Material Development of X80 for Strain-Based Design Applications

Author(s):  
Christoph Rivinius ◽  
Volker Schwinn ◽  
Andreas Liessem ◽  
Jens Schröder ◽  
Martin Pant

Due to the further increasing demand for natural gas, the construction of long-distance pipelines traversing through seismically active regions or arctic regions with ground movement caused by permafrost phenomena will become more and more necessary. To guarantee the safe operation of those pipelines, the pipe material has to fulfill strain-based design requirements in the coated condition. Hence in longitudinal direction low yield-to-tensile ratios, high uniform elongation values and a roundhouse shape of the stress-strain curve combined with sufficient strength values in transverse direction are essential. The basis for appropriate pipe properties is an adequate design of the plate material. To achieve these objectives the microstructure has become a central element. Nevertheless, it has to be taken into account that the cold deformation during the pipe manufacturing process and the heat treatment of the pipe during the subsequent coating have a major influence on the final line pipe behavior. The current paper describes recent development steps and approaches. The mechanical properties of the different concepts will be compared and the advantages and disadvantages will be highlighted.

Author(s):  
Enrico Torselletti ◽  
Luigino Vitali ◽  
Roberto Bruschi ◽  
Leif Collberg

The offshore pipeline industry is planning new gas trunklines at water depth ever reached before (up to 3500 m). In such conditions, external hydrostatic pressure becomes the dominating loading condition for the pipeline design. In particular, pipe geometric imperfections as the cross section ovality, combined load effects as axial and bending loads superimposed to the external pressure, material properties as compressive yield strength in the circumferential direction and across the wall thickness etc., significantly interfere in the definition of the demanding, in such projects, minimum wall thickness requirements. This paper discusses the findings of a series of ultra deep-water studies carried out in the framework of Snamprogetti corporate R&D. In particular, the pipe sectional capacity, required to sustain design loads, is analysed in relation to: • The fabrication technology i.e. the effect of cold expansion/compression (UOE/UOC) of TMCP plates on the mechanical and geometrical pipe characteristics; • The line pipe material i.e. the effect of the shape of the actual stress-strain curve and the Y/T ratio on the sectional performance, under combined loads; • The load combination i.e. the effect of the axial force and bending moment on the limit capacity against collapse and ovalisation buckling failure modes, under the considerable external pressure. International design guidelines are analysed in this respect, and experimental findings are compared with the ones from the application of proposed limit state equations and from dedicated FE simulations.


Author(s):  
Andrea Di Schino ◽  
Lei Zheng ◽  
Chuanguo Zhang ◽  
Giorgio Porcu

Due to the increasing demand for natural gas, the construction of long-distance pipelines through seismically active regions or arctic regions with ground movement caused by permafrost phenomena will become more and more necessary. To guarantee the safe operation of those pipelines, the pipe material has to fulfil strain-based design requirements. Hence in longitudinal direction low yield-to-tensile ratios, high uniform elongation values and a roundhouse shape of the stress-strain curve combined with sufficient strength values in transverse direction are essential. Moreover, a satisfactory low temperature toughness has to be guaranteed. An adequate plate metallurgical design is fundamental for appropriate pipe properties achievement. As far as concerns the plate design the understanding and the control of microstructure are the key factors, achieved by an adequate steel chemical composition and proper process parameters. In the framework of a co-operation between Baosteel and Centro Sviluppo Materiali (CSM), a project has been started aimed at manufacturing X80 strain based designed pipes. As a starting point pilot trials have been carried out at Baosteel Research Center in order to produce different microstructures. Besides the steel chemical composition, the cooling process has the most significant influence on the formation of the microstructure: in order to assess the effect of the cooling process, the same rolling schedule was adopted for producing the different test materials, obtained varying the start cooling and finish cooling temperatures. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the different test materials were assessed and the best microstructure for the plates for X80 pipes with enhanced strain capacity has been identified.


Author(s):  
Andreas Liessem ◽  
Jens Schro¨der ◽  
Martin Pant ◽  
Gerhard Knauf ◽  
Steffen Zimmermann ◽  
...  

The use of high strength steels is considered as the best economical option to transport large gas volumes under high pressure from remote areas to the market. Exploration of new energy resources located in areas of complex ground and ambient climate imposes strict requirements on pipeline material and design. One of the major research issues in such areas is differential ground movement, which may be associated with large longitudinal straining in addition to plastic circumferential elongation. Hence, common design principles need thorough re-consideration, notably with respect to strain hardening properties of both base metal and girth welds. The present paper addresses several characteristics of axial and circumferential stress-strain behaviour as it is encountered in high-grade UOE line pipe. Two delivery states are taken into account, namely the “as expanded” as well as the “as coated” state. In a first experimental step, the effect of thermal cycle of the anti-corrosion coating process on stress-strain behaviour is simulated subjecting pipe material to temperatures in the range of 180° up to 250° C. In a second experimental step, stress-strain behaviour in both axial and transverse direction is mapped along the pipe production process in order to assess when and to what extent plastic strain capacity is lost during cold forming. The experimental work is complemented by instrumented ring expansion tests and instrumented burst tests. In a third future step, stress-strain information measured in both directions will be analyzed using a theoretical model based on Hill’s plasticity in order to clarify in which way circumferential stress-strain behaviour may impose constraints on strain capacity of axial direction. Within the scope of this paper, first and foremost, underlying principles are outlined and discussed and indications with respect to modelling implications given. Based upon these three sequential investigatory steps, it will be possible to draw conclusions with respect to stress-strain behaviour of parent material and the pipe forming process and to show that unfavourable effects triggered by coating do not show within the structure while they might do in material tests.


Author(s):  
Izumi Takeuchi ◽  
Masakazu Matsumura ◽  
Shuji Okaguchi ◽  
Hidenori Shitamoto ◽  
Shusuke Fujita ◽  
...  

It is aware that the expansion of gas utilization is an important issue to restrict CO2 emission. The reduction of gas transportation cost is essential to increase gas supply to market. The high-pressure gas pipeline with high strength pipes has contributed for safe and economical transportation of natural gas and is expected more for the future demand of gas. The primary objective of high strength line pipe is to hold high pressure safely. The property in circumferential direction under hoop stress is the primary target of the line pipe. High strength and high toughness steel at low temperature has been developed for large diameter line pipes, which have been supplied to major gas pipelines. The increase of D/T of pipelines for transportation efficiency tends to decrease critical compressive strain. Since long distance pipelines come across various ground conditions, the pipeline might encounter some serious ground movement. It is pointed out that in this event the strain by the ground movement might be high enough to deform pipelines to leak or rupture. There are various forms of ground movement, but the Japanese guideline for earthquake resistance and liquefaction is considered as basic conditions for SBD and for FEA in this study. The relation between pipe deformation and property in axial direction is investigated to identify the effective parameter to design the steel property for gas pipelines. Metallurgical factors and microstructure can change the parameters not only on strength and toughness, but also on the critical strain of X80 line pipes. It is discussed that the effectiveness of those changes to improve the safe operation of high-pressure gas pipelines with X80 grade line pipe.


Author(s):  
Takuya Hara ◽  
Yoshio Terada ◽  
Yasuhiro Shinohara ◽  
Hitoshi Asahi ◽  
Naoki Doi

The demand for natural gas using pipelines and LNG to supply the world gas markets is increasing substituting for oil and coal. The use of high strength line pipe steels provides the reduction of cost of gas transmission pipelines by enabling high-pressure transmission of large volumes of gas. In particular, high strength line pipe materials with a yield strength of X80 or higher have been developed over the last few decades around the world. Long distance gas transmission pipelines from remote areas sometimes pass through discontinuous permafrost, and are subject to ground movements by repeated thaw subsidence and frost heave. In this case, strain-based design has been applied as well as stress-based design. Therefore, high deformable line pipe is required for strain-based design in order to prevent the pipeline from fracturing. Nippon steel has also developed high deformable high strength line pipe material suitable for strain-based design. In recent years, demand for high strength line pipe steels has emerged in which the molybdenum content is reduced because of the high cost of molybdenum. Conventionally, high strength line pipe steel with Mo addition has been developed in order to control the microstructure and to obtain pipe properties such as strength and low temperature toughness. This paper describes the metallurgical design and development of high deformable high strength X100 line pipe with lower Mo content suitable for strain-based design. High deformable X100 line pipe with 16 mm wall thickness as well as good low temperature toughness and seam weld toughness has been developed.


Author(s):  
Brian N. Leis

Abstract The flow properties of line-pipe steels control the failure resistance of the pipe, and as such are key in successful pipeline design, and in understanding the factors controlling failures when they occur. As first-principals predictive models are challenged to quantify the flow response in typical line-pipe steels, engineers must rely on empirically developed properties to support numerical analysis for purposes of design and/or integrity management. Stress-based design logically relies on a limiting stress, whereas strain-based design used to address issues like ground movement relies on a limit strain. Post-yield these limits are coupled through the steel’s stress-strain curve and strain-hardening response. Because the burst-pressure of pipes has been shown to depend on the steel’s collapse stress as well as its strain-hardening exponent, n, engineers will need more that the yield stress, Y, or the tensile stress, T, to adequately characterize a pipeline’s resistance to failure. This paper presents results for the mechanical properties of line-pipe steels developed up to the ultimate tensile stress, or beyond. These stress-strain curves reflect 1) Grades ranging from vintage A25 through recent X100 production. These results have been analyzed to quantify n, Y, and T. These results have further been trended to relate commonly available metrics like Y/T and n, and provide a rational basis for the choice of properties input to numerical analysis. It is apparent from this work that current correlations between n and Y/T diverge from the trend for the lower-strength Grades. Further, these results show that within a Grade the value of n is a strong function of the ratio of the actual yield stress (AYS) normalized by SMYS, with this dependence indicative of differences in the chemistry and processing used to achieve the Grade. The effects of n and its dependence on the ratio AYS/SMYS are illustrated regarding the predicted response of line pipes subject to increasing pressure. These predictions have been validated by comparison with results for about 20 full-scale tests to illustrate the viability of this technology.


Author(s):  
Ryuji Muraoka ◽  
Joe Kondo ◽  
Lingkang Ji ◽  
Hongyuan Chen ◽  
Yaorong Feng ◽  
...  

In order to achieve safety and reliability of long-distance gas transmission pipeline installed in seismic region while obtaining economical benefit by reducing material and construction cost, it is essential to apply the high-strength linepipes with sufficient strain capacity against buckling and weld fracture by seismic ground movement. At the same time, it is quite important to develop appropriate material requirement for strain capacity depending on the pipe dimension and strain demand of the region where the pipeline is installed. Grade X80 heavy gauge linepipes with excellent deformability were mass produced by applying advanced plate manufacturing technologies. These linepipes exhibit low Y/T and high uniform elongation in the longitudinal direction even after pipe coating. Strain capacity of the pipe against bending deformation with internal pressure was verified by conducting full scale pipe bending testing. In this paper, production results of high strain X80 linepipes for the application in long-distance pipelines in seismic region and full scale pipe bending and hydraulic burst test results were introduced.


Author(s):  
Nuria Sanchez ◽  
Özlem E. Güngör ◽  
Martin Liebeherr ◽  
Nenad Ilić

The unique combination of high strength and low temperature toughness on heavy wall thickness coils allows higher operating pressures in large diameter spiral welded pipes and could represent a 10% reduction in life cycle cost on long distance gas pipe lines. One of the current processing routes for these high thickness grades is the thermo-mechanical controlled processing (TMCP) route, which critically depends on the austenite conditioning during hot forming at specific temperature in relation to the aimed metallurgical mechanisms (recrystallization, strain accumulation, phase transformation). Detailed mechanical and microstructural characterization on selected coils and pipes corresponding to the X80M grade in 24 mm thickness reveals that effective grain size and distribution together with the through thickness gradient are key parameters to control in order to ensure the adequate toughness of the material. Studies on the softening behavior revealed that the grain coarsening in the mid-thickness is related to a decrease of strain accumulation during hot rolling. It was also observed a toughness detrimental effect with the increment of the volume fraction of M/A (martensite/retained austenite) in the middle thickness of the coils, related to the cooling practice. Finally, submerged arc weldability for spiral welded pipe manufacturing was evaluated on coil skelp in 24 mm thickness. The investigations revealed the suitability of the material for spiral welded pipe production, preserving the tensile properties and maintaining acceptable toughness values in the heat-affected zone. The present study revealed that the adequate chemical alloying selection and processing control provide enhanced low temperature toughness on pipes with excellent weldability formed from hot rolled coils X80 grade in 24 mm thickness produced at ArcelorMittal Bremen.


Author(s):  
Diana Toma ◽  
Silke Harksen ◽  
Dorothee Niklasch ◽  
Denise Mahn ◽  
Ashraf Koka

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].


Author(s):  
Tom Zimmerman ◽  
Chris Timms ◽  
Jueren Xie ◽  
James Asante

This paper contains the results of an experimental and analytical research program to determine the compressive buckling resistance of large-diameter, spiral-welded linepipe. Buckling resistance is important for pipe intended for service in Arctic, oil and gas pipeline systems, where pipes may be subjected to high bending strains caused by various ground movement events. The experimental work consisted of four full-scale tests of 30-inch (762 mm) diameter pipe subjected to various combinations of internal pressure, axial force and bending. The pipe specimens were fabricated using two material grades (X70 and X80) and two D/t ratios (82 and 48). Finite element analyses of the four tests were conducted to develop a better understanding of specimen behavior. The results suggest that spiral welded linepipe is as good as longitudinally welded line pipe in terms of buckling capacity. The spiral weld seam was in no way detrimental to the pipe performance.


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