Effective tension and compression in pipeline and riser buckling

Abstract

The article discusses the outcome of a recent National University of Singapore experiment aimed at removing any remaining uncertainty. Tension is one of the key concepts in pipeline and marine riser engineering since it tells the user how to account for the pressure in the fluid inside and outside the pipe. Initially the column was straight and stress-free, and lay along the chain-dotted line. The analysis for Euler buckling looks for the condition under which an initially-straight elastic column can remain in equilibrium even though it has deflected sideways. The lowest critical load at which that can happen is close to the load at which real slender columns buckle. The pressure is contained by frictionless end plugs at both ends, but now the plugs are slightly different, so that they are free to move axially within the tube.