Formulações semi-empíricas para o colapso hidrostático bi-simétrico de dutos flexíveis

Abstract

Flexible pipes are structures composed of metallic and polymeric layers that allow resistance and sealing without compromise the flexibility needed to its operation. Among its layers, the interlocked carcass and the pressure armor are responsible for resisting to radial loads such as the hydrostatic pressure. The structural analyses of those pipes performed by a tridimensional solid model based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) demands a big computational effort due, to among others reasons, the complexity of it cross section. In this work it is developed an alternative approach based on rectangular cross sections with equivalent mechanical properties obtained by the generalization of the response of a numerical model based on FEM through symbolic regression. Using this approach, expressions are proposed to obtain the response of the flexible pipe when subjected to crushing loads and to calculate the collapse pressure with dry and flooded annulus. The results showed an excellent correlation with the experiments used for validation.