Burst Strength Study of Glass-Fibre Reinforced Composite Pipes by Simulation and Theoretical Analysis

The burst strength is the key parameter to the design of glass-fibre reinforced composite (GFRC) pipes with good performance and security. In this paper, the burst strength and the optimized winding angle of the GFRC pipes are derived by the theoretical analysis, experiment and simulation considering the progressive damage. The effects of the winding angle on the burst strength and failure modes are fully discussed. The results show that, the burst strengths obtained by the proposed theoretical formulas and simulation agree well with the experiment results. There is a critical winding angle for the GFRC pipes demarcating the burst modes of axial burst or circular burst. With the increase of the diameter, the critical winding angle decreases, but never less than 55° . With the increase of the winding angle, the burst strength firstly increases, and then decreases. The winding angle of the GFRC pipes should be optimized between 55° and 60° to derive the best burst strength.