Hitoshi Asahi

Conditions of Hydrogen-Induced Corrosion Occurrence of X65 Grade Line Pipe Steels in Sour Environments

Abstract Hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) tests were performed on fourteen types of X65 line pipe steels in various environments in which the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) partial pressures (PH2S) were in the range from 1 × 10/5 MPa to 0.1 MPa and pH was in the range from 2 to 5. The conditions governing HIC occurrence were investigated and the following results were obtained: —Hydrogen permeability in steel ([PerFe]) was formulated as a function of PH2S and pH ([PerFe]) = 7.1 + 0.96 × (1.4logPH2S − 0.51 pH), where 0.1 MPa ≥ PH2S ≥ 1 × 10−3 MPa and 5 ≥ pH; [PerFe] = 3.3 + 0.75 × (0.3logPH2S − 0.51 pH), where 1 × 10−3 MPa > PH2S ≥ 1 × 10−5 MPa and 5 ≥ pH. —Critical hydrogen permeability in steel ([Percrit]) was expressed as a function of the critical length of inclusions (acrit) and the maximum hardness of the center-segregation zone (Hvmax) for the investigated thermomechanical-controlled process (TMCP) steels and the controlled rolled and air-cooled (CR) steels (log [Percrit] = [1.7 − 0.0030 Hv] − 1/4log[acrit])...

Effect of Flow Velocity on Carbon Dioxide Corrosion Behavior in Oil and Gas Environments

Abstract The effect of flow velocity on the corrosion rate of carbon steels and stainless steels in wet carbon dioxide (CO2) environments was investigated using a flow loop tester. The velocity-dep...

Effects of Microstructure and Texture on DWTT Properties for High Strength Line Pipe Steels

The crack arrestability for high strength line pipe steels with tensile strength of 650 to 850 MPa was evaluated using precrack DWTT (pc-DWTT). Moreover, the effects of microstructure and texture on pc-DWTT energy were investigated. The pc-DWTT energy was remarkably affected by tensile strength. The pc-DWTT energy of ferrite and bainite/martensite dual phase steels was much higher than that of bainite single phase steels in comparison with the same tensile strength. The {100} plane is a cleavage plane in iron, so the brittle crack mainly propagates along the {100} plane. Bainte single phase steels indicated a high intensity of the {100} on the plane rotated 40° from the rolling plane with the axis of the rolling direction. On the other hand, ferrite and bainite/martensite dual phase steels indicated not only a high intensity of the {100} plane rotated 40° from the rolling plane, but also a high intensity of the {100} plane parallel to the rolling plane. Slant fracture could be easily formed by the high intensity of the {100} on the plane rotated 40° from the rolling plane if local brittle areas such as martensite and austenite constituent (M-A constituent), which became the initiation point of brittle fracture, existed. In contrast, separation tended to be formed by the high intensity of the {100} plane parallel to the rolling plane that was caused by the formation of ferrite and bainte/martensite dual phase microstructure. Thus, pc-DWTT energy and shear area were remarkably affected by microstructure and texture. Therefore, to control microstructure and texture is vay important for the improvement of pc-DWTT properties.Copyright

Change of Mechanical Properties of High Strength Line Pipe by Thermal Coating Treatment

In strain-based design, the overmatch condition in the girth weld portion primarily must be maintained. The pipes may also be required to have a low yield to tensile (Y/T) ratio and a high uniform elongation (U.EL) in the longitudinal direction to achieve a high compressive buckling strain. However, change in the mechanical properties by heating during coating treatment has not been paid attention so much. Furthermore, how much the mechanical properties change is affected by production conditions is unclear. This study aims to clarify firstly the relation between the mechanical properties (Y/T ratio, U.EL etc.) and the microstructure and secondly the change in mechanical properties by thermal coating treatment. The Y/T ratio and U.EL are affected by the volume fraction of ferrite and the secondary phase, which are changed by thermomechanical control processing (TMCP) conditions. For example, use of dual phase microstructure is very effective for decreasing the Y/T ratio and increasing the U.EL as the pipe. On the other hand, yield strength (YS) rises and the U.EL does not change after coating. The increase in the YS after coating is influenced by the microstructure and TMCP conditions. Resultantly, dependence of the Y/T ratio on the microstructure and TMCP conditions is reduced for line pipes after thermal coating treatment.Copyright

Effect of Scratching on Galvanic Corrosion in Oil and Gas Environments

Galvanic corrosion behavior in stagnant oil and gas environments, when the metal specimens were mechanically scratched, was investigated by electrochemical methods using material combinations ranging from carbon steels to duplex stainless steels. Galvanic currents and coupled potentials increased rapidly upon mechanical scratching, immediately started to decrease, and finally returned to the values before scratching in sweet and sour environments. Therefore, an increase in the galvanic corrosion rate caused by scratching was negligibly small for the long term, and localized corrosion as a result of mechanical scratching did not occur in these stagnant solutions. The change in coupled potential immediately after scratching was small in sweet environments and large in sour environments. For rapidly forming corrosion films on less noble metals, the galvanic current after scratching decreased rapidly; however, for slowly forming corrosion films on less noble specimens, galvanic current after scratching decreased gradually.

Effects of alloying elements on carbon dioxide corrosion in 13% to 20% chromium-containing steels

Abstract Effects of alloying elements on corrosion rates were investigated for 13% to 20% chromium-containing steels in wet carbon dioxide (CO2) environments without wet hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas ...

X100 Linepipe With Excellent HAZ Toughness and Deformability

Good low-temperature toughness of the base material (BM) and weld heat-affected zone (HAZ), and good deformability of the pipe body together with good field weldability are required for X100 linepipe to ensure the safety of pipelines and to facilitate field welding. It is, however, very difficult to attain these properties simultaneously because of the large addition of alloys. The technology of improving HAZ toughness by reducing carbon content through the reduction of M-A constituents harmful to low-temperature toughness was developed, and accelerated cooling after controlled rolling was applied to attain good low-temperature toughness of BM and high uniform elongation together with sufficient strength corresponding to X100. Two newly developed types of X100 linepipe, a “high HAZ toughness type” and a “high uniform elongation type”, exhibited excellent low-temperature toughness of the HAZ and high uniform elongation together with sufficient strength, respectively.Copyright

Development and Properties of Ultra-High Strength UOE Linepipe

High-pressure operation through high strength linepipe reduces long distance transportation cost of natural gas. In order to maximize the cost reduction, X120 UOE pipe has been developed. Low C-Mo-B steel with fine-grained lower bainite (LB) microstructure realizes high strength, excellent low temperature toughness and good weldability. The technology was verified in small-scale commercial production or “mini-rolls”. Suitability for use as linepipe was demonstrated through an extensive development program that covers burst test, fracture toughness evaluation, girth welding technology, etc. A demonstration line was successfully constructed using the pipes manufactured in the “mini-rolls”.Copyright

Anisotropy of the Stress-Strain Curves for Line Pipe Steels

To suppress the appearance of Luders strain and to decrease yield to tensile strength ratio in the L-direction (longitudinal direction), as well as the C-direction (circumferential direction), have been more important for strain-based design. In this study, conventional UOE and ERW pipes were examined in terms of tensile properties in both directions. In the case of UOE pipes, yield point was clearly observed on the stress-strain curve in the C-direction. However, stress-strain curves in the L-direction showed the round-house type. This difference became prominent after heat treatment for the anti-corrosion. Namely, clear Luders strain appeared in the C-direction at a lower aging temperature compared with that in the L-direction. On the other hand, contrasting results were obtained in the case for ERW pipes. Thus far, it’s been thought that the difference between UOE and ERW pipe was caused by the direction of final strain during the pipe forming process. There are also differences in the occurrence of Luders strain between each grade. A stress-strain curve maintained the round-house type in X100 grade pipe after the heat treatment at 240°C for five minutes; however, X70 grade pipe showed the stress-strain curve in the L-direction with Luders strain after the heat treatment at the same temperature.Copyright

Application of B-Added Low Carbon Bainite Steels to X80 UOE Line Pipe for Ultra Low Temperature Usage

Demand for high strength line pipes is increasing because of the reduction in natural gas transportation costs of pipelines. Low temperature toughness is required for high strength line pipes. Reduction in manufacturing cost of high strength linepipes is also required in an environment where alloying cost is increasing. To meet these requirements, boron (B) addition is extremely useful because the addition of very small amounts of B remarkably improves the strength and low temperature toughness. B-added low carbon bainite (LCB) line pipes with American Petroleum Institute (API) grade X60 to X80 have been developed for several decades [1–2]. B-added LCB steels have excellent low temperature toughness, however, it is challenging to achieve excellent crack initiation resistance and crack arrestability for ultra low temperatures such as −60°C. In particular, it is very difficult to achieve both excellent Drop Weight Tear Test (DWTT) properties of base metal, and excellent Charpy V-Notched (CVN) properties of seam welds in heavier wall thickness of X80 UOE linepipe. Metallurgical concepts such as the optimum chemical compositions, Thermo Mechanical Control Process (TMCP) conditions and seam weld conditions of B-added LCB steels with API grade X80 for ultra low temperature have been proposed in order to achieve the excellent mechanical properties even in a low manufacturing cost. Based on this concept, excellent DWTT properties of base metal and CVN properties of the seam welds of API grade X80 line pipe with 25mm thickness down to –60°C were obtained.Copyright