Nonlinear elastic–plastic stress investigation for two interacting 3‐D cracks in offshore pipelines |
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| Authors: | Y. M. Zhang M. Z. Ariffin Z. M. Xiao W. G. Zhang Z. H. Huang |
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| Affiliation: | 1. DHI‐NTU, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;2. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;3. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;4. Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA |
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| Abstract: | Under continuous loading conditions, small closely distanced cracks can grow and coalesce into a large one that may subsequently pose a threat to the integrity and safety of structures. Although many research works were carried out for predicting fatigue growth of multiple cracks, few papers focusing on nonlinear elastic–plastic analysis of multiple cracks' fracture behaviours can be referred to. In this study, 3‐D elastic–plastic investigation has been performed on fracture behaviours of two collinear cracks located in offshore pipelines. The influences of the cracks configuration, the separation distance and internal pressure of the pipeline on the crack behaviours are investigated. On the basis of the numerical results, a new strain‐based crack tip opening displacement estimation method is proposed for assessing the fracture behaviour of flawed pipelines with two interacting collinear cracks. |
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| Keywords: | pipelines two interacting cracks CTOD fracture assessment |
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