Numerical investigation of residual ultimate strength of dented metallic pipes subjected to pure bending

A dent is one of the main structural damages that may affect ultimate strength. In this paper, the residual ultimate strength of dented metallic pipes subjected to a bending moment is quantitatively investigated. The numerical model is developed accounting for the variation of the dent length (l(d)), dent depth (d(d)), dent width (w(d)), dent rotation angle ((d)) and dent location based on ABAQUS Python. The numerical model is validated by test results from a four-point bending test. Subsequently, a parametric investigation is performed on the effects of wave-type initial imperfection, D/t and dent geometrical parameters. It is found that both l(d) and d(d) have a significant effect on the residual ultimate strength of dented metallic pipes, while the effect of w(d) is slight. Finally, an empirical formula with respect to l(d) and d(d) has been proposed for the prediction of bending moment, which can be deployed for practical purposes.