Table 4. Design Parameters for Steel Pipe 

 (Source: FORDS Study, Table XI-9, Volume 



Pipe 

 Grade 



OD 

 (in.) 



Weight 

 (lb/ft in air) 



Allowable 



Tensile Load^ 



(kips) 



Collapse Depth^ 

 (ft) 



P-110 



9-5/8 



53.5 



85 



— 





10-3/4 



65.7 



1,044 



6,6802 





10-3/4 



71.1 



1,134 



7,6102 





10-3/4 



76.0 



1,215 



8,4402 





10-3/4 



81.0 



1,296 



9,2802 



V-150 



9-5/8 



53.5 



1,166 



9,000^ 





9-5/8 



58.4 



1,288 



10,000^ 





9-5/8 



61.1 



1,323 



10,950^ 





10-3/4 



65.7 



1,424 



8,800^ 





10-3/4 



71.1 



1,547 



9,920^ 





10-3/4 



76.0 



1,658 



1 1 ,000^ 





10-3/4 



81.0 



1,767 



12,000^ 



^ Safety factor = 2. 



2 Axial stress = 55,000 psi. 



^Axial stress = 75,000 psi. 



Based on operational procedures of similar systems, a heavy-lift 

 system employing pipe as the suspending medium would use sections (or 

 "stands") approximately 100 feet long. Thus, after a 100-foot section of 

 pipe is lowered, the entire assembly must be stopped and the next pipe 

 section joined. The pipe-load combination will therefore be stopped and 

 started nearly 60 times during a lowering operation to 6,000 feet. If the 

 system is stopped too rapidly, the resulting change in momentum would 

 subject the support point to extremely high stresses. (An automatic pipe 

 handling system is being developed in which the pipe sections are joined as 

 the load is being lowered. While this system will eliminate much repetitive 

 loading due to stopping and starting, large localized stresses would still be 

 incurred during, say, an emergency stop.) 



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