A new criterion based on strain determination for dent assessment of pipelines

Dents are one of the most common defects on pipelines and compromise the structural integrity. To date, relevant studies on failure assessment of dented pipelines have been limited, and the existing standard, mainly American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) B31.8, contains major problems, making assessment results not sufficiently accurate and reliable. In this work, a new method based on ductile damage failure indictor (DFDI) criterion combined with improved strain determination by a finite element (FE) model was developed for pipeline dent assessment. Dents with different depths were created by applying a spherical indenter of 100 mm in diameter on a pipe segment of 720 mm in outer diameter and 8.1 mm in pipe wall thickness. The DFDI formula considers the influence of spring-back upon removal of indenter, and the difference between the equivalent strain at dent apex and the maximum equivalent strain at the whole dent area. When the indenter displacement is smaller than 8% of pipe outer diameter, the maximum DFDI can be determined from the equivalent strain at the dent apex. When the initial displacement exceeds 8% of the pipe outer diameter, the maximum equivalent strain at the dent area, which deviates from the dent apex, should be determined by the FE model. Moreover, the limitations of ASME B31.8 in dent assessment were explained.