Experimental/numerical analysis of the collapse behavior of steel pipes

The production of steel Pipes with guaranteed external collapse pressure (e .g. high collapse casings for oil wells) requires the implementation of an accurate process control. To develop that process control it is necessary t o investigate how different parameters affect the external collapse pressur e of the pipes Experimental/numerical techniques implemented to investigate the collapse behavior of steel pipes are presented. The discussion of the experimental techniques includes the description of the facilities for perf orming external pressure collapse tests and the description of an imperfect ions measuring system. The numerical techniques include 2D and 3D finite el ement models. The effects on the value of the pipes' external collapse pres sure of their shape, residual stresses and material properties are discusse d.