Elastic buckling of cylindrical pipe linings with variable thickness encased in rigid host pipes

Cured-in-place plastic pipe linings are widely used in the rehabilitation of deteriorated rigid pipelines. Generally, the thickness of the pipe lining is assumed to be constant for simplification during the previous analysis. However, the thickness of the pipe lining may be a variable due to corrosive liquids or gases in service. This paper develops an analytical solution for the elastic buckling of cylindrical pipe linings with variable thickness subjected to external hydrostatic pressure. In addition to the analytical solution based on the minimum potential energy theory, a numerical analysis using the finite element method (FEM) is also performed for comparison. The FEM results agree well with the analytical solutions. Both the FEM results and the analytical solutions are discussed and compared with the models presented by other authors. When the thickness of pipe lining is constant, our analytical solutions can be simplified to Glock's typical solutions.

► We predict the buckling pressure of elastic pipe linings with variable thickness.
► Pipe linings are encased in rigid host pipes under hydrostatic pressure.
► An analytical solution is used for predicting buckling pressure of the linings.
► 2D FEM analysis is performed to verify the accuracy of analytical solutions.
► Numerical results are in well close agreement with presented analytical solutions.