Design characteristics that improve the fatigue life of threaded pipe connections

Threaded pipe connections are commonly used to connect risers, tendons, drill pipes and well casing strings. In these applications fatigue resistance plays an important role. A large variety of patented design features exist, all claiming to improve the connection’s fatigue life. However, patent documents only contain claims and numerical or experimental data about these connection’s performance is generally not published. This makes it hard to make a quantitative comparison between different designs. In this study an overview is given of fatigue resistant threaded connections. Two major methods to improve the fatigue life of a connection were identified. First of all, local stress concentrations can be reduced by optimizing the geometry of the threads. Second the global shape of the connection can be optimized to obtain a more uniform load distribution. Using a parametric finite element model, different designs were compared. The connections were modelled by a 2D axisymmetric geometry with non-linear material properties and elaborate contact conditions. Selected designs have been subjected to experimental tests in a four-point bending fatigue setup. The experimental tests serve as a validation for the results of the numerical simulations. It was found that the multiaxial stress distribution at the thread roots is the defining factor for the fatigue life of the connection. Nevertheless, these stresses can be changed by the global geometry of the connection. It can be concluded that the fatigue life of threaded connections is determined by a combination of global and local aspects which should both be analysed for fatigue life calculations