Modelling of damage and scaling effects in composite pipes subjected to low-velocity impacts

Even though composite pipes present important advantages for the oil and gas industry as a high resistance to corrosion or a good strength-weight relationship, its implementation has been restrained by the difficulty to predict their behaviour when affected by transversal impacts, which cause damage that can be difficult to detect. The present work aims to develop a simulation tool to model the damage caused low-velocity impact and try to establish a relationship with the geometry of the pipe, focusing in three of the pipe parameters: diameter, length and thickness. A model with these characteristics would anticipate the appropriate dimensions of the pipe needed for satisfying specific necessities required by the pipeline design. By increasing the confidence in the modelling of composite structures, the long process of testing every variation in the geometric properties of the pipe will be significantly reduced and the use of composite pipes will increase.