Fatigue analysis of damaged steel pipelines under cyclic internal pressure

Abstract A methodology for fatigue analysis of damaged steel pipelines under cyclic internal pressure is proposed. This methodology employs stress concentration factors, which are commonly used to modify standard S–N curves of metallic structures under high cycle fatigue loadings. Experiments are accomplished to evaluate the strain behavior of small-scale steel pipes during denting and cyclic internal pressure. A nonlinear finite element model is developed to obtain stress concentration factors induced by plain dents on steel pipes under internal pressure. Afterwards, analytical expressions are developed to estimate stress concentration factors as function of the damaged pipe geometric parameters. Finally, fatigue tests are conducted to evaluate the finite life behavior of small-scale damaged pipes under cyclic internal pressure and to validate the proposed methodology of fatigue analysis.