Stress Analysis with Applications to Pipelines

The Mechanics of Materials establishes a simplified analytical methodology, based on linear and elastic relationships between loads that are imposed on structural components, to determine and analyze the state of stress at their critical points. This chapter presents some topics from Mechanics of Materials as applied to pipelines. It firstly deals with general triaxial stress states and secondly with biaxial stress states that occur in thick and thin cylinders. Then, strain definitions and linear-elastic stress-strain relations are presented. Finally, specific cases of pipeline loading and their effects on stress or strain distributions are explained, with the objective of introducing the reader to the following chapters of the Handbook, such as those on Finite Elements, Pipeline Mechanical Design, and Fitness for Service applied to onshore and offshore or submarine pipelines.