The Structural Integrity of Oil and Gas Transmission Pipelines

Author(s):  
P. Hopkins
Author(s):  
Morten Lovstad ◽  
Tor G. Syvertsen

Abstract Huge steel or reinforced concrete structures in deep waters support the installations for oil and gas production in the North Sea. Steady operations in a hostile environment require that structural safety and integrity is maintained. For rapid evaluation and assessment of structural integrity in case of modifications or urgency situations, Structural Integrity Systems are established, comprising computational models and structural analysis programs. A major problem for structural assessment at short notice is to keep the analysis models updated and consistent with the actual state of the physical structure and the loadings. This paper proposes a layered approach for model integration, which enable maintenance of the models at a high level, from which detailed analysis models are derived in a consistent manner.


Author(s):  
Torgeir Moan

Based on relevant accident experiences with oil and gas platforms, a brief overview of structural integrity management of offshore structures is given; including an account of adequate design criteria, inspection, repair and maintenance as well as quality assurance and control of the engineering processes. The focus is on developing research based design standards for Accidental Collapse Limit States to ensure robustness or damage tolerance in view damage caused by accidental loads due to operational errors and to some extent abnormal structural damage due to fabrication errors. Moreover, it is suggested to provide robustness in cases where the structural performance is sensitive to uncertain parameters. The use of risk assessment to aid decisions in lieu of uncertainties affecting the performance of novel and existing offshore structures, is briefly addressed.


Author(s):  
Lisa M. Gieg ◽  
Mohita Sharma ◽  
Trevor Place ◽  
Jennifer Sargent ◽  
Yin Shen

Abstract Corrosion of carbon steel infrastructure in the oil and gas industry can occur via a variety of chemical, physical, and/or microbiological mechanisms. Although microbial corrosion is known to lead to infrastructure failure in many upstream and downstream operations, predicting when and how microorganisms attack metal surfaces remains a challenge. In crude oil transmission pipelines, a kind of aggressive corrosion known as under deposit corrosion (UDC) can occur, wherein mixtures of solids (sands, clays, inorganic minerals), water, oily hydrocarbons, and microorganisms form discreet, (bio)corrosive sludges on the metal surface. To prevent UDC, operators will use physical cleaning methods (e.g., pigging) combined with chemical treatments such as biocides, corrosion inhibitors, and/or biodispersants. As such, it necessary to evaluate the efficacy of these treatments in preventing UDC by monitoring the sludge characteristics and the microorganisms that are potentially involved in the corrosion process. The efficacies of a biocide, corrosion inhibitor, and biodispersant being used to prevent microbial corrosion in a crude oil transmission pipeline were evaluated. A combination of various microbiological analyses and corrosivity tests were performed using sludge samples collected during pigging operations. The results indicated that the combined treatment using inhibitor, biocide 1 and biodispersant was the most effective in preventing metal damage, and both growth-based and Next-Generation Sequencing approaches provided value towards understanding the effects of the chemical treatments. The efficacy of a different biocide (#2) could be discriminated using these test methods. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of considering and monitoring for microbial corrosion of crucial metal infrastructure in the oil and gas industry, and the value of combining multiple lines of evidence to evaluate the performance of different chemical treatment scenarios.


Author(s):  
Jae Sung Lee ◽  
Myung Hyun Kim

Abstract Pipelines are effective means to transport oil and gas. It is essential to maintain the safety of pipelines with the increasing demand for oil and gas resource. Welded pipelines may suffer damage such as cracks during installation and operation, and the consequence evaluation for such damage is very important. Engineering critical assessment (ECA) is the evaluation procedure for structures with flaws and has been widely applied for assessing the pipeline integrity. Although main standards of structural integrity assessment including BS 7910 are stress-based ECA, it is known to produce overly conservative results. In this regard, strain-based ECA has been recently developed. One of the methods for improving the accuracy of strain-based ECA is the reference strain method. However, only few researches with reference strain method applied to welded pipes are available. Therefore, in this study, a numerical analysis based on the strain-based ECA is performed for strength mismatched girth welded joints with a circumferentially oriented internal surface crack. Equivalent stress-strain curve in BS7910 is employed to reflect the strength mismatch effects in the reference strain. This paper compares the results from the reference strain method and finite element analysis: J-integral and reference strain. Strain capacity of the reference strain method with strength mismatch is also discussed against stress-based ECA.


Author(s):  
Maral Taghva ◽  
Lars Damkilde

Abstract Modifications in aged process plants may subject piping systems to fluid transient scenarios, which are not considered in the primary design calculations. Due to lack of strict requirements in ASME B31.3 the effect of this phenomenon is often excluded from piping structural integrity reassessments. Therefore, the consequences, such as severe pipe motion or even rupture failure, are discovered after modifications are completed and the system starts to function under new operational conditions. The motivation for this study emanated from several observations in offshore oil and gas piping systems, yet the results could be utilized in structural integrity assessments of any piping system subjected to pressure waves. This paper describes how to provide an approximate solution to determine maximum bending stresses in piping structures subjected to wave impulse loads without using rigorous approaches to calculate the dynamic response. This paper proposes to consider the effect of load duration in quasi-static analysis to achieve more credible results. The proposed method recommends application of lower dynamic load factors than commonly practiced values advised by design codes, for short duration loads such as shock waves. By presenting a real-life example, the results of improved and commonly practiced quasi-static analysis are compared with the site observations as well as dynamic analysis results. It is illustrated that modified quasi-static solution shows agreement with both dynamic analysis and physical behavior of the system. The contents of this study are particularly useful in structural strength re-assessments where the practicing engineer is interested in an approximated solution indicating if the design criteria is satisfied.


2020 ◽  
Vol 992 ◽  
pp. 336-340
Author(s):  
V.A. Gafarova ◽  
J. V. Bazrova ◽  
L.Z. Teltsova

Over the past fifteen years, Russian and foreign scientists have conducted a large amount of research in the development and use of composite materials based on epoxy resins, including the ways to restore structural integrity. In the oil and gas industry, composite materials are used for repair works.


2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 821-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu N Saraev ◽  
L I Makarova ◽  
N V Kirilova ◽  
A V Kozlov ◽  
V V Rogacheva ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
S. M. S. M. K. Samarakoon ◽  
R. M. Chandima Ratnayake ◽  
S. A. S. C. Siriwardane

Structural integrity control (SIC) is an increasingly important element of offshore structures. Not only is it used in newly built and existing offshore structures (e.g. oil and gas (O&G) production & process facilities (P&PFs), wind turbine installations, etc.), but SIC is also essential for ageing offshore platforms which are subjected to an extension of their design service life. In these cases, SIC programs must be performed to assess the platforms. If any significant changes in structural integrity (SI) are discovered, then it is essential to implement an appropriate strengthening, modification and/or repair (SMR) plan. Currently, welded and grouted repairs are mostly used for SMR. Although a welded repair may typically restore a structure to its initial condition, if the damage is due to fatigue loading and welded repairs have been carried out, then historical evidence reveals that there is a high potential for the damage to reappear over time. On the other hand, mechanical connections are significantly heavier than grouted connections. Consequently, grouted repairs are widely used to provide additional strength, for instance, to handle situations such as preventing propagation of a dent or buckle, sleeved repairs, leg strengthening, clamped repair for load transfer, leak sealing and plugging, etc. This manuscript examines current developments in grouted connections and their comparative pros and cons in relation to welded or mechanical connections. It also provides recommendations for future research requirements to further develop SMR with grouted connections.


Author(s):  
Soheil Manouchehri ◽  
Guillaume Hardouin ◽  
David Kaye ◽  
Jason Potter

Pipe-In-Pipe (PIP) systems are increasingly used in subsea oil and gas production where a low Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (OHTC) is required. A PIP system is primarily composed of an insulated inner pipe which carries the production fluid and an outer pipe that protects the insulation material from the seawater environment. This provides a dry environment within the annulus and therefore allows the use of high quality dry insulation system. In addition, from a safety point of view, it provides additional structural integrity and a protective barrier which safeguards the pipeline from loss of containment to the environment. Genesis has designed a number of PIP systems in accordance with the recognized subsea pipeline design codes including DNV-OS-F101 [1]. In section 13 F100 of the 2013 revision, a short section has been included in which PIP systems are discussed and overall design requirements for such systems are provided. It has also been stated that the inner and outer pipes need to have the same Safety Class (SC) unless it can be documented otherwise. This paper looks at the selection of appropriate SC for the outer pipe in a design of PIP systems based on an assessment of different limit states, associated failure modes and consequences. Firstly, the fundamentals of selecting an acceptable SC for a PIP system are discussed. Then, different limit states and most probable failure modes that might occur under operational conditions are examined (in accordance with the requirements of [1]) and conclusions are presented and discussed. It is concluded that the SC of the outer pipe of a PIP system may be lower than that of the inner pipe, depending on the failure mode and approach adopted by the designer.


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