A numerical study on the crack tip constraint of pipelines subject to extreme plastic bending

This study investigates the fracture response and crack tip constraint of thick wall pipelines subject to large plastic bending. Such a circumstance frequently occurs during the installation of offshore pipelines (such as the reeling method), and accidental overloading, both inducing inelastic bending. The near-tip stress and strain fields are obtained through the fully nonlinear 3D finite element models constructed to examine the response of a practical range of cracked pipeline geometries and material properties. It is observed that throughout the loading history (up to the large scale yielding of the pipeline), by incorporation of the J–Q two parameter fracture theory, the near crack tip fields do indeed resemble those obtained from a K–T modified boundary layer formulation. This analogy provides sufficient proof for the applicability of the similitude concept inherent and fundamental to any fracture assessment procedure. All the pipelines considered in this study, which had realistic crack sizes, exhibited low constraint behavior (i.e. −1.4 < Q < −0.4). Additionally, Q was observed to decrease as a linear function of the global bending strain. Based on this correlation, simplified design equations are presented by which the constraint of such pipelines could be effectively estimated. The equations would be suitable for incorporation in the constraint-matched integrity assessment procedures that would in turn overcome the overt conservatism produced by the use of single parameter fracture mechanics approaches. Suitability of the low constraint laboratory specimens for fracture toughness measurements is also confirmed.