Application of Finite Element Method to Design of Composite T-joints for Pipelines

The application of the finite element method for the design of pipeline T-joints made of composite materials is considered. The conducted analysis has shown that the method applied with the MSC/Nastran computer program allows studying the stress-and-strain condition for any relation of diameters of the main pipe and its branch and specified reinforcement schemes to create construction of minimal mass. The method application provides the more precise and visual decision compared with the analytical one. The finite element method can be used in design calculations because the shell finite elements ensure the short calculation time and enable to make the sufficient number of iterations with changing the reinforcement scheme and thickness.