Offshore In-Service Resistance of Double Joints Under Strain-Based Conditions

Tenaris, Centro Sviluppo Materiali, and Saipem launched a cooperative program aimed at evaluating the in-service flaw tolerability of girth welded seamless pipes for offshore applications. Full-scale testing was conducted considering severe biaxial loading scenarios replicating actual offshore in-service conditions. Tearing by an occasional high axial strain was taken into account in order to consider suitability for strain-based conditions. Different notch sizes and sampling positions were also taken into account, thus improving the experimental database, which may assist the designer to evaluate the pipeline residual resistance when it is subjected to specific installation and in-service loading conditions.