A numerical study on the high-velocity impact behavior of pressure pipes

Pressure pipes are widely used in modern industry with some in potentially dangerous situations of explosion and impact. The security problems of these pipes when subjected to impact have attracted a lot of attention. A non-linear numerical model has therefore been developed to investigate the dynamic behavior of pressure pipes subjected to high-velocity impact. A high strain rate effect on the pipe response is considered here and the fluid and pipe interaction is modeled to include the coupling effect between the deformation of the pipe and its internal pressure. Low-velocity and high-velocity impact experimental results are used to verify the numerical model, and a reasonable agreement between the numerical and experimental results has been achieved. The effects on the dynamic behavior of the pipes of the nose shape of the projectile, the diameter of the spherical projectile, and the pipe wall thickness and internal pressure, are investigated quantitatively. During high-velocity impacts, the increase of pressure in the pipes decreases their resistance to perforation. A rise in internal pressure increases the elastic resistance of the pipes toward impacts without crack formation.