51313-02417-In-situ Analyses to Characterize the Properties and Metallurgical Attributes of In-service Piping

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Product Number: 51313-02417-SG

ISBN: 02417 2013 CP

Author: Bill Amend

Publication Date: 2013

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Pipeline systems can include piping that was manufactured as long as about 90-100 years ago. Not surprisingly documentation related to the manufacture installation testing maintenance and inspection of vintage pipeline is often incomplete or uncertain. While some aspects of pipeline integrity management rely on knowing specific mechanical properties or the metallurgical characteristics of piping often the relevant data is unavailable. Even though the data can often be generated from analysis of hot tapped coupons or scrapped cylinders of pipe scrap pipe is not always available and hot tapping represents a significant expense and potential safety issue related to welding and tapping pipe of possibly unknown metallurgical characteristics. In addition a single tapped coupon or pipe cylinder might not be representative of the range of metallurgical characteristics or properties in a long pipeline segment and obtaining multiple pipe samples for destructive testing can be impractical.

This paper describes in-situ nondestructive analyses that can be performed on operating pipelines to evaluate steel composition yield strength and tensile strength hardness toughness microstructure and crack morphology. The relevant technologies include portable spectroscopy laboratory analysis of steel filings portable hardness testing automated ball indentation and metallography using replication techniques. The data can be used to support selection of optimized welding procedures determine the lower bound yield strength of a pipeline segment at a selected confidence level determine the acceptability of “hard spots” and weld heat affected zones estimate fracture toughness determine the origin of planar flaws (manufacturing flaw fatigue crack high-pH SCC or near neutral pH-SCC) and differentiate between ERW seams having high temperature versus low temperature post weld heat treatments.