Modeling the Repair of a Crack in an HDPE Pipe

Abstract

A pipe is a buried or aerial pipeline carrying goods, whether in liquid or gaseous form. Pipes are most often made from polymer tubes. These pipes prove to be subject to damage caused by a lack of material or crack thus calling for methods of repair or reinforcement. The objective of this study is to analyze by finite element analysis the presence of a horizontal crack in a high-density polyethylene pipe subjected to patch-corrected internal loading. Part of this study is devoted to analyzing the Von Misses stress distribution along a horizontal line, the applied loading type effect, the orientation of the fibers and the nature of the patch have been highlighted. The second part of our study is based on the calculation of the J-Integral where the same parameters of the first part were considered. The results clearly show that the mechanical characteristics of the composite must be optimized to provide an effective repair safely and allow relief of stress concentrations at the crack front.