Torsion failures in handling operations for power cables, umbilicals and flexible pipes

Over the past 10 years, SINTEF has investigated, or been informed about, a range of torsion failures in cables, umbilicals or flexible pipes. These failures have occurred while the flexible products were being transported along a route during production, loadout, installation. One failure occured during operation. There are no guidelines on how to minimize the risk of such failures. This may be attributed to a lack of knowledge in the industry about the mechanisms that cause torsional moments to appear. Further, some buckling patterns of the components of a flexible product under excessive torsion, closely resemble patterns caused by excessive bending or compressive load, so that some torsion-induced failures are wrongly attributed. Hence, there is a need to increase the knowledge and awareness of torsion failures in the industry. Previous papers by the authors have considered some of the mechanisms that lead to the appearance of torque in handling operations. The present paper is a continuation which focuses on torque-induced failure modes. It begins by providing a systematic nomenclature for the description of torsion kinematics. It then provides a qualitative description of known torque-induced failure modes. The literature provides some models for torque-induced failures, as well as models of component failures due to excessive bending or compression of the flexible product, which are also relevant for the study of torsion. These are reviewed, and their relevance to torsion-induced failures are discussed. Knowledge gaps and challenges are highlighted.