Modelling Flexible Pipes Using Finite Macro Elements

• Grant number: 13/01689-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2013
• End date: August 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Clóvis de Arruda Martins
• Grantee: Rodrigo Provasi Correia
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Flexible pipes and umbilical cables are elements intensively used in offshore industry but they are hard to conceive, since there is a great variety of components and possible arrangements, and they have complex modeling due to layer interaction. Aiming to turn the conception of these cables into a less laborious process, the candidate proposed in his PhD work an internal mechanic model to deal with the layer interaction and a Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. The CAD software consists on a tool for design and visualization of umbilical cables and flexible pipes and includes their typical components. On the other hand, the model utilizes finite macro-elements specially developed to model some of these components. Even though good results were obtained, there is still room for new developments and this is what this plan aims for. Some complex elements, such as interlocked carcass and pressure armors, are not treated in latest software version. Given its complexity, one needs a way to describe those using equivalent properties and be included into the model, allowing solving a complete flexible pipe.It is important to say that, even though it is possible to model a complete cable with the previous proposition, the code performance would not be adequate, since it was not optimized. It is proposed, parallel to the equivalent properties for interlocked carcasses and pressure barriers development, improvements in the computational code, such as parallelization, making the software able to be used in a conventional workstation.