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Failure analysis of a natural gas transmission X60 steel pipeline

Yaxin Ma (Chengdu Aeronautic Polytechnic, Chengdu, China, NCS Chengdu Testing and Certification Co., Ltd., Chengdu, China and National Analysis Center for Iron and Steel, Central Iron and Steel Research Institute, Beijing, China)
Hong Zhang (College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China and MOE Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Engineering, College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China)
Yifei Gao (National Analysis Centre for Iron and Steel, Central Iron and Steel Research Institute Group, Beijing, China)
Zhengxing Men (Chengdu Aeronautic Polytechnic, Chengdu, China, NCS Chengdu Testing and Certification Co., Ltd., Chengdu, China)
Ling He (NCS Chengdu Testing and Certification Co., Ltd., Chengdu, China)
Jianguo Cao (School of Mechanical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China)

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials

ISSN: 0003-5599

Article publication date: 8 September 2022

Issue publication date: 13 October 2022

113

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the reason for natural gas leakage from transmission pipelines between Linyi and Shouguang in China during sealing tests, explore the failure mechanism and provide a reference for taking reasonable measures to prevent such accidents.

Design/methodology/approach

Failure analysis for the steel pipe has been addressed with different methods, such as microstructure analysis, inclusion analysis, corrosion product analysis, macro- and micro-morphology analyses and bacterially catalyzed experiments.

Findings

Several bulges were observed, especially at the bottom of the steel pipe sample, with the distribution and positioning not related to the weld. The inner surface of the steel pipe was severely corroded, and the oxide scale was flaking in many places. The greatest corrosion area was identified at the bottom of the steel pipe near the gas leakage point. Severe pitting and perforation corrosion in the pipeline were observed, and the main corrosion reaction products were Fe3O4, FeO and FeS. The grain orientation distribution near the crack (coarse grains <101> and fine grains <111> at the microcrack tip) indicates that fine grains may be beneficial in hindering crack propagation.

Originality/value

The principal mechanism for the corrosion failure is supposed to be due to the interaction of chloride ions with the sulfate-reducing microorganisms present and the stress corrosion cracking by chloride and sulfide formed by the sulfate-reducing microorganisms.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the fund of Chengdu Aeronautic Polytechnic (0620125), the National postdoctoral funds of China (No. 2019M653396), the Sichuan University and ZiGong government Support Program (No. 2019CDZG-4), Applied Basic Research Programs of Sichuan Province (No.2022NSFSC0324) and International Visiting Program for Excellent Young Scholars of SCU. The authors are sincerely grateful supported by the fund of State Key Laboratory of Long-life High-Temperature Materials (No. DECSKL202102).

Citation

Ma, Y., Zhang, H., Gao, Y., Men, Z., He, L. and Cao, J. (2022), "Failure analysis of a natural gas transmission X60 steel pipeline", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 69 No. 6, pp. 620-628. https://doi.org/10.1108/ACMM-03-2022-2618

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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