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Failure Analysis of a Steel Elbow Pipe from a Gas Well

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Abstract

A steel-type ASTM A234 WPB elbow pipe from a gas well, through which water pressurized at 4 kg/cm2 and at 10–30 °C temperature was circulated, was perforated, originating a water leakage. Several tests were carried out in order to determine the cause of the perforation: Visual and radiographic inspection, chemical analysis, hardness test and microstructure, microscopy and fractographic studies. The presence of CO2 in the water might be very important for the corrosion phenomenon in the welding area as a result of the presence of a galvanic couple between the weld bead and the pipeline steel. However, the CO2 was not the only cause of the pipe damage. The fractographic study of the perforations and the flow analysis indicated that cavities have been originated as a consequence of a cavitation–corrosion phenomenon which is a particular erosion process caused by the implosion of gas bubbles on the metal surface.

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Acknowledgments

Authors want to thank all Metallic Materials Area staff, especially the Microanalytical and Microstructural Characterization Laboratory. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials and Structures Department, National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), Ctra. Torrejón-Ajalvir, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain

    María García-Martínez, Mª Pilar Valles González, Alejandro González Meije & Ana Pastor Muro

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  1. María García-Martínez
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  2. Mª Pilar Valles González
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  3. Alejandro González Meije
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  4. Ana Pastor Muro
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Correspondence to María García-Martínez.

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García-Martínez, M., Valles González, M.P., González Meije, A. et al. Failure Analysis of a Steel Elbow Pipe from a Gas Well. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 20, 723–733 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-020-00870-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-020-00870-5

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