Life extension technology for steam pipe systems—II. Development of life prediction methodology

Part II of this paper addresses the development of a fracture mechanics based life prediction methodology of steam pipes which operate at elevated temperatures but in the sub-creep temperature range. Elastic-plastic fracture mechanics concepts were employed to establish the remaining life prediction methodology and inspection criteria of steam pipes. Leak-before-break analyses were utilized to determine the flaw inspection criteria. Both tension and bending type loading conditions were considered in the life prediction analysis. The life assessment technology is concerned with the fatigue crack growth life of circumferential cracks in a pipe. The material properties of the A106B steam pipe steel reported in Part I of this paper were used to predict the fatigue life of steam pipes. The effects of operating parameters (e.g. stress and temperature), pipe size, and material properties on the remaining life and inspection intervals of steam pipes can be quantitatively evaluated.     

Failure analysis of natural gas pipes

Incident involving failures of 6 months old API 5L X42 (NPS8) and SDR 17, 125 mm medium density polyethylene pipe (MDPE) supplying natural gas to an industrial customer has caused serious 7 h supply disruption. Study was performed to identify the most probable cause of the pipes failures. The study conducted by reviewing the existing design and construction data, visual physical inspection, pipe material analysis, structural analysis using NASTRAN and Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis (CFD) using FLUENT. Investigations revealed that high pressure water jet from leaked water pipe had completely mixed with surrounding soil forming water soil slurry (high erosive properties) formed at a close vicinity of these pipes. Continuous impaction of this slurry upon the API 5L X42 pipe surface had caused losses of the pipe coating materials. Corrosion quickly ensued and material loss was rapid because of the continuous erosion of oxidised material that occurred simultaneously. This phenomenon explains the rapid thinning of the steel pipe body which later led to its failure. Metallurgical study using photomicrograph shows that the morphology of the steel material was consistent and did not show any evidence of internal corrosion or micro fractures. The structural and CFD simulation results proved that the location, rate and the extent of erosion failures on the pipe surfaces can be well predicted, as compared with actual instances.     

Durability of crosslinked polydimethylsyloxanes: the case of composite insulators

Most applications of silicones are linked to their hydrophobic properties and (or) their high resistance to ageing (e.g. thermal ageing and photoageing). However, when placed in extreme environments, these materials can fail as in the case of epoxy/fiber glass composite powerlines insulators, where crosslinked polymethylsyloxanes (PDMSs) are used as the protective envelope (housing) of the insulator. We report on the behavior of both pure/noncrosslinked PDMSs and typical formulations used in industrial insulators, i.e. containing peroxide crosslinked PDMS, alumina trioxide hydrated (ATH) and silica. Special attention is paid on both (i) the sources of potential degradation and (ii) the best analytical methods that can be applied to the study of very complex formulations. (i) Aside from conventional types of ageing such as photo-ageing and thermal, hydrolytic, and service life ageings, treatments with acidic vapors, plasma and ozone possibly generating species from the reaction of a high electric field with air were also performed, which allowed to accelerate electrical and out-door ageings and to obtain differently aged materials. (ii) Aside from conventional analytical methods of polymer degradation such as FTIR/ATR spectroscopy and SEC, TG, hardness measurements, more specific methods like photo/DSC, TG/IR, thermoporosimetry, resistivity and density measurements were also performed to characterize the chemical and physical evolutions of polymer materials. In particular, it was found that treatment with nitric acid vapor has detrimental effects on the properties of both fire retardants (e.g. ATH) and PDMSs, affecting the hardness and resistivity of the formulated material.     

A physical probabilistic model to predict failure rates in buried PVC pipelines

For older water pipeline materials such as cast iron and asbestos cement, future pipe failure rates can be extrapolated from large volumes of existing historical failure data held by water utilities. However, for newer pipeline materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), only limited failure data exists and confident forecasts of future pipe failures cannot be made from historical data alone. To solve this problem, this paper presents a physical probabilistic model, which has been developed to estimate failure rates in buried PVC pipelines as they age. The model assumes that under in-service operating conditions, crack initiation can occur from inherent defects located in the pipe wall. Linear elastic fracture mechanics theory is used to predict the time to brittle fracture for pipes with internal defects subjected to combined internal pressure and soil deflection loading together with through-wall residual stress. To include uncertainty in the failure process, inherent defect size is treated as a stochastic variable, and modelled with an appropriate probability distribution. Microscopic examination of fracture surfaces from field failures in Australian PVC pipes suggests that the 2-parameter Weibull distribution can be applied. Monte Carlo simulation is then used to estimate lifetime probability distributions for pipes with internal defects, subjected to typical operating conditions. As with inherent defect size, the 2-parameter Weibull distribution is shown to be appropriate to model uncertainty in predicted pipe lifetime. The Weibull hazard function for pipe lifetime is then used to estimate the expected failure rate (per pipe length/per year) as a function of pipe age. To validate the model, predicted failure rates are compared to aggregated failure data from 17 UK water utilities obtained from the United Kingdom Water Industry Research (UKWIR) National Mains Failure Database. In the absence of actual operating pressure data in the UKWIR database, typical values from Australian water utilities were assumed to apply. While the physical probabilistic failure model shows good agreement with data recorded by UK water utilities, actual operating pressures from the UK is required to complete the model validation.     

Durability of crosslinked polydimethylsyloxanes: the case of composite insulators

Abstract

Most applications of silicones are linked to their hydrophobic properties and (or) their high resistance to ageing (e.g. thermal ageing and photoageing). However, when placed in extreme environments, these materials can fail as in the case of epoxy/fiber glass composite powerlines insulators, where crosslinked polymethylsyloxanes (PDMSs) are used as the protective envelope (housing) of the insulator. We report on the behavior of both pure/noncrosslinked PDMSs and typical formulations used in industrial insulators, i.e. containing peroxide crosslinked PDMS, alumina trioxide hydrated (ATH) and silica. Special attention is paid on both (i) the sources of potential degradation and (ii) the best analytical methods that can be applied to the study of very complex formulations. (i) Aside from conventional types of ageing such as photo-ageing and thermal, hydrolytic, and service life ageings, treatments with acidic vapors, plasma and ozone possibly generating species from the reaction of a high electric field with air were also performed, which allowed to accelerate electrical and out-door ageings and to obtain differently aged materials. (ii) Aside from conventional analytical methods of polymer degradation such as FTIR/ATR spectroscopy and SEC, TG, hardness measurements, more specific methods like photo/DSC, TG/IR, thermoporosimetry, resistivity and density measurements were also performed to characterize the chemical and physical evolutions of polymer materials. In particular, it was found that treatment with nitric acid vapor has detrimental effects on the properties of both fire retardants (e.g. ATH) and PDMSs, affecting the hardness and resistivity of the formulated material.     

Hyperbolic constitutive model to study cast iron pipes in 3-D nonlinear finite element analyses

Cast iron (CI) pipes were widely installed as water mains and service connections in the last century and still large numbers of CI pipes remain in service. However, many CI pipes are becoming aged and severely corroded, causing frequent pipe leaks and breaks. To better understand the failure mechanism of CI pipes, this paper provides an efficient numerical approach to analyse the behaviour of CI pipes under various loading conditions. The numerical investigation was realised by implementing a hyperbolic constitutive model (a simplified nonlinear stress-strain analysis) for CI materials into finite element analysis (FEA) in ABAQUS. Three-dimensional (3-D) FEAs were carried out for a series of uniaxial tensile and compressive tests, 3-point beam bending tests and ring bending tests on various CI pipe coupons. The stress-strain characteristics and load-deflection responses obtained from these numerical examples were validated by experimental results. The numerical results obtained from the proposed method are in good agreement with the measured data, which indicates that the mechanical performance of deteriorated CI pipes can be adequately modelled using the relatively simple nonlinear constitutive model implemented in 3-D FEA. As nonlinear behaviour has proven to be intrinsic to the widely used CI pipes, it is expected that the proposed 3-D FEA modelling technique will be of importance to the evaluation of the mechanical performance of CI pipes and, possibly, other CI structures.     

Creep behavior of seam-welded reheat steam pipes in thermal fossil power plant: feedback analysis and life assessment methodology

A methodology is developed to evaluate a residual life of the oldest seam-welded reheat pipes. The first step consists of a design concept based using a weld parameter depending on welding process, in order to classify pipes by their creep life fraction. This part is in progress. The second step consists of a metallurgical approach to optimize life assessment of the most damaged pipes, by estimating a residual life before crack initiation in the intercritical zone of a pipe tempered weld. Creep tests on a simulated intercritical microstructure were subjected to different creep life fractions. Creep damage was identified as the creep cavity density evaluated by image analysis. Tests results have shown that creep damage appears in the intercritical microstructure in the very end of life (last 16 ± 2 % of creep life). These results warrant a residual life of at least 24000 hours for a 150000 hours aged pipe under operating conditions, if no creep damage was found. Extra examinations have been performed on the oldest seam-welded (MMA process) reheat pipe of EDF thermal fossil power plants. Application of this metallographic approach have enabled one to estimate a residual life of at least 9000 hours before the creep crack initiation stage, in good agreement with creep tests performed on extracted welds. Applicability of this new approach seems to be very interesting for in service seam-welded reheat pipes, but it requires the previously identification of the most creep damaged section. In that way, NDT must be improved to be able to detect creep damage in the bulk.     

HDPE pipes failure analysis and damage modeling

Thermoplastic pipes are used in all the industrial fields such as water, sewage and gas piping systems and other industrial applications, like the transport of minerals and slurries. The choice of the right piping system's material depends on many criteria. First of all, it depends on the conditions of use of each kind of material. Secondly, it depends on the cost of the chosen material and finally the mastering of the material's scenarios of failure. The last criteria are possible through the mastering of the material characteristics and the capability to detect the failure, burst or crack, before its occurrence. The adopted approach must be proactive to facilitate the prediction of the failure and help the maintenance staff to apprehend the piping system's damage at the right time. In this paper, we chose HDPE pipes as material for our study. Then, we leaded a new approach of failure analysis and prediction using new models. These models are obtained through a modified version of the stress controlled unified theory, a static damage model using burst pressures and a static damage model using the time to failure. For that reason, we used burst pressures of undamaged HDPE pipe instead of ultimate stresses. Then, we created groove notches with different levels of depth. The obtained burst pressures from these pipes have been considered as the residual burst pressures used in our damage models. The representation of the obtained data according to the life fraction gave us an idea about the critical life fraction and then the critical groove depth which can be allowed. This information has been confirmed by three damage models. Then, we determined the different stages of damage to help the predictive maintenance to define the safe intervals of the HDPE pipes' service. Moreover, the three developed models, presented in this paper, represent a simplified approach to assess the damage based on static tests only, without doing any dynamic tests. The developed cost-effective approach can be a tool that can help the industrials to have an anticipative maintenance strategy and respect the safety requirements. Also, it can help them to do quick checks or launch audit mission to the manufacturers' factories for HDPE pipes' quality control and conformity check regarding the codes.     

Fatigue testing of uPVC pressure pipe

Many uPVC pressure pipe service failures have been due to fatigue crack propagation from a flaw in the internal wall surface of the pipe, often aggravated by the local soil loading conditions. Such failures can be simulated by machining an internal notch (known flaw) into the wall of the pipe before cyclic internal water pressurization.A constant-displacement compressive loading has been found to reduce significantly the fatigue life of uPVC pressure pipe. The frequency and amplitude of the internal cyclic pressure have both been found to affect the fatigue life of uPVC pipe.     

Influence of ageing in the failure pressure of a GFRP pipe used in oil industry

This paper is concerned with the influence of ageing in the failure pressure of a glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) pipes used for oil and gas transport. Burst tests were performed on pipes submitted to accelerated ageing combining hydraulic pressure and temperature (1 MPa and 80 °C). An alternative method, which does not require the immersion in a water bath or other fluid bath, was adopted for the ageing of the specimens. The experiments show that the burst pressure can be strongly affected by the ageing period. Tensile tests also have been performed, showing a brittle-elastic behaviour. For this particular composite, the stiffness of the tensile specimen is not significantly affected by the ageing time, but the ultimate tensile stress (UTS) is affected by the ageing time. A methodology to obtain analytic estimates of both UTS and failure pressure for a given ageing time is proposed. In order to obtain a lower bound of the failure pressure at a given operation time, besides the pipe geometry, it is only necessary to know the UTS of the composite obtained in a minimum of three tensile tests performed at different ageing times. The prediction error is less than 0.8% for the UTS and is less than 25% for the failure pressure.     

Investigation of low temperature effects on fatigue behavior of PVDF

Fatigue behavior of polyvinylidiene fluoride (PVDF) pipes is investigated under low temperatures to characterize the temperature effects. The analysis included experimental evaluation of fatigue life for test samples taken directly from the manufactured pipes used for service as opposed to compression molded compact tension samples used in previous works. In this test, short sections from an extruded pipe are used to better represent the material service conditions. A compact test chamber was designed to control the test temperature. The samples were loaded into the test rig and allowed to cool for 30 min ensuring a constant and even temperature distribution. Cooling was done in a sealed test chamber using carbon dioxide gas. Two test temperatures of −20 °C and −10 °C were chosen since they represent typical temperature during which failure occurs during actual pipe service in cold environments. Fractured surfaces were inspected and fatigue data were analyzed using a standard procedure for calculation of fatigue life with a semi-elliptical surface crack assumption was performed; from which parameters of the Paris law for fatigue fracture were obtained. Comparing the results with previous works it is found that they capture the trend of the PVDF material behavior for high temperature.     

Fracture toughness of multilayer pipes

Multilayer pipes composed of various materials improve partially the properties of a pipe system and are frequently used in service. To estimate the lifetime of these pipes the basic fracture parameters have to be measured. In the contribution a new approach to this estimation is presented. Special type of a C-shaped inhomogeneous fracture mechanics specimen machined directly from a pipe has been proposed, numerically analyzed and tested. The corresponding K values are calculated by finite-element method and fracture toughness values of polyethylene pipes material are obtained. __________ Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 1, pp. 146–149, January–February, 2008.     

Weibull-based methodology for condition assessment of cast iron water mains and its application

A qualitative and quantitative understanding of how cast iron water distribution pipes fail in service would facilitate a targeted approach to the management of rehabilitation in the water industry. This paper proposes a technique for assessing the condition of pipes, based on strength characteristics obtained from small samples; this offers an alternative way of estimating the likelihood of failure to current methodologies based on pit‐depth measurements. Examination of recovered pipe samples indicates that the strength of the cast iron pipe reduces over time as a result of corrosion, although other time‐dependent processes, such as fatigue, may also contribute to this degradation. Taken with previous work, this paper suggests that the variation in strength of small samples removed from cast iron water distribution pipes can be characterized using Weibull methods. It is argued that the Weibull modulus provides a useful indicator of the condition of the pipe. Using scaling arguments, inherent in the Weibull methodology, it is then possible to use data from small samples to predict the likely strength characteristics of water distribution pipes in the ground, which is reasoned to be a good measure of the potential performance of the pipe in service. The Weibull approach is applied to a number of different data sets obtained from testing samples extracted from a range of pipes, which have seen service at various locations in the Thames Water region. One of these data sets was from locations where failure had occurred in service. It is shown that the use of Weibull analysis can identify pipes in the network that have degraded the most significantly. A methodology is suggested whereby this information taken with other performance indicators can be used to identify the local regions where rehabilitation is required most urgently. Alternatively, it can be used to identify those regions of the network, which are in good condition and unlikely to need repair or replacement work.     

可降解高聚物PLGA降解溶蚀的仿真模型

针对可降解高聚物材料聚乳酸和聚乙醇酸的共聚物(PLGA)降解溶蚀的计算机仿真问题,采用蒙特卡罗方法确定聚合物的随机降解寿命的计算表达式,依此建立了PLGA材料降解溶蚀过程的数学模型,并开展溶蚀模型的验证实验,数值仿真与验证实验结果表明,文中的聚合物随机计算寿命值表达式具有更明确的物理意义,所建立的降解溶蚀模型可以直观地反映材料的降解溶蚀过程,材料半衰期之前仿真结果与实验结果一致性较好。该仿真模型能为可降解高聚物材料的功能器件提供一种设计方法。     

Dynamic crack propagation in steel line pipes. Part I: Experimental investigation

An experimental-theoretical research project on dynamic crack propagation on steel line pipes intended for arctic service was developed. The aim of this study is to characterize the dynamic material behavior, to propose line pipe qualification tests, and to identify the variables that govern the dynamic fracture process and their relationships. The first part of this research involves the experimental work and outlines a practical test to assess fitness for service of arctic pipelines. Burst tests of line pipes samples at low temperature were carried out and crack extension vs. time was measured. The axial crack fracture mechanism was quasi-cleavage in the center of the pipe wall with lateral shear lips. A pressure range for LBB (leak before break) condition was obtained. In Part II of this research a new model for the assessment of the dynamic material properties from the analysis of test results obtained in Part I is developed.     

Failure Analysis of an Aqua Tubular Boiler Tube

In general, boilers are subjected to aggressive environmental conditions and, for this reason, there is a real necessity of controlling some parameters such as quality of input water, amount and types of addition agents used in the water, and operational conditions of the equipment (pressure and temperature). The lack of control of these and other parameters can cause loss of performance of the boiler by higher amount of fuel consumption, loss of efficiency, or even rupture of components, causing severe accidents. This study has as purpose the failure analysis in a pipe of the lateral wall of a boiler, known as aqua tubular, of an aircraft carrier flat top boat during a test in sea. The material of the pipes, according to preliminary information, is ASTM 192 steel, which is adequate for this kind of application. Through microstructural analysis in important regions for the study of this failure and earlier information about equipment operation, the cause of rupture of the pipe, which was changed only 50?h before the accident, was analyzed. It was observed that incrustations, corrosion pits in the walls of the pipe, and high temperatures together with microstructural changes were the probable causes of the pipe rupture. It can also be concluded that the analyzed failure had no relation with the quality of the material or the fabrication process of the component.     

Experimental method for determining through thickness residual hoop stresses in thin walled pipes and tubes without inside access

The determination of through thickness residual stresses in pipes and pressure vessels is of growing interest because of emphasis placed on life prediction, design, and failure analysis of piping systems. Most of the through thickness residual stress measurement techniques require the placement of gauges on the outside and inside of the pipe. These methods are severely hampered when gauges cannot be placed on the inside of the pipe. This constraint could arise for small diameter pipes, long pipes or for pipes that have been used in a service condition causing corrosion or fouling of the inner surface.
This paper focuses on the first step of a three step procedure for determining residual hoop stresses in thin walled pipes and tubes. The method described is designed for cases where it is impossible to place gauges on the inside of the pipe. The method yses biaxial strain gauges on the outside of the pipe and involves a through thickness axial cut of the pipe. Based on the change in strain on the outside of the pipe, changes in the hoop residual stress distribution due to the axial cut are obtained with the method presented here. The method provides a means to evaluate changes in stresses on both the outside surface and the inside surface of the pipe as well as an evaluation of the change in through thickness hoop stress distribution at any location in the pipe cross section. This paper further demonstrates that the problem of shortening long pipes to enable placement of gauges on the inside of the pipe can result in the loss of significant residual stress information.     

客车空调压缩机排气管路失效分析与结构改进

采用ANSYS Workbench软件对客车空调压缩机排气管路进行失效分析和结构改进。以3种典型管路为研究对象,在压缩机端施加位移载荷进行管路失效分析,模拟结果与管路实际断裂位置一致。通过添加弯头、调整管路角度以及增加不锈钢波纹管长度等改进措施,可以降低管路的最大等效应力,延长管路的使用寿命。     

Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Polymers for Information Technology: from Planar Technology to 3D Nanostructures

Sol‐gel synthesis allows inorganic–organic hybrid polymer materials (ORMOCER®s) to be produced, which can be functionalized to tailor their physical and chemical properties such as refractive index or optical loss. A particular material system is discussed here, which is synthesized without addition of water and is applied in optical communications. As examples for 2D and 2.5D technology, planar waveguides, stacked waveguides, and microlenses are shown. Using two‐photon polymerization initiated by femtosecond laser pulses, arbitrary 3D structures can be made in the submicrometer range. In particular, 3D photonic crystal structures are described and discussed.     

Some observations on the strength and fatigue properties of samples extracted from cast iron water mains

The strength and fatigue properties of cast iron samples taken from water distribution mains have been investigated. Specimens were sourced from three sections of pipe which had experienced varying amounts of corrosion in service, enabling the variable of pipe condition to be incorporated within the study.
The strengths in four-point flexure of small specimens from the pipes examined were described using Weibull statistics; different characteristic strengths and Weibull moduli were obtained, according to the pipe condition. A further set of samples from each pipe were subjected to flexural fatigue at a range of stress levels (different stress levels were chosen for each pipe based on the short-term strength properties) and residual strength tests were carried out on the surviving samples from one stress level for each pipe. There is evidence of a fatigue effect for all sample sets. There were slight differences in the residual strength behaviour – the residual strength of the survivors was reduced in the samples from the section in best condition while the residual strength of the survivors from the other two pipe sections was relatively unaffected. These trends are discussed with reference to condition and fatigue stress level.
The results suggest that mechanical fatigue may be a factor in the failure of water distribution pipes. The results may have implications for large diameter trunk mains as well as the small diameter water distribution pipes tested here. To assess the effect in more detail, consideration needs to be given to scaling effects in fatigue and the likely levels of any fatigue stress seen in service.