An Artificial Neural Network-Based Equation for Predicting the Remaining Strength of Mid-to-High Strength Pipelines with a Single Corrosion Defect

Numerical methods such as finite element analysis (FEA) can accurately predict remaining strength, with strong correlation with actual burst tests. However, parametric studies with FEA are time and computationally intensive. Alternatively, an artificial neural network-based equation can be used. In this work, an equation for predicting the remaining strength of mid-to-high strength pipelines (API 5L X52, X65, and X80) with a single corrosion defect subjected to combined loadings of internal pressure and longitudinal compressive stress was derived from an ANN model trained based on FEA results. For FEA, the pipe was assumed to be isotropic and homogenous, and the effects of temperature on the pipe failure pressure were not considered. The error of remaining strength predictions, based on the equation, ranged from −6.33% to 2.39% when compared to an unseen FEA dataset, with a correlation value (R2) of 0.9975. A parametric study was subsequently performed using the equation to determine the effects of material property, defect depth, defect length, and longitudinal compressive stress on the remaining strength of pipelines with a single corrosion defect. Defect depth reduced the failure pressure by more than 65% on average, longitudinal compressive stress by more than 20% on average, and defect length by more than 21% on average.