications for the safe and cost-effective transmission of hydrocarbon energy resources. Such pipes are subjected to bending loads in the presence of high external pressure during their installation stage. The combination of bending and external pressure often triggers the development of structural instability due to excessive ovalization of the pipe with catastrophic effects. In the present study, the effect of UOE line pipe manufacturing process on the bending response of externally-pressurized thick-walled pipes is examined, using finite element simulation tools.


Author(s):  
Giannoula Chatzopoulou ◽  
Gregory C. Sarvanis ◽  
Chrysanthi I. Papadaki ◽  
Spyros A. Karamanos

Large-diameter spiral-welded pipes are employed in demanding hydrocarbon pipeline applications, which require an efficient strain-based design framework. In the course of a large European project, numerical simulations on spiral-welded pipes are conducted to examine their bending deformation capacity in the presence of internal pressure referring to geohazard actions, as well as their capacity under external pressure for offshore applications in moderate deep water. Numerical models that simulate the manufacturing process (decoiling and spiral cold bending) are employed. Subsequently, the residual stresses due to cold bending are used to examine the capacity of pipe under external pressure and internally-pressurized bending. A parametric analysis is conducted to examine the effect of spiral cold forming process on the structural behavior of spiral welded pipes and the effect of internal pressure on bending capacity. The results from the present study support the argument that spiral-welded pipes can be used in demanding onshore and offshore pipeline applications.


Author(s):  
Giannoula Chatzopoulou ◽  
Spyros A. Karamanos ◽  
George E. Varelis

Thick-walled steel pipes during their installation in deep-water are subjected to combined loading of external pressure and bending, which may trigger structural instability due to excessive pipe ovalization with catastrophic effects. The loading path followed during the reeling installation process is characterized by strong cyclic loading of the pipe material and results in residual stresses and deformations of the pipe cross-section, undermining the structural capacity of the pipe. Using advanced material tools, the present study examines the effect of reeling on the structural response and resistance of offshore pipes during the installation process.


Author(s):  
Yu. D. Morozov ◽  
M. Yu. Matrosov ◽  
B. F. Zin’ko

The pipelines are one of most important section of the fuel and energy complex of Russia. About 75% of them are presented by gas pipelines of large diameter (1020–1420 mm) for the operating pressure up to 7.4 MPa. CNIIchermet after I.P. Bardin put a big contribution into creation of pipe steels and mastering of technologies for their production at steel-works of Russia. The Institute in cooperation with leading steels-works developed an array of pipe steel, which are successfully used at construction of modern gas and oil pipelines. Tendencies of requirements increasing to characteristics of steels for large diameter pipes for pipelines considered, creation stages of grade range of steels and technology of rolled products production analyzed. Main technological requirements for achieving mechanical properties high level determined. It was shown, that K60–K65 strength class steels meet requirements to northern pipelines for a pressure up to 11.8 MPa, to thick walled underwater pipelines for a pressure of 25.0 MPa and to pipes for seismic arears. Steel-works and pipe-manufacturing plant of Russia provide the production of longitudinal-welded pipes with wall thickness up to 40–60 mm with anticorrosion external coating and smooth internal coating.


Author(s):  
Chris Timms ◽  
Luciano Mantovano ◽  
Hugo A. Ernst ◽  
Rita Toscano ◽  
Duane DeGeer ◽  
...  

It has been demonstrated in previous work that, for deepwater applications, the cold forming process involved in UOE pipe manufacturing significantly reduces pipe collapse strength. To improve the understanding of these effects, Tenaris has embarked on a program to model the stages of the UOE manufacturing process using finite element methods. Previous phases of this work formulated the basis for model development and described the 2D approach taken to model the various stages of manufacture. More recent developments included some modeling enhancements, sensitivity analyses, and comparison of predictions to the results of full-scale collapse testing performed at C-FER. This work has shown correlations between manufacturing parameters and collapse pressure predictions. The results of the latest phase of the research program are presented in this paper. This work consists of full-scale collapse testing and extensive coupon testing on samples collected from various stages of the UOE pipe manufacturing process including plate, UO, UOE, and thermally-aged UOE. Four UOE pipe samples manufactured with varying forming parameters were provided by Tenaris for this test program along with associated plate and UO samples. Full-scale collapse and buckle propagation tests were conducted on a sample from each of the four UOE pipes including one that was thermally aged. Additional coupon-scale work included measurement of the through-thickness variation of material properties and a thermal ageing study aimed at better understanding UOE pipe strength recovery. The results of these tests will provide the basis for further refinement of the finite element model as the program proceeds into the next phase.


Author(s):  
Andreas Liessem ◽  
Ulrich Marewski ◽  
Johannes Groß-Weege ◽  
Gerhard Knauf

Line pipe intended for deep water applications has to be designed predominantly with regard to external pressure in order to avoid plastic collapse. As a consequence of cold forming during UOE pipe manufacture and the subsequent application of anticorrosion coating, the characteristic stress strain behavior has to be taken into account for a reliable prediction of the collapse pressure. Verification of collapse resistance of large diameter pipes against external pressure requires adequate and reliable component testing using a sufficient number of pipe samples. These samples have to be subjected to test conditions, which closely simulate the situation in service. As the test results may depend significantly on its boundary conditions, the results needs to be thoroughly analysed and compared with existing prediction methods. It is for these reasons that such full-scale testing is time-consuming and costly. The work presented in this paper aims at clarifying and quantifying the effect of existing test boundary conditions on the results of collapse tests (collapse pressures). Correlations will be established between material properties found in laboratory tests and associated component behavior. In this context it had been necessary to develop an accurate and reproducible compression test method. The actual collapse pressures and those predicted using current available equations are compared and verified by Finite Element calculations. The paper concludes with a discussion of the major findings and with a brief outlook to future research issues.


2013 ◽  
Vol 749 ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Qiang Ren ◽  
Tian Xia Zou ◽  
Da Yong Li ◽  
Ying Hong Peng

Large-diameter pipes used in offshore applications are commonly manufactured through the UOE process. The plate is crimped along its edges, formed into a U-shape and then pressed into an O-shape between two semicircular dies. The pipe is welded closed and then circumferentially expanded to obtain a highly circular shape. In this study, the two-dimensional finite element model of the whole processing of the UOE pipe production has been established, including large deformation and complex contact. The deformed geometries of different steps and distribution of the equivalent plastic strain and variation in load are analyzed. This research is helpful in UOE forming process design and evaluating the capability of the pipe mill.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document