Abstract
In-line inspection is a non-destructive assessment method commonly used for defect assessment and monitoring of pipelines. The passage of an ILI tool through an excavated or exposed section of a pipe during an integrity assessment can excite vibrations and exert substantial forces, stress, and deflections on the pipe due to the weight and speed of the ILI tool. When the excitation frequency due to the ILI tool movement is close to the natural frequency of the overall structure, the dynamic stress generated within the pipe can be large enough to the extent that it imposes integrity concern on the line. This research aims to study effects of the ILI tool passage through floating and partially supported pipes under a variety of boundary and loading conditions. A finite element method is used to model the pipe with moving ILI tool. The model is developed based on Timoshenko beam theory with planar degrees-of-freedom and the differential equations of motion are solved numerically to predict displacement, strain, stress, and frequency responses of the pipe. The model is further validated using a lab-scale experimental setup. The comparison of the simulation to experimental results show how the proposed model is capable of predicting pipe dynamics, effectively.
