Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Failure Analysis of a Carbon Steel Pipe-Flange Component

  • Technical Article---peer-reviewed
  • Published:
Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A failure analysis was conducted on two flange components that experienced a crack. Crack was found in the vicinity of the weld toe of the component. The flange components are fabricated from ASTM A672-65 CL22 material, and their metallurgical background corresponds to class 22. The flange component was part of the cooling water return system, which also comprises of a carbon steel flange and pipe. The analysis was presented from macro and micro fractography observations, microstructure observation in the vicinity of the crack, chemical composition, and hardness test. The microstructures of the welded region composed of Grain Boundary Allotriomorphic and ferrite, which are expected to favor the formation of cracks and decrease fatigue life. Crack was determined to be transgranular cracking and indicated brittle-to-ductile type of fracture. The HAZ region has a slightly higher hardness than the base pipe and weldment regions. However, hardness value and brittle-to-ductile fracture mode have no significance to the hydrogen embrittlement phenomena. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that the crack is the result of fatigue failure owing to possible stress concentration at the weld toe. By identifying the origin of a crack, similar failures can be prevented, and the service life of engineering components can be extended.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. P.A. Alaba, S.A. Adedigba, S.F. Olupinla, O. Agboola, S.E. Sanni, Unveiling corrosion behavior of pipeline steels in CO2-containing oilfield produced water: towards combating the corrosion curse. Crit. Rev. Solid State Mater. Sci. 45(3), 239–260 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. L.S. Moiseeva, Carbon dioxide corrosion of oil and gas field equipment. Prot. Metals. 41(1), 76–83 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. B. Wang, L. Xu, G. Liu, M. Lu, Corrosion behavior and mechanism of 3Cr steel in CO2 environment with various Ca2+ concentration. Corros. Sci. 136, 210–220 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. A. Farhadian et al., Efficient dual-function inhibitors for prevention of gas hydrate formation and CO2/H2S corrosion inside oil and gas pipelines. Chem. Eng. J. 431, 134098 (2022)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. F. Nasirpouri, A. Mostafaei, L. Fathyunes, R. Jafari, Assessment of localized corrosion in carbon steel tube-grade AISI 1045 used in output oil-gas separator vessel of desalination unit in oil refinery industry. Eng. Fail. Anal. 40, 75–88 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. J. Nogara, S.J. Zarrouk, Corrosion in geothermal environment: Part 1: fluids and their impact. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 82, 1333–1346 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. M.D. Chapetti, T. Tagawa, T. Miyata, Ultra-long cycle fatigue of high-strength carbon steels part I: review and analysis of the mechanism of failure. Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 356(1–2), 227–235 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. F. Shen, B. Zhao, L. Li, C.K. Chua, K. Zhou, Fatigue damage evolution and lifetime prediction of welded joints with the consideration of residual stresses and porosity. Int. J. Fatigue. 103, 272–279 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. X. Wang, Q. Meng, W. Hu, Continuum damage mechanics-based model for the fatigue analysis of welded joints considering the effects of size and position of inner pores. Int. J. Fatigue. 139, 105749 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. V. Mazánová, V. Škorík, T. Kruml, J. Polák, Cyclic response and early damage evolution in multiaxial cyclic loading of 316L austenitic steel. Int. J. Fatigue. 100, 466–476 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Standard Specification for Electric-Fusion-Welded Steel Pipe for High-Pressure Service at Moderate Temperatures. ASTM A672/672M, ASTM Int., 96, 1–7 (2009)

  12. Specification for Pressure Vessel Plates, Carbon Steel, for Moderate–and Lower-Temperature Service. ASTM A516, Sa-516/Sa-516M, ASTM Int., 06, 1–4 (2017)

  13. C. Kanchanomai, W. Limtrakarn, Effect of residual stress on fatigue failure of carbonitrided low-carbon steel. J. Mater. Eng. Perform. 17(6), 879–887 (2008)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Z. Zhang, Quantitative characterization on fatigue fracture features of A6005 aluminum alloy welded joints. Eng. Fail. Anal. 129, 105687 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. H.-H. Lai, W. Wu, Practical examination of the welding residual stress in view of low-carbon steel welds. J. Mater. Res. Technol. 9(3), 2717–2726 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. S. Missori, A. Sili, Prediction of weld metal microstructure in laser beam welded clad steel. Metallurgist. 62(1–2), 84–92 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. J.P. Oliveira, T.G. Santos, R.M. Miranda, Revisiting fundamental welding concepts to improve additive manufacturing: from theory to practice. Prog. Mater. Sci. 107, 100590 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. M. Taghipour, A. Bahrami, H. Mohammadi, V. Esmaeili, Root cause analysis of a failure in a flange-pipe welded joint in a steam line in an ammonia plant: experimental investigation and simulation assessment. Eng. Fail. Anal. 129, 105730 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Y. Chen et al., Effects of microstructural inhomogeneities and micro-defects on tensile and very high cycle fatigue behaviors of the friction stir welded ZK60 magnesium alloy joint. Int. J. Fatigue. 122, 218–227 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. J.P. Oliveira, T.G. Santos, R.M. Miranda, Revisiting fundamental welding concepts to improve additive manufacturing: from theory to practice. Prog. Mater. Sci. 107(2020), 100590 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. M.K.B. Givi, P. Asadi, A. Heidarzadeh, K. Kazemi-Choobi, H. Hanifian, P. Asadi, Advances in Friction-Stir Welding and Processing, Elsevier, 2014

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support for research grants from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (FRGS/1/2019/TK05/UMP/02/5) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (RDU1901128 and RDU210380).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Gambang, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

    J. Alias, A. H. Ahmad & N. A. Razak

  2. Automotive Excellent Centre (AEC), Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia

    J. Alias & A. H. Ahmad

  3. Faculty of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia

    N. A. Alang

Authors
  1. J. Alias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N. A. Alang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. H. Ahmad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N. A. Razak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Alias.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest concerning this article’s research, authorship, or publication.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is an invited paper selected from presentations at the 6th Symposium on Damage Mechanism in Materials and Structures (SDMMS 2022), held August 16–17, 2022 in Kuantan, Malaysia. The manuscript has been expanded from the original presentation. The special issue was organized by Nasrul Azuan Alang, Norhaida Ab Razak, and Aizat Alias, Universiti Malaysia Pahang.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Alias, J., Alang, N.A., Ahmad, A.H. et al. Failure Analysis of a Carbon Steel Pipe-Flange Component. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 23, 490–496 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-022-01572-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-022-01572-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation