Accepted Manuscript

Simulation investigation of dent behavior of steel pipe under

external load

Chuanjun Han, Sisi Tan, Jie Zhang, Chuan Zhang

PII: S1350-6307(17)30532-0
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2018.03.024
Reference: EFA 3418
To appear in: Engineering Failure Analysis
Received date: 24 April 2017
Revised date: 3 March 2018
Accepted date: 13 March 2018

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Simulation investigation of dent behavior of steel pipe under

external load
Chuanjun Han1, Sisi Tan1, Jie Zhang1,2,* and Chuan Zhang1

1
School of Mechatronic Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China

2
State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Xi’an, 710049, China

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*
Corresponding author: J. Zhang, email:longmenshao@163.com

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Abstract

Denting, caused by working condition and by rocks or external objects during the

laying process, is an important failure mode of steel pipes. To study the failure

mechanism of a steel pipe, steel pipe behavior with longitudinal, transverse, and tilted

dents were investigated. Effects of the diameter-thickness ratio and indenter

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displacement on the pipe mechanical behavior were studied. The results showed that

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plastic deformation occurred mainly at the dent, where there was an obvious stress

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concentration. The plastic deformation of the pipe continued to increase during the

unloading process. The axial strain at the dent location was compressive strain. Dent’s
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rebound rate ( depth ratio of the dent after loading and unloading) of the pipe
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increased with increasing the diameter-thickness ratio and decreased with increasing

the indenter displacement. With transverse denting, both sides of the dent were more
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dangerous than the dent location. The force-displacement curve for the pipe subjected
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to a tilted dent was different than those for longitudinal and transverse denting. There
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is no raised effect for the tilted dent.

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Keywords: steel pipe, dent behavior, plastic deformation, strain, rebound rate
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1. Introduction
Long-distance pipes are the main method for transporting oil and gas[1]. In

addition to corrosion defects, mechanical damage, such as denting, fracture, or

collapse, is one of the most important failure modes for oil and gas pipes and may

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lead to the oil and gas leakage that can result in fire and explosion. Pipes are easily

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pressed upon by rocks or hard objects during the laying process and due to working

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conditions. Then, a dent may appear on the pipe that causes a local stress and strain

concentration and a local reduction in the pipe diameter[2]. A dent in a pipe can be
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defined as a permanent plastic deformation or as a major and sharp distortion of the
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circular cross section and causes local stress and stress and strain concentration.

Damage in the form of dents is one of the most common causes of pipe failures [3].
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For the internal pressure fluctuation, deformation on the pipe’s dent location is
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changing. Thus, fatigue failure of the dented pipe would more likely occur under
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cyclic loading. It is very important to investigate the dent behavior of a pipe

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compressed by external objects. Furthermore, operability requirements, such as

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cleaning and wall-condition monitoring, limit a pipe’s maximum allowable dent depth

[4].

Dent depth is defined as the maximum reduction in the pipe diameter. There are

different types of pipe dents, defined according to their impact on the pipe wall

dimensions and geometry [5]: smooth dent; kinked dent; plain dent; unconstrained

dent; and constrained dent.

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In 1980, Furness [6]studied the local dent behavior of tubular members, based on

a rigid-plastic approach, and the derived expression has been used in API RP

2A-WSD. Eiber [7] found that a plain smooth dent with a depth of up to 8% of the

pipe diameter did not significantly alter the pipe burst strength. Jones [8] found that a

plain smooth dent with a depth of up to 24% of the pipe diameter had a little effect on

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the pipe burst strength. Ellinas [9] derived an expression for the load-deflection

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response of the dented pipe based on a semi-empirical method. Based on the

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rigid-plastic method, Wierzbicki and Suh [10] studied the deformation behavior of the

pipes under axial force and denting load, the theoretical analysis of the pipe’s plastic
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deformation is presented. Chen [11] performed 226 impact tests on mild steel pipes
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and discussed the influences of pipe geometry, impact position and internal pressure

on the critical value of the initial impact energy. Ruggieri [12] experimentally and
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numerically surveyed the structural behavior of dented pipes under dent loads, and
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found that the growth of the dented region produces a significant reduction of the pipe
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section modulus section which strongly affects pipe strength. Lu [13] presented a
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simple empirical formula based upon tests performed on open/closed-ended pipes

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subjected to opposed indentations in their middle cross sections. Using experiments

and finite element simulation, Firouzsalari and Showkati [14] studied the deformation

and strain behavior of pre-compressed steel pipes. The mechanical behavior of a pipe

has a strong relationship to the object shape and size. Pluvinage [15] developed the

assessing methods for pipe defects. Firouzsalari [16] investigated the free-spanned

pipe behavior due to axial forces and local loads, and found that pre-loading has a
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marked effect on the lateral strength and deformation behavior of the pipes. Ghaednia

[17] examined the influence of various parameters such as dent shape and service

pressure on strain distributions of dented pipe, and discussed the strain distributions in

and around the dent. Lancaster [18] measured strains and displacements in previously

dented aluminium pipes subject to increasing internal pressure, the results had used to

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the assessment of a gouge within a dent. Brooker [19] examined quasi-static denting

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of buried pipes under lateral loading from excavator machinery fitted with rectangular

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cross-section bucket teeth. A semi-analytical solution for the load-deflection response

was presented.
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Types of contact between the external objects and pipe were also not considered in
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these studies. Spherical objects have been studied, but a columnar object (cross

sections are the same along axial direction, as shows in Fig.1) has been rarely
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considered. The failure mechanism of a pipe that compressed by a columnar object is

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different from the objects with other shapes. In this study, the stress, deformation, and
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strain of a pipe compressed by a columnar object from longitudinal, transverse, and

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tilted directions were investigated using numerical simulation. The effects of the
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indentation depth and diameter-thickness ratio on the mechanical behavior of the

dented pipe were also studied.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Numerical model

In engineering practice, external objects may contact a pipe in different ways.

Taking columnar objects as an example, there are three contact types between the
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external object and pipe; longitudinal contact, transverse contact, and tilted contact.

They can result in three kinds of dents with different shapes, longitudinal dent,

transverse dent, and tilted dent. The schematic diagram of the indenter compressing

the pipe is shown in Fig.1. The shape of the indenter was a triangular prism. The

contact area with the pipe was an arc with 100-mm radius. The indenter length was

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greater than the pipe diameter. The pipe diameter was 508mm, and the pipe length

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was six times the diameter. The initial pipe thickness was 8mm. Four-node,

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reduced-integration shell elements were used for modeling the cylindrical pipe

segment, and eight-node, reduced-integration elements were used to simulate the

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indenter. The grid near the contact area was refined.
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A large-strain plasticity model with isotropic hardening was used for the steel pipe

material. Numerical results were obtained for X65 steel pipes; X65 is a typical steel
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material used in oil and gas pipe applications [20]. The stress-strain curve of X65 is
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shown in Fig.2. Its yield stress is 488MPa, the Young’s modulus is 210GPa, Poisson’s
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ratio is 0.3, and density is 7800kg/m3. The displacement load was applied to the
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indenter in the simulation process. After the indenter displacement reached the
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maximum value (it is defined as initial indenter displacement in this paper), then it is

reduced to zero. Therefore, there were two loading processes; one, an uploading

process, during which the indenter displacement was applied; the other, which was an

unloading process.

2.2 Model verification

The experiments of the indenter and pipe were carried in reference [21]. A local
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load was applied by a transverse-oriented indenter made from strong hardened steel to

the top surface of the specimens. The angle of the head of the indenter was 90°. The

head of the indenter was rounded to a radius of 2 mm. The length of the pipe is 2m,

pipe diameter is 140mm, and the wall thickness is 2.555mm.

Fig.3 shows the deformation of the pipe tested by experiment and numerical

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simulation. There is a dent with “V” shape in the pipe, and lower part of the pipe is

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squashed for the rigid base. Fig.4 shows the load-displacement curves of the pipe that

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tested by the two methods. The error between the numerical simulation and

experiment results is small. Therefore, the numerical model is reliable. But there is a
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error between the two load-displacement curves.
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3. Simulation results
The deformation process of the pipe under longitudinal denting, with an initial
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indenter displacement (the maximum displacement of the indenter) of 0.16m, after

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which the indenter was removed as shown in Fig.5. During the loading process, a dent
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appeared on the pipe due to the action of the indenter, and the dent depth increased
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with increasing indenter displacement. During the unloading process, elastic rebound
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occurred at the deformed area. However, there was a permanent plastic deformation

of the pipe wall after the indenter was removed. The dent shape had a strong

relationship to the indenter shape. For this columnar indenter, the bottom of the dent

was flat.

Fig.6 shows the force-displacement curve for the pipe undergoing longitudinal

denting. There were five stages of the force- displacement curve. The first stage was
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the elastic stage, before K1, where there was only elastic deformation. Plastic

deformation appeared on the pipe wall between K1 and K2. There was a plateau

between K2 and K3. In this stage, the dent depth increased but the indenter force did

not change. After K3, the indenter force increased with increasing dent depth in a

nonlinear rule. It was an unloading process after K4, wherein elastic rebound occurred

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on the deformed wall. When the indenter was removed from the pipe wall, the dent

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remained on the pipe wall.

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The deformation process of the pipe with transverse denting is shown in Fig.7.

The dent was V-shaped in the longitudinal section. Fig.8 shows the force-
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displacement curve of the pipe with transverse denting. The curve shape for the
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transverse denting was different than that for longitudinal denting. There was also a

plateau stage in the curve, but it was very short and not very obvious. The
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force-displacement could also be divided into five stages. During the unloading
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process, the force-displacement curve was a curve rather than a straight line, so, there
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was not only elastic rebound but also plastic deformation near the dent area.
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The deformation process of the pipe subjected to tilted denting is shown in Fig.9.
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There was a tilted dent on the pipe wall. The cross section of the pipe near the dent

was an oval. Rebound occurred during the unloading process. Fig.10 shows the

force-displacement curve for the pipe undergoing tilted denting. The force curve

shape for tilted denting was different from those for longitudinal and transverse

denting. There was no plateau stage in the force curve. The force-displacement curve

can be divided into four stages; the elastic deformation stage (0~K1), the initial plastic
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deformation stage (K1~K2), the plastic deformation stage (K2~K4), and the rebound

stage (K4~K5). During the unloading process, the force-displacement curve was a

curve rather than a straight line.

4. Discussion of dent behavior

4.1 Longitudinal denting

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4.1.1 Stress and strain analysis

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The von Mises stress of the pipe in different stages is shown in Fig.11. In the

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elastic stage, the high stress area appeared only at the contact interface between the

indenter and pipe wall. This high stress area was mainly on the upper part of the pipe,
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and it increased along the axial and circumferential directions with increasing indenter
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displacement. There were two lower-stress areas that occurs within the high stress

area of the dent. When the dent depth reached the maximum value, the maximum
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stress appeared in the dent area. After unloading the indenter, the high stress area and
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the maximum stress decreased. The high stress area appeared on the outer edge of the
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dent.
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The equivalent plastic strain of the pipe undergoing longitudinal denting is shown
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in Fig.12. Plastic deformation was mainly at the dent; there was no plastic

deformation of the lower part of the pipe. The maximum equivalent plastic strain was

in the locations that contacted the ends of the indenter. When the dent depth was less

than 0.02m, the equivalent plastic strains at the two points were the same. This means

that there was no obvious dent on the pipe. When the dent depth increased, the

equivalent plastic strain of the pipe increased, gradually. For the middle point M, the
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equivalent plastic strain increased, but the change rate decreased. For point N, the

equivalent plastic strain increased at a constant change rate when the dent depth was

less than 0.05m. Then, it changed very little as the loading increased. During the

unloading process, the equivalent plastic strain of the pipe also increased. After the

elastic rebound of the pipe was completed, the equivalent plastic strain did not

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change.

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In its final stage, the axial strain distribution of the pipe undergoing longitudinal

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denting is shown in Fig.13. The axial strain at the pipe dent location was compressive

strain. The axial strain on both sides of the dent was tensile strain. The axial strain
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curve at the middle axial line shows that compressive strain appeared on the top of the
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pipe. The maximum compressive axial strain is not in the middle part of the pipe, but,

rather, in the locations that contacted the ends of the indenter. This was directly
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caused by the ends of the indenter with a sharp structure. Therefore, cracks might
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appear at the bottom of the dent. The maximum compressive strain was far greater
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than the tensile strain, so, the dent bottom was the dangerous area. The compressive
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axial strain first decreased and then increased, and, finally, decreased along the axial
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direction in the non-contact area. So, there is a raised effect (a small crest in the curve)

at 0.3~0.5m, which caused by the resistance of the cylindrical shell structure.

4.1.2 Effect of the diameter-thickness ratio

The diameter-thickness ratio affects the pipe stiffness. The smaller the

diameter-thickness ratio is, the greater the pipe stiffness. Force- displacement curves

for pipes with different diameter-thickness ratios are shown in Fig.14. When the
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dent depth was constant, the indenter force that acted on the pipe increased with the

decreasing diameter-thickness ratio. The plateau phenomenon of the force-

displacement curve was more serious when the diameter-thickness ratio was small.

During the unloading process, the slope of the curve increased with decreasing

diameter-thickness ratio. Therefore, a dent was more likely to occur in a thin-walled

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pipe (a larger diameter-thickness ratio).

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Deformation appeared on the upper part of the pipe under the action of an indenter.

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The longitudinal cross-sectional deformations of the pipe with various

diameter-thickness ratios are shown in Fig.15. Given the same initial indenter
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displacement, the final dent depth increased with decreasing diameter-thickness ratio.
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Therefore, thin-walled pipes with the same diameter are more prone to failure under

the action of external objects.

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As shown in Fig.16, the maximum plastic strain and maximum axial strain
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decreased with increasing diameter-thickness ratio. Thick-walled pipes are safer under
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the action of external objects. The rebound rate was defined as the ratio of the elastic
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rebound to the maximum dent depth. The rebound rate of the pipe increased as the
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diameter-thickness ratio increased. Therefore, local buckling is prone to appear on a

thin-walled pipe.

4.1.3 Effect of initial indenter displacement

For the plastic deformation and the nonlinear stages of the denting process, the

initial indenter displacement had a significant effect on the rebound rate. As shown in

Fig.17, the rebound rate of the pipe decreased with increasing initial indenter
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displacement. This is because the local buckling was more serious as the indenter

displacement increased and the buckling deformation was more resistant to rebound.

There was a strong, nonlinear association between the indenter force and indenter

displacement. As the indenter displacement increased, the indenter force increased

and the change rate decreased.

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Fig.18 shows the longitudinal deformation of the pipe with different indenter

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displacements. The permanent plastic deformation of the pipe was more severe as the

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initial indenter displacement increased. The length of the transition area between the

dent bottom and the no deformed pipe section increased with the increasing initial
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indenter displacement. The smaller the indenter displacement was, the flatter the
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bottom of the dent was.

The maximum axial strain and equivalent plastic strain of the pipe for different
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indenter displacements are shown in Fig.19. The maximum axial strain increased with
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increasing indenter displacement. The indenter displacement had a small effect on the
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plastic deformation area. When the ratio of the indenter displacement to the pipe
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diameter was less than 0.4, the maximum plastic strain was mainly at the bottom of
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the dent. When w/D was greater than 0.4, the maximum plastic strain was on both

sides of the dent, but not at the bottom of the dent.

4.2 Transverse denting

Fig.20 shows the longitudinal deformation of the pipe subjected to transverse

denting. The longitudinal shape of the dent was consistent with the cross section of

the columnar indenter. At the symmetrical cross section (axial length is 0m), the
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cross-sectional deformations at the limit state (final phase of the loading) and the final

state (final phase of the unloading) were the same. The rebound rate was

approximately 29.65%.

The axial strain distribution and the strain curve of the pipe undergoing transverse

denting are shown in Fig.21. The axial strain at the dent location was larger. At the

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bottom of the dent, the axial strain was compressive strain. The maximum tensile

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strain was greater than the compressive strain. Therefore, both sides of the dent were

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more prone to failure than the dent location. This was different from the dent behavior

under longitudinal denting. Cracks may first appear on the sides of a dent caused by
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transverse denting. According to the axial strain curve of a line on the top of the pipe,
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the maximum axial strain was at the bottom of the dent. On the wall of the dent, the

compressive strain reduced quickly from the middle part to the outer edge. For the
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non-contact area, the axial strain first increased and then decreased along the direction
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away from the dent.

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The plastic deformation and equivalent plastic strain curve for the pipe subjected
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to transverse denting are shown in Fig.22. The maximum plastic strain of the pipe in
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the final stage was on both sides of the dent not in the middle of the dent. According

to the plastic strain curve of these two special points, the plastic deformation first

appeared on the top (N’-point) of the pipe. It increased with increasing dent depth,

when the dent depth was 0.05m. After this critical point, the equivalent plastic strain

of the N’-point changed little. The plastic deformation began to appear at the M’-point

when the dent depth was greater than 0.03m. The equivalent plastic strain at the
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M’-point increased with a greater rate when the dent depth was less than 0.11m. The

equivalent plastic strain at the N’-point was greater than that at M’-point when the

dent depth was less than 0.078m. The maximum equivalent plastic strain was at the

M’-point for a dent depth greater than 0.078m. During the unloading process, the

plastic strain at the N’-point changed little, but the change in the plastic strain at the

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M’-point was large.

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Fig.23 shows the von Mises stress of the pipe under transverse denting. When the

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indenter load was small, the high stress area was mainly on the top of the pipe. The

high stress area expanded in the circumferential and axial directions. During the
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loading process, the stress distribution shape changed from an oval to a four-pointed
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star, and, finally, became hexagonal. After the unloading process, the stress at the

non-buckling locations decreased. There was an obvious stress concentration, and the
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maximum residual stress was mainly at the dent location. Therefore, the dent location
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was a weak part of the pipe.

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4.3 Tilted denting

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Fig.24 shows the von Mises stress distribution for the pipe subjected tilted denting.
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The stress distribution of the pipe was antisymmetric around the pipe center. In the

elastic stage, the high stress area only appeared at the contact area between the

indenter and the pipe. The high stress area increased along the axial and

circumferential directions with increasing the indenter displacement. The maximum

stress was at the bottom of the tilted dent. After unloading the indenter, the high stress

area decreased, but the maximum residual stress was still at the bottom of the dent.
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The stress concentrations on both sides of the dent were more serious.

Fig.25 shows the plastic deformation and equivalent plastic strain for the pipe

subjected tilted denting. Plastic deformation only appeared on the upper part of the

pipe. According to the plastic strain curve of the two special points, the plastic

deformation first appeared in the middle part of the pipe, and then occurred at both

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sides of the dent. During the unloading process, the plastic strain of the pipe continued

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to increase.

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The axial strain distribution and strain curve for the pipe undergoing tilted denting

are shown in Fig.26. The maximum compressive strain was greater than the tensile
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strain. Therefore, the dent location was the most dangerous. The pipe’s dent behavior
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under tilted denting was different than those under longitudinal and transverse denting.

According to the axial strain curve for the line on the top of the pipe, the maximum
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axial strain was at the bottom of the dent.

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5. Conclusions
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Dent is one of the most common failure forms of the steel pipe. In this paper, steel
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pipe behavior with longitudinal, transverse, and tilted dents were investigated. Effects
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of the diameter-thickness ratio and indenter displacement on the pipe mechanical

behavior were studied. That led to the following conclusions:

(1) The force-displacement curve of the pipe undergoing longitudinal denting can

be divided into five stages; the elastic deformation stage, initial plastic deformation

stage, plateau stage, plastic deformation stage and rebound stage. There was an

obvious stress concentration near the dent. Plastic deformation was mainly at the dent.
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The contact locations between the pipe and the ends of the indenter were prone to

failure. The pipe’s equivalent plastic strain continued to increase during the unloading

process. The rebound rate of the pipe increased with increasing diameter-thickness

ratio. The maximum axial strain and equivalent plastic strain increased with

increasing the indenter displacement. The rebound rate of the pipe decreased with

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increasing the initial indenter displacement.

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(2) For transverse denting, the force-displacement curve of the pipe could be

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divided into five stages. The force-displacement curve was a curve rather than a

straight line during the unloading process. The maximum plastic strain of the pipe was
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on both sides of the dent. Therefore, both sides of the dent were more dangerous than
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the dent center.

(3) The force-displacement curve for the pipe subjected to a tilted dent was
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different than those for longitudinal and transverse denting. There was no plateau
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stage in the force curve, and the force curve could be divided into four stages. The
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stress distribution of the pipe was antisymmetric about the pipe center, but the
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maximum residual stress was still at the bottom of the dent. The plastic deformation
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first appeared in the middle part of the pipe and then occurred on both sides of the

dent.

Acknowledgement
This research work was supported by Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials &

Surface Technology (Harbin Engineering University), State Key Laboratory for

Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures (No.SV2017-KF-08), Chengdu

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science and technology program (2016-HM01-00306-SF).

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[20]Zhang J., Liang Z., Zhao G. Mechanical behaviour analysis of a buried steel pipe

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Fig.1 Schematic diagram of the calculation model.
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Fig.2 Stress-strain curve of X65

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Fig.3 Comparison of pipe’s deformation tested by experimental [21] and numerical
simulation
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Fig.4 Normalized load-displacement curves of the pipe tested by experimental [21]
and numerical simulation
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Fig.5 Deformation process of the pipe undergoing longitudinal denting

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Fig.6 Force-displacement curve undergoing longitudinal denting
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Fig.7 Deformation process of the pipe undergoing transverse denting

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Fig.8 Force-displacement curve of the pipe undergoing transverse denting
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Fig.9 Deformation process of the pipe undergoing tilted denting

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Fig.10 Force-displacement of the pipe undergoing tilted denting
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Fig.11 Stress distribution of the pipe undergoing longitudinal denting
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Fig.12 Equivalent plastic strain of the pipe undergoing longitudinal denting
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Fig.13 Axial strain distribution of the pipe undergoing longitudinal denting
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Fig.14 Force-displacement curves of the pipe with different diameter-thickness ratios
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Fig.15 Deformations of the pipe with different diameter-thickness ratios
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Fig.16 Strain and rebound rate of the pipe with different diameter-thickness ratio
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Fig.17 Force and rebound rate of the pipe under different indenter displacements
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Fig.18 Deformations of the pipe under different indenter displacements

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Fig.19 Strain of the pipe under different indenter displacements
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Fig.20 Deformation of the pipe undergoing transverse denting
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Fig.21 Axial strain of the pipe undergoing transverse denting
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Fig.22 Equivalent plastic strain of the pipe undergoing transverse denting

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Fig.23 Von Mises stress of the pipe undergoing transverse denting
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Fig.24 Von Mises stress of the pipe undergoing tilted denting
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Fig.25 Equivalent plastic strain of the pipe undergoing tilt denting

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Fig.26 Axial strain distribution of the pipe undergoing tilt denting
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Highlights

 Behaviors of dented pipe subjected to different indenters were investigated.

 There is an obvious stress and strain concentration on the pipe’s dent.
 Equivalent plastic strain of the pipe increases during the unloading process.
 There is no plateau stage in force-dent depth curve undergoing tilted indenting.
 Rebound rate increases with increasing the diameter-thickness ratio.

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