Crack in Corrosion Defect Assessment in Transmission Pipelines

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hosseini ◽  
D. Cronin ◽  
A. Plumtree
Keyword(s):  
Crack Depth ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Failure Behavior ◽  
Pipe Material ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Collapse Pressure ◽  
Defect Assessment ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Corrosion Defects

Cracks may occur coincident with corrosion representing a new hybrid defect in gas and oil pipelines known as crack in corrosion (CIC) that is not directly addressed in the current codes or assessment methods. Hence, there is a need to provide an assessment of CIC and evaluate the line integrity, as well as identify the requirements for defect repair or line hydrotest. An experimental investigation was undertaken to evaluate the collapse pressures of lines containing corrosion, cracks, or (CIC) defects in a typical line pipe (API 5L Grade X52, 508 mm diameter, 5.7 mm wall thickness). The mechanical properties of the pipe were measured using tensile, Charpy, and J-testing for use in applying evaluation criteria. Rupture tests were undertaken on end-capped sections containing uniform depth, finite length corrosion, cracks, or CIC defects. Failure occurred by plastic collapse and ductile tearing for the corrosion defects, cracks, and CIC geometries tested. For the corrosion defects, the corroded pipe strength (CPS) method provided the most accurate results (13% conservative on average). The API 579 (level 3 failure assessment diagram (FAD), method D) provided the least conservative collapse pressure predictions for the cracks with an average error of 20%. The CIC collapse pressures were bounded by those of a long corrosion groove (upper bound) and a long crack (lower bound), with collapse dominated by the crack when the crack depth was significant. Application of API 579 to the CIC provided collapse pressure predictions that were 18% conservative. Sixteen rupture tests were successfully completed investigating the failure behavior of longitudinally oriented corrosion, crack, and CIC. The pipe material was characterized and these properties were used to predict the collapse pressure of the defects using current methods. Existing methods for corrosion (CPS) and cracks (API 579, level 3, method D) gave conservative collapse pressure predictions. The collapse pressures for the CIC were bounded by those of a long corrosion groove and a long crack, with collapse dominated by the crack when the crack depth was significant. CIC failure behavior was determined by the crack to corrosion depth ratio, total defect depth and its profile. The results showed that the failure pressures for CIC were reduced when their equivalent depths were similar to those of corrosion and using crack evaluation techniques provided an approximate collapse pressure.

Failure Pressure Prediction of Cracks in Corrosion Defects Using XFEM

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinfang Zhang ◽  
Allan Okodi ◽  
Leichuan Tan ◽  
Juliana Leung ◽  
Samer Adeeb
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element Method ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Extended Finite Element Method ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Extended Finite Element ◽  
Defect Depth ◽  
Failure Pressure ◽  
Corrosion Defects ◽  
Element Method

Abstract Coating and cathodic protection degradation can result in the generation of several types of flaws in pipelines. With the increasing number of aging pipelines, such defects can constitute serious concerns for pipeline integrity. When flaws are detected in pipelines, it is extremely important to have an accurate assessment of the associated failure pressure, which would inform the appropriate remediation decision of repairing or replacing the defected pipelines in a timely manner. Cracks-in-corrosion (CIC) represent a class of defect, for which there are no agreed upon method of assessment, with no existing analytical or numerical models to predict their failure pressures. This paper aims to create a set of validated numerical finite element analysis models that are suitable for accurately predicting the failure pressure of 3D cracks-in-corrosion defects using the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) technique. The XFEM for this study was performed using the commercially available software package, ABAQUS Version 6.19. Five burst tests of API 5L X60 specimens with different defect depths (varying from 52% to 66%) that are available in the literature were used to calibrate the XFEM damage parameters (the maximum principal strain and the fracture energy). These parameters were varied until a reasonable match between the numerical results and the experimental measurements was achieved. Symmetry was used to reduce the computation time. A longitudinally oriented CIC defect was placed at the exterior of the pipe. The profile of the corroded area was assumed to be semi-elliptical. The pressure was monotonically increased in the XFEM model until the crack or damage reached the inner surface of the pipe. The results showed that the extended finite element predictions were in good agreement with the experimental data, with an average error of 5.87%, which was less conservative than the reported finite element method predictions with an average error of 17.4%. Six more CIC models with the same pipe dimension but different crack depths were constructed, in order to investigate the relationship between crack depth and the failure pressure. It was found that the failure pressure decreased with increasing crack depth; when the crack depth exceeded 75% of the total defect depth, the CIC defect could be treated as crack-only defects, since the failure pressure for the CIC model approaches that for the crack-only model for ratios of the crack depth to the total defect depth of 0.75 and 1. The versatility of several existing analytical methods (RSTRENG, LPC and CorLAS) in predicting the failure pressure was also discussed. For the corrosion-only defects, the LPC method predicted the closest failure pressure to that obtained using XFEM (3.5% difference). CorLAS method provided accurate results for crack-only defects with 7% difference. The extended finite element method (XFEM) was found to be very effective in predicting the failure pressure. In addition, compared to the traditional Finite Element Method (FEM) which requires extremely fine meshes and is impractical in modelling a moving crack, the XFEM is computationally efficient while providing accurate predictions.

When Old Line Pipes Initiates Fracture in a Ductile Manner

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wilkowski ◽  
D. Rudland ◽  
D. Rider ◽  
P. Mincer ◽  
W. Sloterdijk
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Ductile Fracture ◽  
Static Loading ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Temperature Shift ◽  
Charpy Impact ◽  
Pipe Material ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Strain Rate Effects ◽  
Constraint Effects

This paper presents a procedure to determine the lowest temperature that a ductile fracture will initiate in old (or new) pipe that behaves in a brittle manner (by Charpy testing). Over the last decade, much work has been done to assess constraint effects on the crack-driving force for specimens and cracks in pipes. The material’s transition temperature where the fracture process changes from ductile tearing to cleavage fracture at crack initiation is affected by the constraint conditions, but is a material property that cannot be determined analytically. This paper presents a methodology to account for constraint effects to predict the lowest temperature where ductile fracture initiation occurs and relates that temperature back to Charpy impact data for X60 and lower grades, particularly for older vintage linepipe materials. The method involves a series of transition temperature shifts to account for thickness effects, strain-rate effects, and constraint effects to give a master curve of transition temperatures from Charpy data to through-wall-cracked or surface-cracked pipes (with various surface-crack depth values) under quasi-static loading. These transition temperature shifts were based on hundreds of pipe tests and thousands of specimen tests over several decades of work by numerous investigators. Conducting tests on 1927 and 1948 vintage line-pipe steels subsequently validated this method. In addition, data were developed on the 1927 vintage pipe material to assess the effect of the bluntness of a corrosion flaw on the lowest temperature where ductile fracture will still occur under quasi-static loading. An addition transition temperature shift occurs as a function of the bluntness of the flaw.

Experimental Database for Corroded Pipe: Evaluation of RSTRENG and B31G

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duane S. Cronin ◽  
Roy J. Pick
Keyword(s):  
Tensile Tests ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Experimental Database ◽  
Corrosion Defect ◽  
Defect Assessment ◽  
Simple Geometry ◽  
Corrosion Defects ◽  
Failure Predictions ◽  
External Corrosion ◽  
Assessment Procedures

The evaluation and development of the current corrosion defect assessment procedures for pipelines has been based on experimental burst tests of line pipe. In these tests, external corrosion has often been simulated with machined defects of simple geometry. As a result, assessment procedures which model the corrosion defect geometry with only a few parameters, such as ASME B31G, show reasonable agreement with the experiments. However, the degree of conservatism in these assessment methods is undefined when they are applied to complex corrosion defects. The authors have burst over 40 pipes removed from service due to corrosion defects. All corrosion defects on each pipe were measured in detail and the material properties were determined from tensile tests. The currently accepted assessment procedures for corroded line pipe (B31G and RSTRENG) have been applied to the database. The degree of conservatism in these procedures is quantified and a statistical model for the failure predictions is proposed.

Assessment of Crack in Corrosion Defects in Natural Gas Transmission Pipelines

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duane Cronin ◽  
Alan Plumtree ◽  
Millan Sen ◽  
Richard Kania
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Investigation ◽  
Finite Length ◽  
Defect Depth ◽  
Hybrid Form ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Collapse Pressure ◽  
Corrosion Defect ◽  
Natural Gas Transmission ◽  
Defect Repair ◽  
Corrosion Defects

Crack-like defects may occur coincident with corrosion defects and represent a new hybrid form of defect in gas and oil pipelines that is not directly addressed in the current codes or methods of assessment. There is a need to provide assessment and evaluate the integrity of the line as well as identify requirements for defect repair or line hydrotest. A numerical investigation was undertaken to evaluate the predicted collapse pressure of crack in corrosion (CIC) defects in typical line pipe. Longitudinally oriented CIC defects were evaluated as long cracks occurring within long, corrosion grooves of uniform depth. This was a conservative representation of a finite length CIC defect. It was found that the collapse pressure for CIC defects varied between that of a long uniform depth crack and a long uniform depth corrosion defect. The transition to corrosion defect behaviour only occurred when the corrosion defect depth was significant (greater than 75% of the total defect depth). Finite-length CIC defects were then investigated using a numerical investigation to identify the effect of crack and corrosion length. The collapse pressure of a finite length crack within an infinitely long corrosion defect was found to be lower than a crack of equivalent total depth and length. This reduction in collapse pressure was attributed to increased local stresses in the vicinity of the crack due to the coincident corrosion. The predicted collapse pressure increased towards the crack-only value when the length of the corrosion defect was decreased to that of the crack. CIC defects were evaluated as cracks using the NG-18 approach and BS 7910 code (Level 2A FAD). The NG-18 approach conservatively predicted lower collapse pressures than the FE analysis, whereas the FAD approach was conservative for shallow defects and could be non-conservative for deeper defects. These results are attributed to the presence of the corrosion and the fact that no factor of safety was included in the analysis. Future studies will investigate experimental validation of the FE and FAD methods for this type of defect.

Assessment of Corrosion Defects in Old, Low Toughness Pipelines

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Martin ◽  
Robert (Bob) Andrews ◽  
Vinod Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Transition Region ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Transition Curve ◽  
Metal Loss ◽  
Pipe Material ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Corrosion Defects ◽  
Dependent Failure

Corrosion metal loss in one of the major damage mechanisms to transmission pipelines worldwide. The remaining strength of corroded pipe subjected to internal pressure loading has been extensively researched and guidelines for assessing corrosion are well defined. Methods including ASME B31G, RSTRENG and LPC have been developed, validated and matured to the extent that they are now incorporated in standards and regulatory requirements. However, these methods are based on the assumption that the pipe fails via a ductile mechanism, i.e., the line pipe material has sufficient toughness to prevent a toughness dependent failure. This limits the application of the existing methods to materials that have sufficient toughness. It is possible that some older pipelines operate with the material in the ductile / brittle transition region of the Charpy transition curve, or even on the lower shelf. It is also possible that under fault conditions, a pipeline normally operating on the upper shelf could be temporarily in the transition region. In these circumstances, existing assessment criteria may be non-conservative. At present there are no rigorous criteria available for assessing corrosion defects in low toughness pipe. This paper presents an approach for removing the uncertainty in the use of existing methods for assessing corrosion defects in older, low toughness pipelines based on the Beremin approach to brittle cleavage fracture. Comparison of the Beremin results with existing assessment methods allows an ‘effective transition temperature’ to be defined as the temperature at which the existing method is no longer conservative. The results suggest that, for the corrosion defects investigated, the effective transition temperature is sufficiently low that existing assessment methods will remain conservative.

Development of X90 and X100 Steel Grades for Seamless Linepipe Products

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Toma ◽  
Silke Harksen ◽  
Dorothee Niklasch ◽  
Denise Mahn ◽  
Ashraf Koka
Keyword(s):  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
High Strength ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Pipe Material ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Additional Tool ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Steel Grades

The general trend in oil and gas industry gives a clear direction towards the need for high strength grades up to X100. The exploration in extreme regions and under severe conditions, e.g. in ultra deep water regions also considering High Temperature/High Pressure Fields or arctic areas, becomes more and more important with respect to the still growing demand of the world for natural resources. Further, the application of high strength materials enables the possibility of structure weight reduction which benefits to materials and cost reduction and increase of efficiency in the pipe line installation process. To address these topics, the development of such high strength steel grades with optimum combination of high tensile properties, excellent toughness properties and sour service resistivity for seamless quenched and tempered pipes are in the focus of the materials development and improvement of Vallourec. This paper will present the efforts put into the materials development for line pipe applications up to grade X100 for seamless pipes manufactured by Pilger Mill. The steel concept developed by Vallourec over the last years [1,2] was modified and adapted according to the technical requirements of the Pilger rolling process. Pipes with OD≥20″ and wall thickness up to 30 mm were rolled and subsequent quenched and tempered. The supportive application of thermodynamic and kinetic simulation techniques as additional tool for the material development was used. Results of mechanical characterization by tensile and toughness testing, as well as microstructure examination by light-optical microscopy will be shown. Advanced investigation techniques as scanning electron microcopy and electron backscatter diffraction are applied to characterize the pipe material up to the crystallographic level. The presented results will demonstrate not only the effect of a well-balanced alloying concept appointing micro-alloying, but also the high sophisticated and precise thermal treatment of these pipe products. The presented alloying concept enables the production grade X90 to X100 with wall thickness up to 30 mm and is further extending the product portfolio of Vallourec for riser systems for deepwater and ultra-deep water application [1, 3, 4].

Predicting the Brittle-to-Ductile Transition Temperatures for Surface Cracks in Pipeline Girth Welds: It’s Better Than You Thought

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gery Wilkowski ◽  
David Rudland ◽  
Do-Jun Shim ◽  
David Horsley
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Surface Crack ◽  
Master Curve ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Temperature Shift ◽  
Transition Temperatures ◽  
Surface Cracks ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Brittle To Ductile Transition ◽  
Girth Welds

A methodology to predict the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature for sharp or blunt surface-breaking defects in base metals was developed and presented at IPC 2006. The method involved applying a series of transition temperature shifts due to loading rate, thickness, and constraint differences between bending versus tension loading, as well as a function of surface-crack depth. The result was a master curve of transition temperatures that could predict dynamic or static transition temperatures of through-wall cracks or surface cracks in pipes. The surface-crack brittle-to-ductile transition temperature could be predicted from either Charpy or CTOD bend-bar specimen transition temperature information. The surface crack in the pipe has much lower crack-tip constraint, and therefore a much lower brittle-to-ductile transition temperature than either the Charpy or CTOD bend-bar specimen transition temperature. This paper extends the prior work by presenting past and recent data on cracks in line-pipe girth welds. The data developed for one X100 weld metal shows that the same base-metal master curve for transition temperatures works well for line-pipe girth welds. The experimental results show that the transition temperature shift for the surface-crack constraint condition in the weld was about 30C lower than the transition temperature from standard CTOD bend-bar tests, and that transition temperature difference was predicted well. Hence surface cracks in girth welds may exhibit higher fracture resistance in full-scale behavior than might be predicted from CTOD bend-bar specimen testing. These limited tests show that with additional validation efforts the FITT Master Curve is appropriate for implementation to codes and standards for girth-weld defect stress-based criteria. For strain-based criteria or leak-before-break behavior, the pipeline would have to operate at some additional temperature above the FITT of the surface crack to ensure sufficient ductile fracture behavior.

Biaxial-EDC Test Attempts With Pre-Cracked Zircaloy-4 Cladding Tubes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Li ◽  
Takeshi Mihara ◽  
Yutaka Udagawa ◽  
Masaki Amaya
Keyword(s):  
Crack Depth ◽  
Strain Ratio ◽  
Propagation Mode ◽  
Failure Behavior ◽  
Test Apparatus ◽  
Fuel Cladding ◽  
Energy Agency ◽  
High Burnup ◽  
Cold Worked ◽  
Hoop Direction

When the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) occurs in a reactivity-initiated accident (RIA), the states of stress and strain in the fuel cladding varies in a range depending on the friction and degree of bonding between cladding and pellet. Japan Atomic Energy Agency has developed the improved Expansion-due-to-compression (EDC) test apparatus to investigate the PCMI failure criterion of high-burnup fuel under such conditions. In this study, the failure behavior of cladding tube was investigated by using the improved EDC test apparatus. Cold-worked, stress-relieved and recrystallized Zircaloy-4 tubes with a pre-crack were used as test specimens: this pre-crack simulated the crack which is considered to form in the hydride rim of high-burnup fuel cladding at the beginning of PCMI failure. In the EDC test, a tensile stress in axial direction was applied and displacement-controlled loading was performed to keep the strain ratio of axial/hoop as a constant. The data of cladding deformation had been achieved in the range of strain ratio of 0, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 and pre-crack depth of 41–87 micrometers. Failures in hoop direction were observed in all the tested samples, and a general trend that higher strain ratio and deeper crack depth lead to lower failure limit in hoop direction could be seen. Different crack propagation mode was observed between recrystallized and stress relieved and cold worked samples, which might be due to the difference in microstructure caused by the final heat treatment at the fabrication of cladding.

Numerical Analysis of API 5L X42 and X52 Vintage Pipes with Cracks in Corrosion Defects Using Extended Finite Element Method

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinfang Zhang ◽  
Meng Lin ◽  
Allan Okodi ◽  
Leichuan Tan ◽  
Juliana Leung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element Method ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Extended Finite Element Method ◽  
Pipe Wall ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Initial Crack ◽  
Extended Finite Element ◽  
Failure Pressure ◽  
Corrosion Defects ◽  
Element Method

Abstract Cracks and corrosion in pipelines can occur simultaneously, representing a hybrid defect known as cracks in corrosion (CIC), which is often difficult to model using the available assessment codes or methods. As a result, detailed modeling of CIC has not been studied extensively. In this study, the extended finite element method (XFEM) has been applied to predict the failure pressures of CIC defects in API 5L Grade X42 and X52 pipes. The pipes were only subjected to internal pressure and the XFEM models were validated using full-scale burst tests available in the literature. Several CIC models with constant total defect depths (55%, and 60% of wall thickness) were constructed to investigate the effect of the initial crack depth on the failure pressure. The failure criterion was defined when wall penetration occurred due to crack growth, i.e., the instance the crack reached the innermost element of the pipe wall mesh. It was observed that for shorter cracks, the failure pressure decreased with the increase of the initial crack depth. The results indicated that the CIC defect could be treated as crack-only defects when the initial crack depth exceeded 50% of the total defect depth. However, for longer cracks, the initial crack depth was found to have a negligible effect on the failure pressure, implying that the CIC defect could be treated as either a crack or a corrosion utilizing the available assessment methods.

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