Buckling of Risers in Tension due to Internal Pressure: Nonmovable Boundaries

Open-ended tubular columns may buckle globally as Euler columns due to the action of internal fluid pressure even while they are in tension along their entire length. Hydraulic columns, marine drilling and production risers are, therefore, prone to such static instability. This paper explains this phenomenon, defines the critical riser length for which this instability may occur and provides graphs with values of the critical length which can readily be used for design purposes. Risers with nonmovable boundaries are considered; namely, hinged-hinged, clamped-hinged, hinged-clamped and clamped-clamped risers.