Four material grades for production of ERW pipes welded by high-frequency induction
(HFI) were selected for hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) tests. API 5L Grade B, X52 and X65
were intentionally produced from non sour service material in order to ensure sufficient HIC
damage during exposure in NACE TM0284 test solution A.1 The highest material strength
included was grade X70 designed for sour service to investigate whether HIC cracks can be
initiated solely by the presence of high residual stresses.
In addition to a substantial characterization of mechanical properties and residual stresses, a
series of experiments under simulated residual stress to determine the HIC resistance of these
pipe materials in NACE TM0284 test solution A has been carried out using the four-point-bend
test setup. The Crack Area Ratio (CAR) accounting for the extent of HIC cracking was as well
correlated with basic alloying characteristics of the steels as with residual stresses.
The results of the test series combined with supporting theoretical considerations and finiteelement
(FEM) modelling revealed that in the case of HFI pipes the pre-material suitability for
sour service is of much higher importance than residual stresses induced by pipe forming. It is
demonstrated that there is no negative impact of residual stresses on the HIC resistance.
Keywords: HIC, sour service, residual stress, ERW pipe, high-frequency induction welding