Plastic damage analysis of oil and gas pipelines with unconstrained and constrained dents

Abstract Indentation resulting from mechanical damage is one of the main causes of pipeline rupture failure. The primary objective of this case study is to analyze the plastic damage of the pipelines with unconstrained and constrained dents using the existing plastic damage model, namely, the ductile failure damage indicator (DFDI) model. As part of this study, an attempt is made to clarify the influence of the constraint on the behavior of the pipeline. The investigation indicates that the plastic damage of the pipeline interior walls outweighs that of the pipeline exterior walls and cracks start frequently from the pipe interior walls. The position of the maximal circumferential plastic damage deviates from the deepest position of the dent when the critical displacement loading arriving due to the circumferential deformation of the pipeline. The total plastic damage of the unconstrained dented pipeline only depends on the initial displacement loading because the working pressure has very little influence on its behavior under the unconstrained condition. However, the total plastic damage of the constrained dented pipeline depends on the initial displacement loading and the working pressure because the working pressure has a significant effect on its behavior under the constrained condition. Under the same condition, the constrained dented pipeline is easier to crack compared to the unconstrained dented pipeline. In this paper, the model, results and the findings are summarized and discussed.