Material Selection and Fiber Orientation Effects in Composite Overwrapped Steel Pipelines: A Numerical Study for Burst Pressure Enhancement

Abstract

This study establishes a validated finite element framework for optimizing the burst capacity of petroleum-grade steel pipelines reinforced with composite overwraps. Addressing the limitations of classical netting analysis, the research develops a coupled ANSYS Mechanical and ACP workflow to systematically evaluate the influence of fiber orientation on structural integrity. The methodology first validates the static structural approach against Barlow’s equation using a thin-walled baseline (100 mm diameter, 3 mm wall), yielding a numerical failure pressure of 15.75 MPa against an analytical prediction of 13.8 MPa. Upon validation, the framework is scaled to a production-grade geometry (168.3 mm diameter, 7.1 mm wall) to execute a parametric sweep of winding angles (25 to 90 degrees) across four material systems: Epoxy E-Glass Wet, S-Glass UD, Carbon UD (230 GPa), and Woven Carbon. The results reveal a critical divergence in failure mechanics governed by fiber topology. Unidirectional systems (Carbon, S-Glass, E-Glass) consistently exhibit a "helical advantage," achieving maximum burst pressure at 25 degrees—with Carbon UD peaking at 51.24 MPa—due to superior shear stiffening and axial confinement. Conversely, Woven Carbon displays a unique recovery trend, maximizing performance at 90 degrees (49.15 MPa) where its bidirectional architecture effectively balances hoop stresses. These findings provide a reproducible "angle–performance map" for field engineers, demonstrating that while low-angle helical wraps are optimal for high-modulus tapes, hoop-dominant configurations are required for woven fabrics, thereby refining design guidelines for in-situ pipeline rehabilitation.