Influence of Reel Lay on Residual Stress and Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Pipe

Reel lay is a fast and cost-effective way to install subsea pipelines. During reel lay, pipe’s repeated plastic bending produces residual stress, which has influence on pipe’s ultimate bearing capacity. First, the deformation of pipe in reel lay is analyzed, and the cyclic bending stages are simplified for convenience of theoretical research. Based on the finite element method (FEM), the Ramberg-Osgood model is adopted to describe material’s mechanical property with kinematic hardening rule, and five bending stages are simulated. Further, the influence of material parameters and geometry parameters on pipe’s residual stress is studied. Finally, the effect of residual stress on pipe’s external pressure bearing capacity and tensile capacity is analyzed. Some important conclusions can be drawn: (1) the influence of diameter-thick ratio on residual stress is small, and material parameters’ effect on the residual stress is large; (2) the influence of residual stress on pipe’s external pressure bearing capacity is small, but its influence on tensile capacity is large.