Limit moments for non circular cross-section (elliptical) pipe bends

A number of experiment studies have been reported or are underway which investigate limit moments applied to pipe bends. Some theoretical work is also available. However, most of the work has been confined to nominally circular cross-section bends and little account has been taken of the practical problem of manufacturing tolerances. Many methods of manufacture result in bends which are not circular in cross-section but have an oval or elliptical shape. The present paper extends previous analyses on circular bends to cater for initially elliptical cross-sections. The loading is primarily in plane bending but out of plane is also considered and several independent methods are presented. No previous information is known to the authors. Upper and lower bound limit moments are derived first of all from existing linear elastic analyses and secondly upper bound moments are derived via a plastic analogy from existing stationary creep results. It is also shown that the creep information on design factors for bends can be used to obtain a reasonable estimate of the complete moment/strain behaviour of a bend or indeed a system. (Auth.)