Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure analysis of a leak-o oil pipe from injection valves of

an o-shore operating diesel engine
Z. Mazur *, A. Carvajal-Martnez, R. Munoz-Quezada, R. Garca-Illescas
Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Calle Reforma 113, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Received 20 September 2005; accepted 24 October 2005
Available online 13 February 2006

Abstract
The failure analysis of a four-stroke 3000 kW o-shore operating diesel engine is presented. The failure occurred during
engine normal operation period in the leak-o oil pipe from the injection valves, which experienced a fracture through the
pipe wall and a diesel engine re as a result. A detailed analysis of all elements which had an inuence on the failure initiation was carried out, namely leak-o oil pipe vibration level, pipe stress level, presence of corrosion pits on the pipe
external surface under the zinc coating and engine components temperature distribution in the failure zone. It was found
that the crack initiation and propagation of the leak-o oil pipe from injection valves was driven by a fatigue mechanism,
which was facilitated by loose pipe supports (excessive pipe vibration) and corrosion pits on the pipe surface that acted as
stress concentrators. The contact of leak-o atomized oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot engine exhaust
mu (390 C approximately) caused local re of the diesel engine.
 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Failure analysis; High cycle fatigue; Diesel engine failures; Oil pipe failure; Diesel engine re

1. Introduction
The fatigue of metals is a subject of practical importance because most of the failures in engineering components and structures are due to fatigue. In service, many components and structures are subjected to varying
loads and, although the average stresses are often low, local concentration of stresses does not reduce the static
strength but often leads to failure by fatigue. Low and medium carbon steels are widely used for making
machine parts and structural components. The causes of failures of these machine parts and components
are frequently related to dynamic loading patterns. In principle, as long as the applied stresses do not exceed
the design stresses, these components should last indenitely, although in practice various factors cause reductions in life. Many metallurgical and operational factors can extend the actual component life beyond the
design life. Alternatively, if these factors are adverse, actual life can be reduced. The adverse factors aecting
the useful life of components are [1] as follows:
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +52 777 362 3811; fax: +52 777 362 3834.
E-mail address: mazur@iie.org.mx (Z. Mazur).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter  2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2005.10.019

Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

197

Nomenclature
b
c
E
f
K
n
Nf
p
t
ea
e0f
ra
r0f
rmax
ru
ry
De
Dr






fatigue resistance exponent

fatigue ductility exponent
modulus of Elasticity
vibration frequency
cyclic resistance coecient
cyclic deformation hardening exponent
number of cycles to failure
pressure
time
deformation amplitude
fatigue ductility coecient
stress amplitude
fatigue resistance coecient
maximum stress
ultimate tensile strength
tensile strength, yield at 0.2% oset
deformation range
fatigue stress range

Unanticipated stresses (residual, system stresses)

Operating outside design limits (excessive temperature, load cycling of baseload equipment)
Operation and environmental eects
Degradation of material properties in service (temper embrittlement, softening)
Pre-existing fabrication defects

A metal component subjected to repetitive or uctuating stresses will fail at a stress much lower than that
required for failure on a single load application. Failures occurring under cyclic loading are termed fatigue
failures. Vibrational stresses, alternating bending loads, and uctuating thermal stresses are some examples
of cyclic loading that can occur in a life period of many equipments. In many piping systems, bending stresses
arise due to failure of supports. Also, leaks in tubes and pipes and vibration of rotating components provide
forewarnings of more large-scale and massive failures. Unanticipated environmental eects leading to corrosion, pitting, and stress corrosion are major factors in life reduction. Pre-existing fabrication defects may cause
crack initiation and growth of cracks during service and lead to premature failures. Inclusions, segregation
streaks, reheat cracking, slag inclusions in welds, lack of fusion, incomplete penetration and numerous other
defects such as these have been known to cause catastrophic failures [2]. In the present work, a case history of
the failure analysis of a leak-o oil pipe from injection valves of an o-shore operating diesel engine installed
in the oil platform (service platform), which was driven by fatigue mechanism, is presented.
2. Background
The diesel engine under evaluation was one of the ve engine generator sets (engine generator set #2) of
the four-stroke, 16 cylinder, 3000 kW power units installed on an oshore oil platform (service platform).
The engine generator sets provide an electrical energy for propulsors, re pumps, emergency equipment, service equipment in the shops and habitational area, cranes and other auxiliary equipment necessary for platform operation. Each diesel engine has its own fuel delivery system, which consists of a circuit of fuel
feeding to the injection equipment of each cylinder and a circuit of fuel leak-o from injection valves (return
circuit). During normal operation period, a ame in the area of cylinder No. 16 of unit #2 was detected (see
Fig. 1).

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Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

Fig. 1. Flame location in diesel engine #2.

Fig. 2. General view of the burned diesel engine #2.

After the re of diesel engine #2 was extinguished, it was found that some parts of the electrical cables,
electric and electronic equipment, diesel engine elements and structural elements of the machine room were
burnt. The general view of the burnt diesel engine #2 is shown in Fig. 2 and the same engine in original conditions is shown in Fig. 3. The initial investigation revealed that the re of engine #2 was originated by leakage
of fuel (diesel oil) from a fractured leak-o oil pipe from injection valves, which were in contact with the hot
exhaust mu of the engine and were consequently ignited. The location of the failed leak-o oil pipe can be
seen in Fig. 2.
3. Vibration analysis of the fuel leak-o oil pipe
In order to estimate the level of vibration generated during diesel engine operation and its possible relation
to the fuel leak-o oil pipe failure, the vibration measurements were carried out on a similar engine, #4,
because engine #2 was not available due to its burning out, as it was mentioned before.

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199

Fig. 3. General view of the failed fuel leak-o oil pipe in original conditions.

The vibrations of the fuel leak-o oil pipe were measured in various points and directions, as it is shown in
Fig. 4.
It is worthwhile to mention that the vibration frequency measured on the fuel leak-o oil pipe of the engine
#4 does not necessarily correspond exactly to the vibration of engine #2 because of some common dynamic
state dierences between engines. Particularly, there were probably some dierences between the stinesses of
the analyzed pipes related to the loosening of some supports of the main fuel feeding pipe of each cylinder in
both engines (see Figs. 5 and 6) and also to the lack of some of them.
The dynamic response of the pipe depends on the rigidity of its supports. If some supports are loose or are
eliminated, the pipe vibration amplitude will increase and the mode shapes will change.
The vibrations registered at each point of the fuel leak-o oil pipe of engine #4 are shown in Table 1. The
vibration measurements were carried out simultaneously at point 7, connected to the principal fuel feeding
pipe and points 16 of the fuel leak-o oil pipe, considering point 7 as the reference point. As it can be seen

5
Failure zone

Fig. 4. Localization of the points of vibration measurement on the fuel leak-o oil pipe.

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Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

Fig. 5. Location of loose supports of the principal fuel feeding pipe of engine #2.

Fig. 6. Details of the loose support of the principal fuel feeding pipe of engine #2.

in Table 1, the reference vibration at point 7 varied in time, a phenomenon that is normal for diesel engines
and is related to their mode of operation (the dynamic/exciting forces developed during each rotation of the
engine crankshaft are variable in time).

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201

Table 1
Direct vibration and amplitude of spectral components of vibration measured in horizontal plane
Point

1
7
2
7
3
7
4
7
5
7
6
7

Direct vibration (lm pp)

Amplitude of ltrated vibration

340.8
632.0
428.0
613.8
562.2
594.6
505.4
432.5
513.0
437.0
506.7
370.7

37.50 Hz

60.00 Hz

83.30 Hz

101.8
438.8
145.3
450.3
229.1
460.4
164.7
268.7
214.1
278.0
204.9
190.0

244.7
340.2
319.2
288.0
384.0
255.0
329.5
225.1
314.3
222.8
258.0
199.8

55.42
176.4
47.33
181.0
107.6
180.7
132.4
156.4
203.0
168.9
260.0
160.4

Table 2
Normalized vibrations of the leak-o oil pipe related to the vibration of point 7
Point

1
2
3
4
5
6

Filtered amplitudes
37.5 Hz

60.0 Hz

83.3 Hz

0.23199635
0.32267377
0.49761077
0.61295125
0.77014388
1.07842105

0.71928277
1.06578947
1.50588235
1.46379387
1.41068223
1.29129129

0.31417234
0.26149171
0.5 9546209
0.84654731
1.20189461
1.62094763

As it is shown in Table 1, the maximum levels of pipe vibration at point 7 were registered at a frequency of
37.5 Hz, reaching values of up to 460 lm pp. The normalized vibrations calculated with relation to the reference vibration at point 7 are shown in Table 2. It can be appreciated that the maximum normalized vibration
of point 6 is the closest to that of reference point 7, which is connected to the principal fuel feeding pipe. Going
from point 6 to point 1 of the leak-o oil pipe, these vibrations decrease gradually as the distance from the
reference point increases. The approximate mode shapes of the leak-o oil pipe at dierent vibration frequencies during engine operation are shown in Fig. 7.
4. Metallurgical investigation of the leak-o oil pipe
The metallurgical investigation of the failed leak-o oil pipe was carried out; it included visual inspection,
metallography, SEM (scanning electronic microscopy) fractography, chemical analysis and microhardness
test. The location of the leak-o oil pipe sectioning and applied tests is shown in Fig. 8.
(a)

(b)

(c)

1
2
3
7

4
5
6

37.5 Hz

60.0 Hz

83.3 Hz

Fig. 7. Approximate modes of deformation of the leak-o oil pipe at dierent vibration frequencies during engine operation.

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Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

Fig. 8. Location of the leak-o oil pipe sectioning and applied tests.

In Fig. 9, the fracture surface of the leak-o oil pipe is shown. As it can be seen, there are two opposite
zones of the fracture initiation on the external surface of the pipe, which are the result of the pipe cyclic bending; beach marks on the fracture surfaces, which are characteristic of the fatigue damage, are also seen in the
gure.
Fig. 10 shows the details of the upper part of the pipe fracture surface shown in Fig. 9, indicating the fracture initiation zone and beach marks.
Using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), fracture initiation points were analyzed (Fig. 11). It was
found that the fracture initiation and propagation was transgranular (see Fig. 12), which is commonly attributed to fatigue. The typical fatigue propagation striations (sliding planes) on the fracture surface are shown in
Fig. 13.
The metallographic investigation of the oil pipe surface revealed that under the zinc coating which covers
the outer pipe surface, corrosion pits were found, as it is shown in Fig. 14. These corrosion pits could be created during an inadequate pipe fabrication process (surface preparation, cleaning, and coating). Also, they
could be formed as a product of galvanic corrosion due to the dierent electrochemical potentials of the zinc
coating and pipe base metal (carbon steel). Because engine oil pipes may have contact with humid air rich in
sodium (o-shore operation), the galvanic corrosion process may be activated; this typically occurs in the
interface zone between two metals of dierent electrochemical potentials.
5. Stress analysis of the leak-o oil pipe
Stress analysis of the leak-o oil pipe was carried out to determine if the pipe operating stress level could
have some inuence on failure initiation and propagation. The geometric characteristics of the piping are as
follows:
 External diameter, 12 mm
 Internal diameter, 10.3 mm

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203

Fig. 9. General appearance of the leak-o oil pipe fracture surface.









Pipe wall thickness, 0.85 mm

Aspect ratio (wall thickness/internal radius), 0.16 (cylinder of thick wall)
Pipe material, carbon steel SAE1015
Brinell hardness, BHN = 80
Ultimate tensile strength, ru = 414 MPa
Yield tensile strength at 0.2% oset, ry = 228 MPa
Modulus of elasticity, E = 207 GPa

According to the design data [3], the fuel pressure inside the leak-o pipe reaches the value of p = 0.3 MPa.
Considering this pressure, the maximum stress in the pipe was calculated as rmax = 2.26 MPa, which is
approximately ten times lower than the tensile stress yielding of the pipe material. This stress is insignicant
and cannot have an inuence on the initiation of pipe failure.
Moreover, the fatigue life of the leak-o pipe was calculated using specialized software named nCode [4],
considering variation of the maximum stress mentioned before due to oil pressure uctuation. The stress
concentration factor was included in the calculation due to the presence of corrosion pits on the pipe surface (0.010.02 mm depth), which reduce fatigue life. The results show that pipe fatigue life is innite
because the stress amplitude is very small and does not cause any fatigue damage. Also, the pipe crack initiation on its external surface proved that the fuel internal pressures, which produce maximum stress on the
pipe inner surface, have no relation with the failure. It was concluded that the damage of the pipe was not
related to the fuel pressure inside the pipe and most probably the leak-o pipe failure may have been related

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Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

Fig. 10. Details of the upper part of the pipe fracture surface from Fig. 9 (fracture initiation zone and beach marks).

Fig. 11. Details of the fracture surface (fracture initiation points).

Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

Fig. 12. Details of the surface of the fracture initiation point.

Fig. 13. Details of the fracture propagation surface of the leak-o oil pipe.

205

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Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

Fig. 14. Details of the corrosion pits on the pipe fracture surface under the zinc coating.

to the excessive vibration of the fuel feeding pipe which in turn was due to loose pipe supports, as it was
mentioned before.
Because the pipe stresses induced by the excessive vibration were not known precisely, but the pipe operation hours to failure were known, the pipe stresses which could lead to fatigue failure were calculated by
inverse method.
Considering that the leak-o pipe fundamental vibration frequency corresponds to f = 37.5 Hz (Table 1),
and operation hours to failure were t = 53929 h [5], the number of cycles to failure Nf = 7.28 109 were calculated from:
N f ft cycles

For this order of cycles, the proper fatigue model was computed using the Basquin criterion (stress-life
model) [4], which considers elastic stresses and deformations normally generated during mechanical
vibration. The amplitude ea = 3.045 104 and range of deformation De = 6.09 104 were calculated
from:
r0f
2N f b
E
De 2ea

ea

2
3

where for pipe material SAE1015 [4]:

r0f 827 MPa
E 207; 000 MPa
The fatigue stress range Dr = 124.3 MPa was determined from Eq. (4), which correlates fatigue stress and
deformation (fatigue cycle), using the software Math CAD [6].
 1n
Dr
Dr
2
De
;
4
E
2K
where

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207

b 0:11
e0f 0:95
c 0:94
b
n ; n 0:22
c
r0
K 0 f n MPa; K 945MPa
ef
The stress amplitude ra = 62.15 MPa was calculated from:
ra

Dr
2

From the obtained stress analysis results, it may be concluded that the leak-o oil pipe fatigue failure was
probably caused by elastic stresses induced by the oil pipe vibration at a frequency close to 37.5 Hz, which
were within the range of ra = 62.15 MPa approximately.
6. Infrared analysis (Thermography) of the diesel engine failure zone
To determine the cause of the engine re (ignition of the diesel oil), an infrared analysis of the similar
diesel engine during its operation was carried out. The infrared analysis of the engine temperature prole was concentrated within the zone of the re initiation, close to the leak-o oil pipe (see Figs. 2
and 3), including the electrical cables box that controls the engines startup and operation, lubricating
oil pipes, and hot parts of the diesel engine. It was found that the maximum temperature of
approximately 390 C was registered in the zone of the engine exhaust tubes (engine mu), as shown in
Fig. 15.
On the basis of the engine temperature ndings, it may be deduced that the contact of leak-o atomized
oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot engine exhaust tubing (390 C approximately) caused
local re of the diesel engine. This was possible because the diesel oil (engine fuel) ash point is.at least
60 C [7].

Fig. 15. Temperature proles in the zone of engine exhaust tubes (mu).

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Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196208

7. Conclusions
The failure analysis of the four-stroke 3000 kW o-shore operating diesel engine was carried out.
The diesel engine vibration analysis revealed that failed leak-o oil pipe maximum vibration levels were registered at a frequency of 37.5 Hz, reaching amplitude values of up to 460 lm pp. This high vibration level of
the oil pipe was induced due to some loose supports of the principal fuel feeding pipe and the lack of some of
them. The dynamic response of the pipe depends on the stiness of its supports. If some supports are loose or
eliminated, the pipe vibration amplitude increases.
The metallurgical investigation of the failed leak-o oil pipe indicated the presence of two opposite zones of
the fracture initiation on the external surface of the pipe, as a result of the pipe cyclic bending and presence of
beach marks on the fracture surfaces, which are characteristic of the fatigue damage. Using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) it was found that the fracture initiation and propagation was transgranular, a type
that is commonly attributed to fatigue. Also, the typical fatigue propagation striations (sliding planes) on the
fracture surface were found. The metallographic investigation of the oil pipe surface revealed that under the
zinc coating, which covers the outer pipe surface, corrosion pits were found. These corrosion pits could have
been created during an inadequate pipe fabrication process (surface preparation, cleaning, and coating). Also,
they could be formed as a product of galvanic corrosion due to the dierent electrochemical potentials of the
zinc coating and pipe base metal (carbon steel). Because engine oil pipes may have contact with humid air rich
in sodium (o-shore operation), the galvanic corrosion process may have been activated; this typically occurs
in the interface zone between two metals of dierent electrochemical potentials.
From the stress analysis of the failed leak-o oil pipe, it was concluded that the damage of the pipe cannot
be related to the fuel pressure inside the pipe. Furthermore, it was found that pipe fatigue failure was probably
caused by elastic stresses induced by the oil pipe vibration during operation, at a frequency close to 37.5 Hz,
due to some loose supports of the principal fuel feeding pipe, and also the lack of some of them. The pipe
fatigue damage was accelerated by corrosion pits on the pipe surface that acted as stress concentration factors.
Infrared analysis (thermography) of the diesel engine failure zone revealed that the maximum temperature
of approximately 390 C was registered in the zone of the engine exhaust tubes (engine mu). From these ndings, it was deduced that the contact of leak-o atomized oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot
engine exhaust tubing (390 C approximately) could have caused local re in the diesel engine. This was possible because the diesel oil (engine fuel) ash point is at least 60 C.
Finally, it was concluded that the diesel engine leak-o oil pipe failure was driven by a fatigue mechanism,
which was facilitated/accelerated by loosened pipe supports (excessive pipe vibration) and corrosion pits on
the pipe surface. The contact of atomized oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot engine exhaust
mu caused local re in the diesel engine.
References
[1] Viswanathan R. Damage mechanisms and life assessment of high-temperature components. Metals Park (OH): ASM International;
1995.
[2] Hutchings FR, Unterweiser PM. Failure analysis: the British engine technical reports. Metals Park (OH): American Society for Metals;
1981. p. 99119.
[3] Service data fuel system, Wartsila Sweden AB; 1999.
[4] Program nCode, International limited, Version 1; 2001.
[5] Gabriel Ardon, E-mail: COTEMAR S.A. de C.V.; 1.04.2004.
[6] Program MathCAD professional; Version 2001.
[7] Data and specications fuel Oils, Document No. 91 939 098 00E, Wartsila Sweden; 1992.