Assessing Cracking and Seam Weld Anomalies in Pipelines
Led by Sergio Limón
November 15-16, 2023 | PRCI’s Technology Development Center | Houston
Featuring hands-on technology demonstrations
Register before November 1, 2023 and save $200!
| COURSE SCHEDULE |
| Day 1: |
9am-5pm CDT |
| Day 2: |
9am-5pm CDT |
Course Syllabus
Day 1
- Characteristics and Behavior of Cracks and Long Seam Weld Anomalies in Pipelines
- A review of line pipe making, with emphasis on vintage ERW, Flash and Direct Current Welded pipelines
- The formation and growth of
- Environmentally Assisted Cracking: SCC axial & circumferential, hydrogen induced cracking, corrosion fatigue cracking, sulfide stress cracking, and selective seam corrosion
- Manufacturing Related Imperfections: lack of fusion, cold welds, stitching, and hook crack-like features
- Operationally Driven Cracking: fatigue cracks
- Difference between cracks and long seam weld anomalies
- PHMSA requirements for evaluating pipelines with cracks and seam weld defects
- Old and new regulations in Parts 192 and 195
- Review of current industry standards and recommended practices related to addressing cracking and seam weld integrity
- ASME B31.8S and API 1176 and 1160
- Hands-on demonstration of pipeline samples with cracks and seam weld defects
- Foundations of Engineering Fracture Mechanics
- The fracture process of pipelines with cracks or seam weld anomalies
- Fracture initiation, stable propagation, and fracture arrest or final fracture
- Fracture behavior: brittle, ductile and mix-mode
- Basic principles underlining Liner Elastic and Elastic-Plastic Fracture Mechanics and their applications to pipelines
- The concept of Stress Intensity Factor describing the relationship of failure stress as a function of crack size and material properties
- Fracture toughness testing
- Impact Charpy V-Notch and its relation to Ductile-to-Brittle transition curve
- Fracture mechanics-based toughness testing: Kc, Jc, CTOD and J-R crack growth resistance curve
- Correlation of CVN to K, J and CTOD
- Performing Failure Pressure Calculations
- What to look for in any engineering method for determining the failure pressure of pipelines in the presence of cracks or seam weld anomalies
- Review of the following engineering methods: NG-18 Equation, Newman-Raju Equation, CorLAS, API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, and PRCI MAT-8
- Review of published studies comparing the accuracy of these methods
- Which one is more accurate or conservative?
- Effects of fracture toughness on failure pressure predictions
- In class demonstration of an Excel failure stress analysis calculator
- A review of crack prioritization and severity rankings by ASME and CEPA
- Crack length interlinking conditions of neighboring crack features by CEPA and API 579
- SCC growth estimation and industry reported growth rates
Day 2
- Performing Fatigue Crack Growth Analysis
- Common concepts in fatigue analysis and stages of fatigue and fatigue life
- Steps for performing a fatigue crack growth analysis and remaining life calculation
- Setting initial cracks sizes, evaluating cyclic pressure data, choosing material properties, selecting a fatigue crack growth model and deciding on one the termination point of the fatigue analysis (failure condition)
- Review of fatigue crack growth models: Paris-Erdogan, Walker, Forman, NASGRO and choosing an appropriate set of C & m fatigue parameters
- Simplifying variable amplitude cyclic pressure data by means of the rainflow counting methods (ASTM E1049) and assessing the severity of cyclic pressures
- Performing sensitivity analysis of the final calculated fatigue life
- The use of safety factor on the predicted final fatigue life
- In class demonstration of case studies and the analysis of cyclic pressures
- Integrity Assessments for Addressing Cracks and Long Seam Weld Anomalies
- Factors to consider when evaluating and deciding on assessment methods
- Hydrostatic Testing: setting up appropriate pressure test targets, hold times, the role of spike testing and determination of appropriate re-test intervals
- In-line Inspection: description of the UT, EMAT and C-MFL technologies, their performance, industry experience, and development of response criteria
- Direct Assessment methods: review and applicability of NACE SP0204 for SCCDA and CSA Z662 & CEPA Condition Monitoring for SCC
- In-Ditch Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE)
- Pipeline coating removal and surface preparation techniques
- Review of most widely used NDE methods and technologies
- Magnetic particle inspection
- Conventional UT shearwave
- Phased array UT (PAUT)
- Total Focusing Method (TFM)
- Inverse Wave Field Extrapolation (IWEX)
- Eddy Current-based
- Including emerging technologies
- NDE personnel qualifications, what should they be for pipeline applications?
- Present an NDE protocol framework for field evaluations and characterization of cracks and long seam weld anomalies
- Hands-on demonstration of various NDE methods and technologies commonly used for crack and seam weld detection and sizing
- Review of repairs options in the industry: ASME B31.8 & B31.4 and PRCI Repair Manual
