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Large-scale rotating bending fatigue tests for offshore pipe connections

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Abstract

A testing apparatus featuring rotating bending fatigue techniques was designed and constructed to investigate the fatigue behavior of full-sized threaded connections used to couple offshore piping and structures. Rotating bending tests were performed where flexural loads are applied to the pipe with a hydraulic loading system while simultaneously rotating the pipe by belt drive attached to an electric motor. While rotating bending fatigue testing is not a new concept, the relatively large scale of the tests presented special problems that make the apparatus distinctive. This rotating bending apparatus allows more rapid testing than conventional closed-loop systems. Additionally, conventional closed-loop axial fatigue tests would have required a testing frame with fatigue load capacity exceeding 4455 kN (1,000,000 lbs). Several specially manufactured devices are featured that require large service loads combined with exacting machine tolerances. Currently, a fatigue frequency of 2.0 Hz has been achieved with an equivalent deformation range of 25.4 mm (1.0 in.). Faster speeds are believed possible.

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Abbreviations

A :

cross-sectional are of the pipe (46620 mm2; 72.26 in.2)

I :

moment of inertia of the pipe (1.993E+9 mm4; 4787 in.4)

M :

bending moment

N :

number of cycles to failure

S r :

nominal stress range

S m :

nominal mean stress

σx :

nominal axial stress

References

  1. Barsom, J.M. and Rolfe, S.T., Fracture and Fatigue Control in Structures, 2nd ed., Prentice Hall (1987).

  2. Fuchs, H.O. andStephens, R.I., Metal Fatigue in Engineering, John Wiley, New York (1980).

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  3. Grondin, G.Y. and Kulak, G.L., “Fatigue Testing of Drillpipe,” SPE Drilling and Completion, 95–106 (1994).

  4. Rothbart, H.A., Mechanical Design and Systems Handbook, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York (1985).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oklahoma, 73019, Norman, OK

    A. H. Varma (Graduate Student), B. W. Russell (Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science) & B. Wallace (Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science)

Authors
  1. A. H. Varma
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  2. B. W. Russell
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  3. B. Wallace
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Varma, A.H., Russell, B.W. & Wallace, B. Large-scale rotating bending fatigue tests for offshore pipe connections. Experimental Mechanics 37, 147–153 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02317851

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02317851

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