An integrated approach to the design of high performance carbon fibre reinforced risers-from micro to macro-scale

摘要

The increasing demand for ultra-deep water oil and gas extraction has led to the consideration of high performance materials, such as carbon fibre reinforced composites, in the manufacturing of risers. Whilst the unique properties of composites offer great capability in the design, the lack of field experience and of relevant design codes and standards raise concerns regarding appropriate design methodologies within the oil and gas community. In this study, an integrated design approach is proposed, whereby information from the micro-scale (i.e. at the fibre and matrix level) is used for the prediction of the structural response at the macro-scale (i.e. of the whole pipe). In order to do so, mathematical models describing the pipe behaviour at the micro, meso and macro-scales are developed and linked together. Experiments in all three length scales are performed in order to reveal the failure mechanisms associated with different loading conditions and to validate the proposed method. Predicted and experimental results from pipes subjected to internal pressure, tensile, compressive and bending loads as well as their combinations are presented and discussed.