Server maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, December 21st between 6am-10am CST.

During that time, parts of our website will be affected until maintenance is completed. Thank you for your patience.

Menu
Search
Filters
Close
Menu

Use GIVING24 at checkout to save 20% on eCourses and books (some exclusions apply)!

Failure Analysis On A Carbon Steel Pulsation Dampener In Glycol Service Using Statistical Fractography Highlights A Stress Corrosion Cracking Contribution

Picture for Failure Analysis On A Carbon Steel Pulsation Dampener In Glycol Service Using Statistical Fractography Highlights A Stress Corrosion Cracking Contribution
Available for download

A cold-worked carbon steel pulsation dampener located on a glycol circulation pump failed catastrophically in service. The two parts of the failed dampener were projected several tens of meters across the offshore facility. The failure was investigated initially using traditional metallurgical techniques, but this failed to reach a conclusive failure mechanism. 

Product Number: 51322-17774-SG
Author: Bruce Cowe, Hervé Marchebois, Gustavo Gimenes, Laurent Ponson, Nicolas Auvray
Publication Date: 2022
Industries: Corrosion Monitoring and Control , Coatings
$0.00
$20.00
$20.00

A cold-worked carbon steel pulsation dampener in glycol service failed catastrophically necessitating investigation of the underlying causes. This paper describes the methodology followed to determine the most probable root causes of the failure. In addition to more traditional metallurgical investigation approaches, a new fractographic approach (referred to as statistical fractography) from which fracture mechanics parameters are extracted from the statistical analysis of the fracture roughness was used.

Statistical fractography provides the fracture properties of the failed material as well as the local mechanical conditions driving crack growth. It revealed here that failure had occurred in three stages: (1) an internal explosion or similar event resulting in shell buckling, overloading the deformed wall (2) initiation and slow crack propagation likely due to an environmentally assisted cracking mechanism and (3) ultimate failure through the rapid growth of a through-wall crack separating the dampener in two parts.

In addition to the fractographic investigations, an initial series of slow strain rate mechanical tests were conducted in glycol bearing environments to understand the susceptibility of the material constituting the dampener to environmentally assisted cracking and controlling parameters. Whilst not conclusive at this stage, a susceptibility to EAC has been evidenced from the failure strain coming to support the scenario inferred from the fractographic analysis of the failed dampener. 

A cold-worked carbon steel pulsation dampener in glycol service failed catastrophically necessitating investigation of the underlying causes. This paper describes the methodology followed to determine the most probable root causes of the failure. In addition to more traditional metallurgical investigation approaches, a new fractographic approach (referred to as statistical fractography) from which fracture mechanics parameters are extracted from the statistical analysis of the fracture roughness was used.

Statistical fractography provides the fracture properties of the failed material as well as the local mechanical conditions driving crack growth. It revealed here that failure had occurred in three stages: (1) an internal explosion or similar event resulting in shell buckling, overloading the deformed wall (2) initiation and slow crack propagation likely due to an environmentally assisted cracking mechanism and (3) ultimate failure through the rapid growth of a through-wall crack separating the dampener in two parts.

In addition to the fractographic investigations, an initial series of slow strain rate mechanical tests were conducted in glycol bearing environments to understand the susceptibility of the material constituting the dampener to environmentally assisted cracking and controlling parameters. Whilst not conclusive at this stage, a susceptibility to EAC has been evidenced from the failure strain coming to support the scenario inferred from the fractographic analysis of the failed dampener. 

Product tags
Also Purchased
Picture for Failure Cases Of Super Duplex Stainless Steel Pump Components
Available for download

Failure Cases Of Super Duplex Stainless Steel Pump Components

Product Number: 51322-17689-SG
Author: Janardhan Rao Saithala, Amjad Kharusi, Mohammed Ghafri, Ossama Mohammed, Abdul Majeed, Manish Kulkarni, Talal Nabhani
Publication Date: 2022
$20.00

The application of corrosion resistance alloys such as 25% Cr super duplex stainless steel (25Cr SDSS) has expanded in the oil & gas industry recently as new technologies made it feasible for Oil and Gas operators to invest in high sour and corrosive fields. 25Cr SDSS material is often used in critical applications such as piping, rotating equipment, coolers, and instrument components etc. SDSS materials are well known for the 50/50 austenite (γ) and ferrite (α) microstructure which provides the combination of corrosion resistance and high-performance mechanical properties. 
Picture for Failure On Heater Treater Tubes - Case Study
Available for download

Failure On Heater Treater Tubes - Case Study

Product Number: 51322-17586-SG
Author: Roxanna Alvarez
Publication Date: 2022
$20.00

Heater Treaters are designed for the removal of emulsifies and unwanted salts from crude oil. They purpose is to facilitate the oil and water separation by breaking emulsions by means of increasing the temperature of the oil, reducing its density and viscosity. A heater treater is a 3-phase separator vessel, equipped with fire tubes, that utilizes heat and mechanical separation devices to facilitate the separation of oil-water emulsions.
Failure of In-Service Stainless-Steel Chemical Storage Tanks Fasteners and Gaskets – A Case Study
Available for download

Failure Of In-Service Stainless-Steel Chemical Storage Tanks Fasteners And Gaskets – A Case Study

Product Number: 51322-18105-SG
Author: A/Rahman Al-Ghamdi, Yousef Bahbahani, Manickavasagan Sabesan, Tariq Kamshad, Salem Al-Qahtani, Bakheet Al-Yami
Publication Date: 2022
$20.00

The Joint Operation (J.O) Wafra Oilfield is in the west central part of the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone. The Wafra oilfield produces light and heavy oil and export it to its various customers after processing. Upstream field consists of various Sub Centres where crude, oil and water being separated, and the separated crude transported to the main gathering centre for further processing in two different trains. The produced water being disposed/injected via water disposal & injection facilities after treatment. 
Categories
Industry
Recently viewed
Popular tags
View all

Association for Materials Protection and Performance

© AMPP All Rights Reserved.
Membership Terms of Content Use
Contact Customer Support