Numerical simulation of JCO pipe forming process and its effect on the external pressure capacity of the pipe

Abstract

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. Copyright © 2017 ASME.