CASE STUDY

Root Cause Failure Analysis of Underwater Flexible Gas Pipes

#FEA #Thermostructural #RigidPlastic #Elastoplastic #Oil&Gas

Our client from the oil and gas industry approach us to investigate the reason behind several defects and failures identified in underwater oil and gas pipes. After internal investigations and discussions we determined that the defects are occurring during the manufacturing process of hot extrusion and it is related to several manufacturing parameters.​

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Instead of stopping the production to perform expensive testing to isolate the parameters that can be optimised to eliminate these defects, we suggested an inexpensive alternative methodology using computational modelling. We developed advanced finite element models able to simulate the pipe manufacturing process, including the incorporation of advanced non-linearly viscoelastic properties to layers of polymers and liquid to solid transitions. We then performed extensive sensitivity analyses of the manufacturing parameters to assess their effect on product quality and determine an optimal range of manufacturing parameters for different products, materials and pipe diameters.

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Our findings allowed the client to reduce their quality control costs and find a solution quickly for a problem otherwise very difficult, expensive and time consuming to resolve. Our model has since been developed to become an automated pipeline that is currently used in the client's R&D process for optimising the manufacturing process of new products.