Numerical comparison between single layer woven flexible pipe and reinforced thermoplastic pipe

Abstract

The weight of a conventional flexible pipe and corrosion poses a major challenge for pipelines at significant water depths, making composite material an ideal alternative for steel in the armor layers. A woven configuration was developed for the armour layer by utilising glass epoxy, namely the woven flexible pipe. However, the performance of the woven flexible pipe in deep water conditions are unknown, thus the need for a numerical analysis. In this paper, an initial comparison was conducted for the woven flexible pipe with a typical bonded flexible pipe called the thermoplastic reinforced pipe, where one layer of the woven flexible pipe is considered to show its performance. The results showed higher stress experienced by the woven flexible pipe as compared to the reinforced thermoplastic pipe, where the lowest difference was 50.8%. It was also shown that the woven flexible pipe can withstand the 6 MPa internal pressure at a thickness of 6 mm and above. The result is still inconclusive as an experiment test is required to validate the results. However, it serves as a good estimation of the expected result for future experimental test.