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Failure Cases of Stainless Steel 316/316L Pipe Welds in Moist Hydrogen Sulfide Environment

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Abstract

The present paper describes investigations of three failure cases of stainless steel 316/316L pipes handling moist H2S gas in a heavy water plant. The failure investigation included chemical composition determination, metallographic examination using an optical microscope, and a scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy and hardness testing. The first failure was related to leakage of H2S at the pipe-to-elbow weld joint. The failure was associated with weld misalignment that led to pitting and stress corrosion cracking in the weld heat-affected zone of the elbow. The other two failures also led to leakage of H2S from the filet welds of pipes. Filet welds in both these cases had insufficient weld penetration and fusion. These failures were caused by fatigue cracking that was initiated from the toe and root of the filet welds where the stress concentration is maximum. All the three cases of failures investigated were primarily related to poor workmanship during welding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Processing and Corrosion Engineering Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085, India

    K. Chandra & Vivekanand Kain

  2. Heavy Water Board, Mumbai, 400094, India

    Niraj Kumar

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  1. K. Chandra
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  2. Vivekanand Kain
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  3. Niraj Kumar
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Correspondence to K. Chandra.

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Chandra, K., Kain, V. & Kumar, N. Failure Cases of Stainless Steel 316/316L Pipe Welds in Moist Hydrogen Sulfide Environment. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 22, 478–490 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-022-01354-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-022-01354-4

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