Simulation Study of Fatigue Lifetime in PE100 Pipes

Abstract

The fatigue lifetime predictions for semi-crystalline polymer, high density of polyethylene HDPE cases, is a new research problem, this work is focused on a simulation of the fatigue lifetime in PE100 pipes under internal pressure taking into account the influence of dimension parameters and internal pressures using the AFGROW software. Where, the developing numerical models gives an advantage of studying the problems more efficiently, since also very long-time processes can be simulated and analyzed in shorter times and different time frames of the process. The fracture m the service mechanics tools have been used to gain information on the resistance to crack growth. Furthermore, a fracture mechanics extrapolation procedure has been applied to predict the remaining fatigue lifetime of the pipes.