Analysis of load carrying performance for glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite pipe under different in-service conditions

Fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite pipe (FRTP) has advantages over traditional metallic counterparts for oil and gas transportation. During in-service the pipe is subjected to different mechanical loads including internal pressure, torsion, and bending. In this work, a special type of continuous glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite pipe (DN150-6.4 MPa) is analyzed by finite element method (FEM) under various complex service-in conditions. Stress and strain are investigated for different layers of FRTP to determine the extreme load capacity. Experimental analysis is conducted to validate proposed method. Combining the results from FEM and test, it is concluded that the ultimate internal pressure (burst pressure) of FRTP is 61.7 MPa, the ultimate axial tensile displacement is 66.4 mm, the maximum torsion angle is 71.5 degrees, and the minimum bending radius 978.9 mm. Under different working conditions, the mechanical properties of the FRTP are still surplus under the given load. For the good agreement with experimental data, the FEM modeling can be guide for practical application of FRTP.