Experimental and FEM stress analysis of a pipe-rubber-seal-gasket structure

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Canada has vast oil and gas reserves. Its supply has grown and is expected to keep growing. The Canadian oil & gas sector needs pipelines, which are considered the safest and the most efficient ways for the transportation of oil and gas. All pipelines have a design life and degradation over time in service. Such degradation can cause failure, which disrupts the oil and gas transportation and is catastrophic to the environment. Monitoring, identifying and responding to an emergency repair are essential. The pipeline isolation system is crucial equipment used during repairs. Rubber gaskets are one of the most important components for such an isolation system. During the pipeline isolation and the subsequent hydrastatic testing following the repair, the gaskets can produce high stresses. Such stresses may cause damage to the pipeline. This project aims to explore the interactions between the gaskets and the pipe and to develop a computer-aided tool to estimate the stresses induced by the gasket in the pipe. Both approaches of computational solid mechanics and experimental mechanics will be used in the proposed project. The project will be carried out with significant industrial support and as an extension of the previous successful collaboration with ProForma Engineering Ltd. (ProForma), an engineering consulting company in Winnipeg, which has been involved in designing the above mentioned specific tools. Although overall Canada's pipeline safety record is strong, safety of pipelines has been the center issue for any pipeline development. The project will contribute to enhancement of pipeline safety by developing a useful tool for pipeline material integrity monitoring and repairing.