Fibre reinforced polymers benefit from high flexural strength, corrosion resistance and low density. These qualities make them a candidate to substitute the conventional rigid steel pipelines for subsea transport of oil and gas. However, deep water pipelines are subject to high external hydrostatic compressive stresses alongside variable internal fluid pressure that can result in high compressive hoop, radial and axial stress. For aligned fibre reinforced composites, compressive strength is generally lower than the tensile strength and a design limiting factor. Therefore, failure mechanisms and conditions need to be well understood in order to design safe and cost-effective structures.
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