Numerical Investigation of Strain Variations along Steel Pipelines in Four-Point Bending Tests
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 15, Issue 4
Abstract
Four-point bending tests have been widely applied for investigating flexural behavior of different materials. However, there are no guidelines or standards relating to four-point bending tests for pipes. A steel pipe with a diameter of 154 mm and 3.4-mm wall thickness was instrumented with distributed fiber-optic strain sensors and tested in four-point bending. The measured strains at the crown, springlines, and invert deviated from results calculated using beam theory. This strain deviation is investigated using numerical analyses, and it is found that local deformations along the length of the pipe due to concentrated loads at load and support locations contributed to the deviation. Parametric studies are conducted using different geometries of wood support blocks, specimen lengths, and pipe thicknesses to investigate their impact on the strain distribution with the pipe. Recommendations for reducing the strain deviation at the midspan of the specimen are given for four-point bending tests carried out on the steel pipes.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported with funding provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Government of Ontario. The authors thank Guohao Ma, Graeme Boyd, Joshua Coghlan, and Hendrik Williams for their assistance acquiring the experimental results used in this study.
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Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 15 • Issue 4 • November 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 27, 2023
Accepted: Apr 29, 2024
Published online: Jul 24, 2024
Published in print: Nov 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 24, 2024
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