51313-02292-Stress Cracking of High-Density PE Pipes in Alkali Surfactant Polymer Enhanced Oil Recovery Floods

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Product Number: 51313-02292-SG

ISBN: 02292 2013 CP

Author: Frank Cheng

Publication Date: 2013

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High density polyethylene (HDPE) is a polyolefin thermoplastic material with a favorite property combination enabling it to be used widely in various industrial applications such as the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. The HDPE pipeline networks transport the alkali surfactant polymer (ASP) fluids to injection wells and the produced fluids (combination of crude oil water and residual ASP fluids) to a central processing facility. However HDPE pipes suffer from serious environmentally stress cracking (ESC). To date there has been no relevant research conducted to determine the ESC resistance of HDPE pipe material in ASP service.

In this work the stress-strain behavior and mechanical properties of three types of HDPE material were measured after one month of soaking in 0.5wt% ASP fluid (pH 14) under various temperatures and pressures. The effects of the fluid soaking on the mechanical properties such as elastic limit yielding strength and elongation of the HDPE materials were determined. Moreover the facture surface of the specimens after tensile tests was characterized by scanning electron microscopy to identify the facture feature. Furthermore the tests were conducted following ASTM standards on pre-cracked HDPE specimens to determine the effect of the ASP fluid and the testing conditions on the cracking process. The results were analyzed based on considerations of the HDPE permeability and the associated effect on its mechanical behavior. Moreover the contribution from the environmental factors to the mechanical degradation of HDPE was determined.

The research results provide recommendations to industry for optimization of the design and operation of ASP pipeline systems and accurate prediction of the full lifecycle impacts of HDPE composite pipes in service.