1.3.

4 Stability Failure
The pipe can also fail due to stability, which is caused mainly by compressive stress. The
stability
problem occurs mainly on large thin wall shells and pipes. However, it may also occur on
thick pipes
in a deepwater environment. Figure 1.9 shows several situations that may have stability
problem.
Under external pressure, the first priority is to get some idea about the potential buckling of
a long
segment of un-stiffened pipe. A long segment of pipe produces two-lobe buckling with an
allowable
external pressure as
Pallow 􀀠
2E
3(1 􀀐 􀁑 2)
(t 􀀒D)3 (1.3)
where
E = modulus of elasticity
t = thickness
D = outside diameter
ν = Poisson’s ratio
Stability is very sensitive to imperfection and out-of-roundness of the shell. The ASME
procedure
for external pressure design is based on 1% diametrical out-of-roundness of the shell. This is
the same
tolerance for most of the standard specifications on shells and pipes. However, there are
some specifications,
such as API-5L and ASTM A-53, which have a diametrical out-of-roundness tolerance of 2%
(±1%). Some adjustments are required when using the ASME procedure for external
pressure design
of pipe having a diametrical out-of-roundness greater than 1%.
Figure 1.9b shows some situations of instability due to axial compressive stress. The
compressive
load may create an overall column-buckling problem as in all structural systems. The main
concern
of column buckling is the sustained load such as the bellow expansion joint pressure end
forces. The
effect of the self-limiting compressive load, such as the thermal expansion force, is generally
benign
because the force is readily reduced from slackening of the buckled pipe. For local shell
buckling, we
have full circle wrinkling, square wave buckling, and bending wrinkling. Within the elastic
range, the
allowable compressive stress may be taken as [22]
SAllow 􀀠
0􀀑125
2
E(t 􀀒R)