A pipe structure comprising a length of a flexible pipe connected to an
end fitting, the flexible pipe comprising an armour layer and an
underlying pipe layer the armour layer, the underlying pipe layer having
an outer surface around which armouring wires of an armouring layer are
helically wound. The pipe structure provides a coupling between a
flexible pipe comprising armouring wires and an end fitting, the coupling
exerting a relatively low bending or flexure strain on the wires during
normal operation of the flexible pipe. The transition path of an
armouring wire between the flexible pipe and the end fitting comprises a
straight-line-section between a wire-pipe-exit-point where the wire
extends away from its underlying pipe layer and a straight-line-end-point
on a support unit of the end fitting where the armouring wire in question
has its first tangential point of contact. This has the advantage that in
a loaded situation where the armouring wires will elongate elastically
leading to a change in the helical angle of the armouring wires, the pipe
structure will experience a slight twist and a controlled bending of the
armouring wires on the surface of the support unit (due to a possible
change in the base point of contact of the armouring wire with the
support unit induced by the change of helical angle), thereby avoiding
substantial bending of the individual armouring wires, which is of
particular importance when the armouring wires are formed of a composite
material. The pipe structure may be used in flexible pipes for the off
shore transport of fluids (e.g. oil).