Probabilistic Inspection Optimization of Free-Span Surveys for Subsea Gas Pipelines

Author(s):  
Jens P. Tronskar ◽  
Gudfinnur Sigurdsson ◽  
Olav Fyrileiv ◽  
Olav Forli ◽  
Joseph H. Kiefer ◽  
...  

Probabilistic methods have been used to develop the basis for free-span inspection of a gas pipeline system in the South China Sea. The objective of the probabilistic analysis was to study the probability of fatigue failure associated with postulated planar flaws in the HAZ of repair welds performed on some of the girth welds. The impact of flaws on the fatigue life under different free-span conditions were studied. Conventional free-span analysis involves computation of allowable free-span lengths based on onset of in-line vibrations and does not normally consider fatigue crack growth. To consider the effect of the weld flaws on the failure probability a combined probabilistic fatigue and fracture model is required. For the particular pipelines analysed automatic ultrasonic testing (AUT) was used replacing the conventional radiography of the girth welds. Conservatism in the free-span assessment can then be significantly reduced by taking into account detailed flaw sizing information from the AUT. The inspection records provide distribution of flaw height, length and position. Combined with information on current distribution, material strength and fracture toughness distribution, a detailed probabilistic fatigue crack growth and unstable fracture assessment can be conducted as per the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) 2000 Rules for Submarine Pipeline Systems [1] using the response models of the DNV Guideline 14 for free-span analyses [2]. The objective of this analysis is to estimate the critical free-span lengths and the time for fatigue cracks to penetrate the pipe wall.

Author(s):  
Ole Tom Vårdal

In structural integrity management, it is essential to know the fatigue crack growth potential. The lessons learned from use of refined fatigue analyses, fracture mechanics and probabilistic methods for platforms in-service are presented. For ageing offshore units of semi-submersible design, the inspection history of more than 20 000 NDT inspections and detection of close to 1000 fatigue cracks, are used in this study. These experience data are used to assess the potential for Non-conservative estimate for the fatigue crack growth potential.


2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-196
Author(s):  
Janusz Lewandowski ◽  
Dariusz Rozumek ◽  
Maria Hepner

The paper presents the test results on the fatigue crack growth under cyclic bending specimens at constant moment amplitude made of S355 steel with fillet welds. Plane specimens with stress concentrators in form of the external two-sided blunt notches were tested. The tests were performed under constant value of the stress ratio R = –1 without and after heat treatment. The article also presents the test results of the microstructure of welded joints taking into account changes in the material after heat treatment and the impact of these changes on the fatigue life of specimens. Keywords: welded joints, fatigue cracks length, number of cycle, bending, microstructure


2006 ◽  
Vol 13-14 ◽  
pp. 23-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.K. Lee ◽  
Jonathan J. Scholey ◽  
Paul D. Wilcox ◽  
M.R. Wisnom ◽  
Michael I. Friswell ◽  
...  

Acoustic emission (AE) testing is an increasingly popular technique used for nondestructive evaluation (NDE). It has been used to detect and locate defects such as fatigue cracks in real structures. The monitoring of fatigue cracks in plate-like structures is critical for aerospace industries. Much research has been conducted to characterize and provide quantitative understanding of the source of emission on small specimens. It is difficult to extend these results to real structures as most of the experiments are restricted by the geometric effects from the specimens. The aim of this work is to provide a characterization of elastic waves emanating from fatigue cracks in plate-like structures. Fatigue crack growth is initiated in large 6082 T6 aluminium alloy plate specimens subjected to fatigue loading in the laboratory. A large specimen is utilized to eliminate multiple reflections from edges. The signals were recorded using both resonant and nonresonant transducers attached to the surface of the alloy specimens. The distances between the damage feature and sensors are located far enough apart in order to obtain good separation of guided-wave modes. Large numbers of AE signals are detected with active fatigue crack propagation during the experiment. Analysis of experimental results from multiple crack growth events are used to characterize the elastic waves. Experimental results are compared with finite element predictions to examine the mechanism of AE generation at the crack tip.


Author(s):  
Daowu Zhou ◽  
T. Sriskandarajah ◽  
Heidi Bowlby ◽  
Ove Skorpen

The deformation mechanism in reel-lay of corrosive resistance alloy (CRA) clad/lined pipes can facilitate defect tearing and low cycle fatigue crack growth in the girth welds. Pipe-lay after straightening will subject the CRA welds to high cycle fatigue. The permissible seastate for installation will be governed by failure limit states such as local collapse, wrinkling of the liner, fatigue and fracture. By means of a recently completed offshore project in North Sea, this paper discusses seastate optimisation when installing pipelines with CRA girth welds, from a fatigue and fracture perspective. The additional limiting requirement in CRA welds to maintain CRA liner integrity can lead to significant assessment work since all critical welds shall be examined. AUT scanned defect data were utilised to maximise permissible seastates based on fatigue allowance from a fatigue crack growth calculation. An alternative simplified approach to derive the crack growth based on a superposition method is studied. It enables a straightforward real-time prediction of crack growth and has the potential to be used during the offshore campaign to improve the installation flexibility. Post-installation fracture assessment under more critical seastates is examined for CRA partial over-matching welds. A comparison of CDF between conventional ECA procedure and 3D FE is provided.


Author(s):  
Koji Gotoh ◽  
Keisuke Harada ◽  
Yosuke Anai

Fatigue life estimation for planar cracks, e.g. part-through surface cracks or embedded cracks is very important because most of fatigue cracks found in welded built-up structures show planar crack morphologies. Fatigue crack growth behaviour of an embedded crack in welded joints is investigated in this study. The estimation procedure of crack shape evolution for an embedded crack is introduced and validation of the estimation procedure of fatigue crack growth based on the numerical simulation of fatigue crack growth with EDS concept for an embedded crack is performed. The validity of the proposed shape evolution estimation method and the fatigue crack growth simulation based on the fracture mechanics approach with EDS concept are confirmed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. McEvily ◽  
Y.-S. Shin

A method for the analysis of the fatigue crack growth rate for short cracks has been developed and is applied to the case of fatigue crack growth of short surface cracks in a 1045 carbon steel. The method entails three modifications to standard LEFM procedures. These modifications include the use of a material constant to bridge between smooth and cracked specimen behavior, consideration of the plastic zone size to crack length ratio, and incorporation of the development of crack closure. Comparisons are made between calculations based upon this approach and experimental data.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Stevens

Abstract As part of the development of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code Case N-809 [1], a series of sample calculations were performed to gain experience in using the Code Case methods and to determine the impact on a typical application. Specifically, the application of N-809 in a fatigue crack growth analysis was evaluated for a large diameter austenitic pipe in a pressurized water reactor coolant system main loop using the current analytical evaluation procedures in Appendix C of Section XI of the ASME Code [2]. The same example problem was previously used to evaluate the reference fatigue crack growth curves during the development of N-809, as well as to compare N-809 methods to similar methods adopted by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. The previous example problem used to evaluate N-809 during its development was embellished and has been used to evaluate additional proposed ASME Code changes. For example, the Electric Power Research Institute investigated possible improvements to ASME Code, Section XI, Nonmandatory Appendix L [3], and the previous N-809 example problem formed the basis for flaw tolerance calculations to evaluate those proposed improvements [4]. In addition, the ASME Code Section XI, Working Group on Flaw Evaluation Reference Curves continues to evaluate additional research data and related improvements to N-809 and other fatigue crack growth rate methods. As a part of these Code investigations, EPRI performed calculations for the Appendix L flaw tolerance sample problem using three international codes and standards to evaluate fatigue crack growth (da/dN) curves for PWR environments: (1) ASME Code Case N-809, (2) JSME Code methods [5], and (3) the French RSE-M method [6]. The results of these comparative calculations are presented and discussed in this paper.


Author(s):  
Paulo Gioielli ◽  
Jaime Buitrago

Fatigue crack-growth modeling has a significant impact in establishing defect acceptance criteria for the inspection of fracture-critical, girth-welded components, such as risers and tendons. ExxonMobil has developed an experimental technique to generate crack-growth data, in actual welded tubulars, that account for the particular material properties, geometry, and residual stresses. The technique is fully compatible with conventional fracture mechanics models. It uses a series of pre-designed notches made around the welds on a production quality, full-scale specimen that is tested efficiently in a resonant fatigue setup. The crack development from notches is monitored during testing and evaluated post-mortem. Given its simplicity and high loading frequency, the technique provides growth data germane to the component at hand at a lower cost and faster than standard, small-scale tests.


Author(s):  
Zengliang Gao ◽  
Weiming Sun ◽  
Weiya Jin ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Fang Zhang

Fatigue failures often take place in high temperature pressure vessels and equipment because of fluctuation of pressure and temperature. Fatigue crack growth properties of materials at high temperatures are very important for safety assessment of high temperature equipment. A series of fatigue crack growth tests were carried out, and fatigue crack growth rates were determined at 25∼500°C for typical steels 316L and 16MnR. The laws of fatigue crack growth of two materials at different temperatures and the effect of temperature on fatigue crack growth rates were studied. The results show that the crack growth rates increase with temperature for 316L steel. Both the exponent n and constant C for Paris law change with temperature. The fatigue cracks of 16MnR propagate at 150 °C and 300 °C more slowly than at room temperature and 425 °C. The fatigue crack growth rate at 425 °C is the highest for temperature range of 25–425 °C.


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