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By: Khaled Al Awadi

Gas Operations manager
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 HOW A PART WALL DEFECT IN A PIPELINE FAILS

b. If the stress in the Pipeline is above a critical value, then the remaining
a. Pipeline contains a Part Wall Defect ligament below the Part Wall Defect fails

l and produces a Through-Wall Defect

d
t

c. A Through Wall Defect in a Pipeline.

d. The through Wall Defect causes a Leak e. The Through Wall Defect causes a Rupture
if the defect is Short, or if the pressure is Low. if the defect is Long, or if the pressure is High.

f. The Through Wall Defect ruptures, but

g. The Through Wall Defect ruptures, and Propagates
if the pressure is high, and/or if the pipe has a Low Toughness. Arrests
if pressure is low, and/or pipe is High Toughness, or
if the product is a liquid.

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MORPHOLOGY OF CORROSION DEFECTS

ˆ Internal corrosion
ˆ External corrosion
ˆ Corrosion in the parent plate
ˆ Corrosion approaching/in/crossing girth/seam welds

ˆ Axial
ˆ Circumferential
ˆ Spiral

ˆ Single corrosion defects

ˆ Colonies of interacting corrosion defects

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BACKGROUND TO METHODS FOR ASSESSING
METAL LOSS DEFECTS
ˆ Themethods described for assessing pipeline
defects are based on research work undertaken at
Battelle Memorial Institute (in the US) in the 1960s
and early 1970s, on behalf of the American Gas
Association (AGA).
ˆOver a 12 year period, up to 1973, over 300 full scale
tests were completed.
ˆ92 tests on artificial through wall defects
ˆ48 tests on artificial part wall defects (machined V-
shaped notches)

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DEFECT DIMENSIONS (THROUGH WALL DEFECT)

I (or 2c) = defect axial length

t = pipe wall thickness

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THROUGH WALL DEFECTS

σf −1
=M
σ
where

σf = failure stress
σ = flow stress
M = Folias factor (bulging factor)
So, we need to understand what;
„Folias Factor
„Flow Stress
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‘FOLIAS’ OR ‘BULGING’ FACTOR

2
⎛ 2c ⎞
M = 1 + 0.26⎜ ⎟
⎝ Rt ⎠
2
⎛ 2c ⎞
M = 1 + 0.40⎜ ⎟
⎝ Rt ⎠

2 4
⎛ 2c ⎞ ⎛ 2c ⎞
M = 1+ 0314
. ⎜ ⎟ − 000084
. ⎜ ⎟
⎝ Rt ⎠ ⎝ Rt ⎠
where
2c = defect axial length
t = pipe wall thickness
R = pipe radius

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FOLIAS FACTOR
1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6 2
⎛ 2c ⎞
M = 1 + 0.26⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
⎝ Rt ⎠
M^-1

0.5

0.4

0.3 2
⎛ 2c ⎞
2 4
M = 1 + 0.4⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ ⎛ 2c ⎞ ⎛ 2c ⎞
M = 1 + 0.3138⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ − 0.000843⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
⎝ Rt ⎠ ⎝ Rt ⎠ ⎝ Rt ⎠
0.2

0.1

0.0

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0

2c/(Rt)^0.5 (normalised defect length)

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 MATERIAL PARAMETERS - ‘Flow Strength’

STRESS, (N/mm^2)
800

700
Ultimate tensile strength
Flow strength is 600
between the yield
500
and uts. Yield strength
400
Most workers use
300
(yield+UTS)/2
200 Failure
100

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Steel has a yield and UTS. STRAIN, %
Between these parameters we have work hardening - very difficult to model
When we have a defect in steel, it causes plasticity and hardening
Therefore, workers in the ‘60s proposed the concept ‘flow strength’ as a measure of the
strength of steel in the presence of a defect.
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THE FLOW STRESS

ˆ The flow stress is not a precisely defined term, it lies

somewhere between the yield strength and the ultimate
tensile strength of the material.
ˆ A number of different definitions of the flow stress have
been proposed (often depending on what form gives the
best fit to the experimental data).
ˆ The following have been quoted in the published literature:
!σy + 10 ksi
!1.1 σy
!1.15σy
!(σy + σu)/2
!0.9 σu

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SUMMARY - FAILURE OF THROUGH WALL
DEFECTS
This boundary is not sensitive to pressurising medium
1.2

2c or l

1
Failure Stress/Yield Strength

0.8

0.6 RUPTURE

0.4
LEAK

0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2c/(Rt)^0.5
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DEFECT DIMENSIONS (PART WALL DEFECT)

l
d

d = defect depth
I (or 2c) = defect axial length
t = pipe wall thickness

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Corrosion Defect (Definition of Dimensions)
[Longitudinal and Circumferential Orientation]

t
Pipe Axis

l
A

d
l
d

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 PART WALL DEFECTS

A 2c
d 1−
d
σf 1− σf A0 t
= t =
or
σ d 1 σ A 1
1− 1− R
t M A0 M

where
σf = failure stress
σ = flow stress
d = defect depth
t = pipe wall thickness
A = cross sectional area of metal loss
A0 = original cross sectional area
M = Folias factor (bulging factor)

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 FAILURE OF PART WALL DEFECTS - FAILURE
1.2 2c (l)
d FAIL

t NO FAIL
1
Failure Stress/Yield Strength

0.8
1 - (d/t) = 0.6

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.2

0.1
0
0.05
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2c/(Rt)^0.5
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A PIPELINE DEFECT ASSESSMENT ACCEPTANCE
CHART
1.2

1.0
FAILURE
Failure Stress/Yield Strength

A defect of depth 60%wt, and

of this length, will fail at this
0.8
stress level

0.6
A defect of depth 60%wt, and
of this length, will not fail at this
stress level
DEFECT DEPTH = 60% OF WALL THICKNESS
0.4

0.2
NO FAILURE

0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0

2c/(Rt)^0.5 (normalised defect length)

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FAILURE OF PART WALL DEFECTS - LEAK
RUPTURE
1.2

1
Failure Stress/Yield Strength

0.8 1 - (d/t) = 0.6

0.6 RUPTURE 0.5

0.4
0.4
LEAK
0.3
0.2
0.2

0.1
0.05
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2c/(Rt)^0.5
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SUMMARY - ASSESSING AN AXIAL METAL LOSS
DEFECT
d 1.2

σf 1−
= t 1

σ d 1

Failure Stress/Yield Strength

1− 0.8

t M
0.6
2
⎛ 2c ⎞
M = 1 + 0.26⎜ ⎟ 0.4

where ⎝ Rt ⎠ 0.2

σσ
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

f = hoop stress at failure 2c/(Rt)^0.5

= flow stress
d = defect depth
2c = defect axial length
t = pipe wall thickness
R = pipe radius
M = Folias factor (bulging factor)
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SAFETY FACTORS ON PIPELINE DESIGN
PRESSURE

1.5
1.3

Safety Factor
1
Design Factor

1 based on failure

0.72
Safety Factor
based on hydrotest
0.5

0
Design Hydrotest Failure

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ESTIMATED REPAIR FACTOR

ˆ An intelligent pig inspection report will often refer to the ERF (estimated
repair factor) of a defect.
ˆ The ERF calculation is another way of expressing an ASME B31G
assessment.
ˆ If the ERF is less than one the defect is acceptable to ASME B31G.
ˆ If the ERF is greater than one the defect is not acceptable to ASME
B31G.
MAOP
ˆ P’ =failure pressure
ERF = ⎛ ⎞
2
⎧ ⎡ ⎤ P' B = ⎜⎜
d t
⎟⎟ −1
⎪ ⎢ 1− ⎜ ⎟
2 ⎛ d ⎞ ⎥ −
⎝1.1d t 0.167 ⎠
⎪ ⎢ 3 ⎝ ⎠
t ⎥
⎪⎪ 1. 1P ⎢ 2⎛ ⎥ for B ≤ 4.0
P' = ⎨ d ⎞ ⎛ Lm ⎞
⎢1 − ⎜ ⎟⎥
⎪ ⎢⎣ 3 ⎜⎝ t A 2 + 1 ⎟⎠ ⎥⎦ A = 0.893⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
⎪ ⎝ Dt ⎠
⎪1.1P ⎡1 − ⎤
d
⎢⎣ t ⎥⎦ for B > 4.0
⎪⎩ P is the design pressure
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PIPELINE DEFECT ASSESSMENT - USING THE
HYDROTEST LEVEL AS A SAFETY MARGIN
1.0

0.9

0.8
d/t (normalised defect depth)

0.7

0.6

DESIGN PRESSURE (72 percent SMYS)

0.5

0.4
Safety Margin
0.3

HYDROTEST PRESSURE (100 percent SMYS)

0.2

0.1

0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0

2c/(Rt)^0.5 (normalised defect length)

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