Force–deflection analysis of offset indentations on pressurised pipes

The indenter force vs. deflection characteristics of pressurised pipes with long offset indentations under plane strain conditions have been investigated using finite element (FE) and analytical methods with four experimental tests performed on aluminium rings. Two different materials and five different geometries were used to investigate their effects on the elastic–plastic behaviour. A comparison of the experimental, FE and the analytical results indicates that the analytical formulation developed in this paper, for predicting the force–deflection curves for pressurised pipes with offset indenters, is reasonably accurate. Also, all of the analyses presented in this paper indicate that by using a representative flow stress, which is defined as the average of the yield and ultimate tensile stresses, the analytical method can accurately predict the force–deflection curves.