A review of the design and analysis of reinforced thermoplastic pipes for offshore applications

Abstract

The development and recent applications of reinforced thermoplastic pipes for offshore oil and gas applications are reviewed. The design and materials of reinforced thermoplastic pipes are presented. Reinforced thermoplastic pipes have been increasingly accepted as an important alternative to traditional metallic offshore pipes due to their distinct advantages such as a higher stiffness to weight ratio, improved fatigue resistance and better corrosion resistance. Their potential applications can be extended to deep-water risers. Loading conditions which could be experienced by them for offshore applications are described. Existent studies and analyses of offshore pipes under these loading conditions are discussed. Based on this discussion, this article outlines the limitations of the current studies of reinforced thermoplastic pipes and future work to improve the analysis and design of reinforced thermoplastic pipes is recommended.