PR11362 August 2007

Flaw Tolerance in Pipeline Girth Welds Subjected to

Axial Straining and Internal Pressure
For: A Group of Sponsors

Pipelines frequently experience strains greater than yield during pipelay and in service. It is
therefore critically important to understand the flaw tolerance associated with girth welds in
pipes during plastic straining. A number of factors, in addition to axial strain, will affect flaw
tolerance. For example, the driving force on a flaw is known to be substantially greater when
the pipeline is under internal pressure when the large strains are applied. Material
resistance, however, is thought to be unchanged by internal pressure. This Group
Sponsored Project will quantify the main factors that affect flaw tolerance at post yield strain
levels so that a rigorous, industry agreed method of flaw assessment can be written and the
risk of failure minimised. The Sponsor Group will be able to guide the development of
suitable methods for assessment. With agreement with the Sponsor Group, TWI will submit
the new methodology to the BS 7910 Committee with the intention of producing a strain-
based design annex for the standard.

© Copyright TWI Ltd 2007

Background
Girth welds in pipelines may be subjected to axial plastic straining during installation or during service
and this will have an impact on their tolerance to circumferential flaws. Compared with pipelines
subjected to elastic loading, the tolerance to flaws will be lower and the likelihood of failure will be
higher. With subsea pipelines, plastic straining can occur because of the installation method
employed, such as reeling, or during service because of lateral buckling. With overland lines, plastic
straining can occur during installation when the pipe is lowered into the trench and during service
because of ground movement. If straining occurs during service, the overall loading condition can be
significantly more severe and the tolerance to flaws lower than during installation because the pipeline
will be under internal pressure. Current procedures for assessing these conditions are either
inadequate or not properly validated. This project intends to quantify some of the most important
variables that influence flaw tolerance so that assessment methods can be improved and the risk of
failure minimised.

Effects of the combination of axial straining plus internal pressure on crack driving force have been
recently considered by a number of workers in Europe and North America. Findings from these
studies, including work conducted at TWI, indicate that the crack driving force under biaxial loading
conditions can be significantly higher than under axial straining alone. This is supported by published
test results, which indicate that the axial straining capacity can be significantly reduced under biaxial
loading compared to axial straining alone. However the scope of these studies is limited and
additional systematic investigations are needed to quantify the effects on the axial strain capacity of
the pipeline of likely strength and geometry variations at the girth weld, including strength mismatch,
HAZ strength softening (likely to occur in pipeline steels that derive their strength from thermo-
mechanical-treatment), misalignment (resulting from local high-lows and variations in wall thickness)
and the strain concentration at the weld toe.

Most work published to date has dealt with surface breaking flaws, whilst embedded flaws, which are
more likely to arise during fabrication, have been largely ignored. Some analysts treat them as surface
flaws of the same height (cf DNV RP-108). This treatment is simplistic, has not been fully validated
and may not be conservative, especially in the presence of axial misalignment which could lead to
excessive plastic straining in the ligament.

Virtually all published work has concentrated on single flaws and ignored the presence of multiple
flaws in the girth weld. Although flaw interaction rules exist, they were derived for situations where
there is essentially elastic loading. The combination of plastic straining and multiple flaws may make
the conditions for fracture and plastic collapse more likely and current procedures do not account for
this.

When significant plastic axial straining takes place, it is likely that residual stresses transverse to the
girth weld will be relaxed to negligible levels. Nevertheless, how residual stresses relax with axial
loading is not well documented and at what strain level they can be ignored needs to be defined.

Use of single edge notch tension (SENT) specimens to determine fracture toughness of pipeline girth
welds is becoming the norm and replacing single edge notch (SENB) specimens. The reason for this
is that the SENT specimen better replicates the crack tip constraint of pipeline girth weld flaws than
the highly constrained deeply notched SENB specimen. To ensure use of the SENT specimen is
appropriate, it is necessary to demonstrate that all the variations described above that might increase
crack tip constraint do not invalidate its use.

The failure assessment diagram (FAD) has proved to be a useful means of evaluating the significance
of flaws (cf BS 7910 assessment procedures). However, for strain based design, a strain based FAD
will need to be developed. A strain based FAD would allow the assessment of elastic-plastic fracture
(by comparison of the crack driving force with fracture toughness) and failure by yielding or excessive
straining (eg by comparison of a reference strain with a parameter based on material elongation).

A Group Sponsored Project is therefore proposed, that will quantify the main factors that affect flaw
tolerance at post yield strain levels so that a rigorous, industry agreed method of flaw assessment can
be written and the risk of failure minimised.

© Copyright TWI Ltd 2007

Objective
The main objective of the project will be to
develop a strain-based assessment procedure
which will quantify the most important variables
that influence flaw tolerance of girth welds in
pipelines subject to axial straining with and
without internal pressure.
Benefits
The benefits from the project are an industry
agreed strain-based flaw assessment procedure
which will be used within the framework of a
codified assessment, such as BS 7910.
Approach
The objective will be met by addressing the
following:
• Derivation of crack driving force curves
(CTOD and J) to establish the axial strain
capacity of pipeline girth welds which contain
surface and embedded circumferential flaws
in association with local variations in
mechanical properties (eg weld and HAZ
strength mismatch with respect to the pipe)
and geometry (eg misalignment).
• Demonstration that any increases in crack tip
constraint can be accommodated using the
SENT specimen to determine fracture
resistance.
• Development of a strain based FAD for
general assessment of flaws.
• Establish the loading conditions when
residual stresses at the girth weld become
negligible.
• Definition of the significance of multiple flaws
on the likelihood of failure by fracture or
plastic collapse.
Three dimensional, elastic-plastic analyses will be
undertaken using ABAQUS to determine CTOD
and J driving force curves and Q stresses (a
measure of crack tip constraint) for circumferential
surface and embedded flaws, in pipe girth welds
subjected to combined axial plastic straining and
internal pressure. Consideration will be given to
the effects of limited ductile crack extension.
Using the results from the FEA, a strain-based
FAD will be developed together with methods to
estimate the crack driving force in terms of J and
CTOD versus strain.
In order to provide experimental validation of the
procedures developed and quantification of the
margin against failure, it is proposed to conduct
large-scale pipe tests containing representative
flaws in the girth weld. The Sponsors will select
© Copyright TWI Ltd 2007
the pipe strength and size. The pipe tests will be
supported with small-scale tests and the number
will be dependent on the level of funding. The
validation will also include use of relevant existing
data.
Deliverables
Six monthly progress reports will be prepared
showing how the method is being developed. The
final report will summarise the work done and the
results. The final report will also present the final
strain-based design procedure that will be
submitted to the BS 7910 Committee, with the
agreement of the Sponsors.
Sponsorship and Management
The proposed programme will be run as a Group
Sponsored Project managed by TWI with
sponsorship from TWI Industrial Members.
Progress Meetings will be held every six months
so that Sponsors receive regular updates on the
work and provide guidance on the direction of the
project. Regular progress updates will also be e-
mailed to Sponsors.
Duration and Price
The project will be conducted over a two-year
period. Five sponsors are sought with each
contributing £50,000 per year, resulting in a
proposed project budget of £500,000
Launch Meeting
Date: 25 September 2007
Time: 13.30hrs
Venue: TWI Ltd, Granta Park, Great
Abington, Cambridge, CB21 6AL,
UK.
Involvement in the meeting will also be possible
via the telephone and Internet.
Further Information
Please contact
Dr Henryk Pisarski or Dr Mohamad Cheaitani
TWI Ltd
Granta Park
Great Abington
Cambridge
CB21 6AL UK
E-mail: henryk.pisarski@twi.co.uk or
mohamad.cheaitani@twi.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 899000
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 893303