Pipe perforation by medium-velocity impact

Fast-moving missiles can damage pipes and release their contents: this was a factor in the Piper Alpha disaster, and in other accident contexts that are important in offshore engineering. The paper describes two experimental programs, and the development of a semi-empirical but dimensionally consistent perforation correlation that can be compared with British Gas tests on a much larger pipe. The tests show an unexpected effect of liquid fill, which reduces the minimum missile kinetic energy at which perforation occurs.