Assessment of flow-induced stresses in spiral weld pipes with bends

Abstract

This study numerically investigates flow-induced stresses and displacements in bent pipes at varying angles (20◦ ≤ θb ≤ 80◦ ) using Solids4Foam at Reynolds number of 20,000. The results indicate that increasing θb enhances the formation of symmetric vortex structures, which coincide with enhanced non-uniformity in pressure distribution and wall shear stresses. Additionally, maximum equivalent stresses (σeq) for the solid shell occur near the inlet. The pipes with higher θb also depict a reduced displacement magnitude(D), which hints at the strong role of fixed displacement boundary condition assigned at the pipe inlet and outlet. These findings provide essential insights for performing numerical investigation of pipeline reliability and structural integrity in oil transportation.

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