Application of Load Sequence to Control Crack Growth in Steel Pipelines Under Near Neutral pH SCC

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olayinka Tehinse ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Jenny Been ◽  
Karina Chevil ◽  
Sean Keane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Variable Amplitude ◽  
Neutral Ph ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Load Sequence

Pipelines are designed to operate below a maximum operating pressure in service. However, there are pressure fluctuations during operation. The presence of pressure fluctuations creates a drive for crack growth in steel pipes. In order to prevent catastrophic failure of pipelines, there is need for better understanding of the contribution of pressure fluctuations to crack growth rate in steel pipelines. Analysis of pressure fluctuation data in oil and gas pipelines shows that there are different types of fluctuations in a pipe due to friction loss with distance from the pump or compressor station. All these fluctuation types show a form of variable amplitude loading classified in this research as underload, mean load and overload. Studies of some structural systems shows that underload can cause acceleration of crack growth while retardation of crack growth is observed after an overload. This research aims to apply pressure fluctuations to manage integrity of steel pipelines through a novel approach of load sequence involving underload and overload in near neutral pH environment. Clear knowledge of the effect of load interaction involving load sequence of underload and overload is vital to control crack growth in steel pipelines under near neutral pH environment. The result of crack growth rate under different load sequence on X65 steel indicate that increase in overload ratio of 2, 3 and 4 caused an increase in crack growth rate of 1.68E−3, 1.89E−3 and 2.31E−3 mm/block respectively. These results are compared with results from other tests under variable amplitude without load sequence. Analyses were carried out on the morphology of the crack tip and the fracture surface after the test.

Depressurization-Induced Crack Growth Enhancement for Pipeline Steels Exposed to Near-Neutral pH Environments

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengshan Yu ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Richard Kania ◽  
Greg Van Boven ◽  
Jenny Been
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Loading Frequency ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Growth Mechanisms ◽  
Pipeline Steels ◽  
Neutral Ph ◽  
Loading Scheme

Pressure fluctuations are recognized as the driving force for the crack growth of pipeline steels in near-neutral pH environments; however, the crack growth mechanisms are still not fully understood. Difficulty in understanding the crack growth mechanisms is present due to two dilemmas between laboratory testing and field findings: high frequency study in the laboratory versus low frequency pressure fluctuations in the field; constant amplitude cyclic laboratory tests versus random pressure fluctuations in the actual spectra. To bridge the dilemmas, the crack growth behavior of X60 pipeline steel was investigated in near-neutral pH solution at frequencies as low as 1×10−5 Hz under variable amplitude cyclic loading. Special attention was given to the loading scheme consisting of minor cycles with R ratios (minimum stress/maximum stress) as high as 0.9 and underloads with a relatively lower R ratio of 0.5. It was found that the constant amplitude crack growth rate in near-neutral pH solution in the frequency region below 1×10−3 Hz decreases with decreasing loading frequency, and it reaches a constant value at very low frequencies. This crack growth rate-frequency relation is opposite of that found in the high loading-frequency regime, where crack growth rate was found to increase with decreasing loading frequency. Crack growth rate was observed to increase by a factor of up to 10 when the underload plus minor cycle loading scheme, as mentioned previously, was applied. Based on the findings obtained from the investigation, recommendations of pressure control were also made to minimize the crack growth during pipeline operation.

The Effect of Crack Growth Retardation when Comparing Constant Amplitude to Variable Amplitude Loading in an Aluminium Alloy

2014 ◽  
Vol 891-892 ◽  
pp. 948-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Burchill ◽  
Simon A. Barter ◽  
Michael Jones
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Life ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Retardation ◽  
Crack Front ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Variable Amplitude ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Crack Growth Retardation

It has often been observed that the growth of short fatigue cracks under variable amplitude (VA) cyclic loading is not well predicted when utilising standard constant amplitude (CA) crack growth rate/stress intensity data (da/dN v DK). This paper outlines a coupon fatigue test program and analyses, investigating a possible cause of crack growth retardation from CA-only testing. Various test loading spectra were developed with sub-blocks of VA and CA cycles, then using quantitative fractography (QF) the sub-block crack growth increments were measured. Comparison of these results found that, after establishing a consistent uniform crack front using a VA load sequence, the average crack growth rate then progressively slowed down with the number of subsequent CA load cycles applied. Further fractographic investigation of the fracture surface at the end of each CA and VA sub-block crack growth, identified significant crack front morphology differences. Thus it is postulated that a variation or deviation from an efficient crack path is a driver of local retardation in short crack growth during CA loading. This may be a source of error in analytical predictions of crack growth under VA spectra loading that may need to be considered in addition to other potential effects such asless closure whilst cracks are small. For aircraft designers, using solely CA data for fatigue life predictions this may result in non-conservative estimates of total crack fatigue life, producing unexpected failures or an increased maintenance burden.

Development and Validation of Load-Interaction Based Models for Crack Growth Prediction

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaxi Zhao ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Sean Keane ◽  
Jenny Been ◽  
Greg Van Boven
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Life Prediction ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Remaining Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
Oil Pipelines ◽  
Rainflow Counting ◽  
Development And Validation

This investigation primarily focused on the validation of the software being developed for crack growth and remaining life prediction using SCADA data. A total of nine pressure spectra, four for oil pipelines and five for gas pipelines, have been collected and used as inputs for the software. It was found that these spectra could be categorized as the underload-, the meanload- and the overload-dominant spectra; each of them have shown different effects on crack growth: the underload spectra, typical of pressure fluctuations at the discharging sites, are most susceptible to crack growth because of load interactions between the minor pressure fluctuations and the unload cycles; while the overload spectra, often found at the suction site, have exhibited retarded crack growth due to the retardation effects caused by overloading. The relative severity of the load interactions in terms of crack growth rate for a given spectrum was quantified using a parameter termed as the Spectrum Factor. A Spectrum Factor greater than one indicates the enhanced crack growth rate by load interactions, such as the case where unloading is frequently present in the pressure spectra, while a Spectrum Factor lower than one may be associated with a retarded crack growth, which can be seen in pressure spectra with predominant overloading events. The predictions made by the models being developed were also compared with those made by the rainflow counting method. The software allows for the SCADA/pressure fluctuation data, in excel spreadsheet format, to be directly analyzed producing a projected remaining life of the pipeline based on the past pressure fluctuations and the assumed future pressure fluctuations.

Growth of Surface-Type Stress Corrosion Cracks in Near-Neutral pH Environments Under Disbonded Coatings

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afolabi T. Egbewande ◽  
AbdoulMajid Eslami ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Robert Worthingham ◽  
Richard Kania ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Propagation ◽  
Stress Corrosion ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Preliminary Test ◽  
Surface Type ◽  
Operating Variables ◽  
Neutral Ph ◽  
Growth Crack

Near-neutral pH stress corrosion cracking (NNPHSCC), which occurs when ground water penetrates under the pipe coating, causes longitudinal cracks to develop on the surface of pipelines. Such cracks grow over time and can ultimately lead to pipeline failure. NNPHSCC is currently managed by in-line inspection or hydrostatic testing for oil and gas pipelines respectively. These procedures are enormously expensive and have to be repeated at predetermined intervals. Re-inspection intervals are currently determined by empirical models, which have been found rather imprecise. A major flaw in currently applied models is that they assume that once a NNPHSCC crack is formed, it grows at a constant rate that is independent of pipeline operating variables and both pre- and in-service history of the pipeline material. This is not necessarily true as pipeline history, the nature of the service environment and operating factors, among several other factors, have a strong influence on the rate of NNPHSCC crack propagation. Most existing models also treat NNPHSCC cracks as long through thickness cracks rather than surface type cracks typically observed in the field. This research proposes to provide an empirical model that more accurately predicts the growth rate of near-neutral pH SCC cracks in near-neutral pH environments by studying the growth rate of surface type flaws while also accounting for the influence of operating factors, environmental factors, coating disbondment and cathodic protection on the rate of crack propagation. This paper reports some preliminary test results obtained using a long specimen with three semi elliptical surface flaws located in three reduced sections to simulate field observed NNPHSCC cracks. Preliminary results suggest that: 1) crack grows much faster at the open mouth, which was attributed to hydrogen effects; 2) crack dormancy can occur under certain combined mechanical factors; 3) although the benign mechanical loading cannot lead to a direct crack growth (crack dormancy), it causes damage to the crack tip, which makes the crack more susceptible to crack growth upon a more aggressive condition is encountered.

A novel approach to the evaluation of the constants of the crack growth rate in fatigue

1978 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. R56-R60
Author(s):  
J. M. Lovegrove ◽  
A. S. Saleh el Din ◽  
O. K. Daoud
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Novel Approach

The Impact of Pressure Fluctuations on the Early Onset of Stage II Growth of High pH Stress Corrosion Crack

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Niazi ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Lyndon Lamborn ◽  
Weixing Chen
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Corrosion ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Crack Size ◽  
Stage I ◽  
Stage Ii ◽  
R Ratio

Abstract Steel pipelines undergo the following sequential stages prior to high pH stress corrosion cracking (HpHSCC) failure, viz., formation of environmental condition, initiation of the intergranular cracks followed by cracks coalescence to form critical crack size (Stage I), mechanically dictated crack growth with higher rate (Stage II) compared to Stage I, rapid crack propagation to failure (Stage III). From fracture mechanics perspective, the crack size reaches the critical value at the onset of stage II; consequently, stress intensity factor (K) ahead of the crack tip exceed the critical value (KISCC). Although many researches have been devoted to understanding HpHSCC behavior, the mechanical conditions that accelerate the onset of stage II remains unknown. This study investigates the mechanical loading conditions that yield to early onset of stage II with respect to the most severe loading condition in operating pipeline, underload-minor-cycle type of pressure fluctuation. In this study, several loading scenarios were applied to pre-cracked CT specimens exposed to 1 N NaHCO3-1N Na2CO3 at 40° C and −590 mVSCE. The first series of tests were conducted through applying variable amplitude loading waveforms to determine the K value below the KISCC. It was observed the crack growth rate decreases from 1.5 × 10−7 mm/s to 2.5 × 10−8 mm/s when Kmax decreases from 36 to 15 MPa·m0.5. Then, both constant amplitude and variable amplitude loading scenarios with the Kmax = 15 MPa·m0.5 were applied to pre-cracked CT specimens. It was observed that low R-ratio constant amplitude cycles yield to highest crack growth rate (3.6 × 10−7 mm/s), which was one order of magnitude higher than other waveforms. However, comparing the intergranular crack advancement per block resulted in similar crack growth rates for those waveforms containing low R-ratio cycles. These results imply that stage I of crack growth is assisted by fatigue due to low R-ratio cycles. It was observed that loading/unloading frequency of low R-ratio cycles has a direct relation with crack growth rate at stage I, i.e., high frequency cycles accelerate onset of stage II. The implication of these results for pipeline operator is that pressure fluctuation, particularly large and rapid pressure fluctuation at the sites susceptible to HpHSCC, threatens the pipeline integrity. Avoiding such pressure fluctuations, if possible, increase pipeline lifespan and prevents catastrophic damages by intergranular stress corrosion crack growth through delaying the onset of stage II of HpHSCC crack growth.

Experimental Study on SCC Susceptibility of X60 Steel Using Full Pipe Sections in Near-Neutral pH Environment

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bong Am Kim ◽  
Wenyue Zheng ◽  
G. Williams ◽  
M. Laronde ◽  
J. A. Gianetto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Loading Rate ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Metallographic Examination ◽  
Depth Measurement ◽  
Neutral Ph ◽  
Crack Tips ◽  
High Crack

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) tests were performed using the pipe section buried in a clay type of soil with the pH adjusted to near-neutral range. Pipe specimens with various sizes of fatigue pre-cracks ahead of artifical notch tips on the outer surface were subjected to cyclic loading tests. Maximum level of hoop stress was 105% SMYS, and R-value (Ratio of minimum load to maximum load) was 0.5. Growth of cracks was observed from the fatigue crack tips. Fractographic and metallographic examination has confirmed the quasi-cleavage nature of the transgranular SCC that is typically observed in near-neutral pH SCC. Crack depth measurement using DCPD method revealed the relatively high crack growth rate up to 10−5 mm/s. Metallographic examinations showed the existence of many micro-cracks associated with MnS inclusions in the highly strained field ahead of the initial crack tips. The relatively high crack growth rate may be caused by MnS inclusions. The loading rate, dJ/dt, was calculated for each crack condition in order to correlate qualitatively the crack growth rate with the loading rate. J-integral was calculated through non-linear FEM analyses for semi-elliptical cracks based on the stress-strain relationships obtained from the tensile tests using the same X60 steel specimen. Linear relationship was then obtained between the crack growth rate and the loading rate, and therefore the possibility to predict crack growth rates for various loading condition in the field was demonstrated.

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