CORROSION CONTROL IN OIL AND GAS

PIPELINES
JANUARY 30, 2014 LEAVE A COMMENT

RFEC system for inspection of unpiggable pipelines.

In the United States, the annual cost associated with corrosion damage of structural
components is greater than the combined annual cost of natural disasters, including
hurricanes, storms, floods, fires and earthquakes. Similar findings have been made by
studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Pipeline Safety, internal

corrosion caused approximately 15% of all reportable incidents affecting gas
transmission pipelines over the past several years, leading to an average cost of $3
million annually in property damage, as well as several fatalities. The need to
manage and mitigate corrosion damage has rapidly increased as materials are placed
in more extreme environments and pushed beyond their original design life.

Typical corrosion mechanisms include uniform corrosion, stress corrosion cracking,

and pitting corrosion (Figure 1). Corrosion damage and failure are not always
considered in the design and construction of many engineered systems. Even if
corrosion is considered, unanticipated changes in the environment in which the
structure operates can result in unexpected corrosion damage. Moreover, combined
effects of corrosion and mechanical damage, and environmentally assisted material
damage can result in unexpected failures due to the reduced load carrying capacity
of the structure.
Figure 1: Localized corrosion in process piping, such as in the
stainless steel pipe shown here, can lead to through-wall
penetration (inset).
Ensuring long-term, cost-effective system integrity requires an integrated approach
based on the use of inspection, monitoring, mitigation, forensic evaluation, and
prediction. Inspections and monitoring using sensors can provide valuable
information regarding past and present exposure conditions but, in general, they do
not directly predict remaining life. Carefully validated computer models, on the other
hand, can predict remaining life; however, their accuracy is highly dependent on the
quality of the computer model and associated inputs. Mitigation (corrosion
prevention) methods and forensic evaluations play a key role in materials selection,
assessment and design. All of these corrosion-control elements represent long-
standing areas of research and development at Southwest Research Institute
(SwRI).

Pipeline Inspection
A significant portion of many pipeline systems cannot be inspected through
traditional methods. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and inspection tools are critical
to assessing the integrity of pipelines. Traditional NDE methods involve the use of
pipeline inspection gauges (PIGs), which travel through the inside of a pipe and
detect the presence of mechanical damage or corrosion.
Researchers at SwRI have developed an inspection system for inspecting pipelines
that cannot accommodate traditional PIGs (Figure 2). This system uses remote field
eddy current (RFEC), and was designed for use with the Carnegie Mellon Explorer II
Robot. However, this technology can be adapted to other transport mechanisms. The
system can expand to inspect 6-8 inch (150-200 mm) diameter lines. The sensor
arms retract to accommodate line restrictions, such as elbows, tees and gate valves.
Figure 2. RFEC system for inspection of unpiggable pipelines.
SwRI has also developed a guided-wave inspection technology that can be used to
inspect pipelines and other structural components such as tubes, rods, cables and
plates. The Magnetostrictive Sensor (MsS) inspection system uses inexpensive ribbon
cables and thin magnetostrictive strips that are bonded to the component for
inspection. The sensors attached to the pipe can accommodate a range of pipeline
diameters, which is a significant advantage of guided-wave inspection systems that
use an array of piezoelectric sensors. Because the sensors are low profile and
relatively low cost, permanent installation of the sensors to perform structural health
monitoring is a practical option.

Corrosion Fatigue
Corrosion can degrade the mechanical integrity of a material through chemical
attack. For example, the presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been found to
reduce the fatigue life of offshore riser materials by approximately a factor of 10, and
in the presence of a notch (that acts as an initiation point for corrosion fatigue) the
fatigue performance can be decreased by a factor of 100. SwRI has developed
customized test facilities for characterizing the performance of pipeline materials in
corrosive environments. Figure 3a shows a servohydraulic load frame setup with a
custom-designed test cell and redundant H2S containment systems. Full-thickness
fatigue specimens (Figure 3b) are machined from riser pipes to preserve through-
thickness residual stresses and to capture welds in joined pipe.
SwRI recently developed a high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) corrosion fatigue
test facility. In this facility the underlying fatigue crack growth behavior of riser
materials subject to HPHT H2S (and other aggressive) environments can be
quantified (Figure 3c). This unique test facility provides the capability to quantify
inter-related corrosion-fatigue mechanisms, and provide data for calibrating and
validating corrosion-fatigue computer models.
Figure 3: a) Servohydraulic load frame with H2S corrosion
fatigue test; b) One-meter-long specimen; c) high-pressure
high-temperature corrosion fatigue test.
Corrosion Exposure Testing
As new materials are developed and environmental conditions change, assessing
material performance due to corrosion and stress corrosion cracking is of increasing
importance. SwRI has a well-established corrosion testing facility to perform HPHT
testing in extremely aggressive environments. In most cases, the testing
environment consists of a simulated process or reasonable worst-case scenario.
These include determining the effects of H2S, CO2, oxygen, and microbiological
organisms on corrosion/cracking of pipeline materials. Testing conforms to NACE,
ASTM, API, or ISO standards and test materials are analyzed for mass loss, localized
corrosion or stress corrosion cracking (SSC)/sulfide stress cracking (SSC).
SwRI staffers are highly experienced in designing, constructing and operating
specialty tests to mimic a specific operation that does not conform to standardized
methods. One such capability is performing the environmental exposure on the API
16C Flexible Choke and Kill Systems, which evaluates the effects of gas permeation,
gas decompression and test fluid exposure at the rated temperature (Figure 4).
 Figure 4: Photograph of the API 16C Flexible Choke and Kill
line testing
Corrosion Prediction
Computer modeling is useful to help understand the mechanisms of internal
corrosion, external corrosion and stress corrosion cracking, and to predict corrosion
damage, failure and the most likely location of corrosion in oil and gas pipelines.
These predictions can help support the development of practical guidelines to assist
the pipeline industry in mitigating existing, or preventing future, corrosion failures.
A four-step, tiered approach is used by SwRI. The first step is to develop
comprehensive fundamental models, which forms the foundation of the approach.
Validation of the model against field and laboratory data is performed in the second
step to ensure the correct physics are embedded in the model. To simplify use of the
model in practical applications, the third step is to develop simplified models. During
this step, rate-controlling variables or groups of variables are identified. These
simplified models contain only the necessary physics and the values of the
corresponding inputs to predict the performance of the system. The end goal of the
overall modeling approach is step 4, development of guidelines for practical
applications of the model. The tiered modeling approach has been successfully used
for several recent applications:

Predicting corrosion in coating disbonded regions with and without the effect
of flow.
Development of the dry gas internal corrosion direct assessment (ICDA)
standard, NACE SP 0206-2006.
Prediction of the most probable corrosion locations in a long underground
pipeline due to variability in elevation, flow characteristics and materials.
Prediction of the most likely conditions for internal corrosion due to variability
in operations, gas quality upsets, and water intrusions.
Corrosion Sensing And Monitoring
While ICDA models can provide general guidelines to identify when internal
inspections should occur, environmental and material uncertainties can lead to
situations where excavation is performed unnecessarily, or water exists but is not
predicted. In either case, costs associated with inspection or failure can be
significant. To address this, sensing and monitoring technologies have been
developed to enable remote interrogation of the internal corrosion of pipelines.
The wireless mobile sensor, travels inside a gas pipeline detecting the presence of
water. The system communicates through a distributed wireless sensor network. The
sensor body is an injection-molded polymer designed to survive high hydrostatic
forces and impact on the pipeline walls while traveling along the pipe. This program
has evolved using internal IR&D funding from both SwRI and Aginova, Inc.

The multielectrode array sensor (MAS) probe is ideally suited for monitoring corrosion
rates in process streams. Multiple discrete elements or electrodes are used to
replicate the material of interest. The MAS probe measures corrosion rates by
assessing the current flow between coupled electrodes. The electrodes can be
manufactured from a wide range of alloys and product forms. SwRI has used this
method to monitor the corrosion of a variety of materials.

The wireless mobile sensor and the MAS probe sensor are just two examples of
corrosion sensing and monitoring technologies. SwRI has developed a suite of
corrosion sensing and monitoring devices. Significant inspection and repair costs can
be avoided with the use of tools such as these.

Deposition Coatings
The deposition of material coatings can be effectively employed to protect surfaces
of components from wear, erosion and corrosion. A variety of coatings have been
studied including metals, ceramics and polymers. A number of deposition techniques
have also been developed. One example is magnetron sputtering, where 20-30 m
thick Al-Ce-Co coatings are deposited on Al alloys and 1018 carbon steel, which is
sufficient for most applications where corrosion and erosion are possible.
Microstructural analyses show that under certain deposition conditions,
amorphous/nano-crystalline structures are obtained, which show superior corrosion
resistance in electrochemical tests.
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings can be produced using the plasma immersion ion
deposition (PIID) process. The coatings are very hard and dense and can be applied
to many components for increased wear and erosion resistance. In fact, SwRI recently
developed a technique for applying DLC coatings to the inner surface of pipeline
segments.

Ti-Si-C-N based nanocomposite coatings deposited using the Plasma Enhanced

Magnetron Sputtering (PEMS) process have shown high-hardness (>40GPa) and
superior erosion and wear resistance. PEMS was originally developed for use on gas
turbine compressor blades and vanes and steam turbine blades against solid particle
erosion and liquid droplet erosion, and won an R&D 100 award in 2009.

Laboratory tests have shown that the erosion resistance of these coatings can
increase the lifetime by a few to more than 100 times as compared to uncoated
substrates. The corrosion resistance for Ti-Si-C-N coated samples has been shown to
be comparable to or better than the uncoated Ti-6Al-4V substrate, which already
exhibits excellent corrosion resistance.

SwRI has developed a suite of deposition-coating solutions for addressing a range of

erosion, corrosion and wear issues. As noted, large-scale production of corrosion-
resistant coatings using vacuum deposition techniques is possible (e.g. Al-Co-Ce
coatings and DLC coatings). For more severe environments, vacuum-deposited Ti-Si-
C-N nanocomposite coatings have been successfully used to protect important
components from erosion, abrasion and corrosion damage.

Forensic Evaluations
Although a comprehensive corrosion-control program based on inspection, monitoring
and model predictions can be an effective means for controlling pipeline corrosion,
unexpected events or undocumented changes in operating conditions can still lead to
premature pipeline failure. When these occur, it is essential to perform a thorough
forensic evaluation of the failure to determine the failure mechanism and its root
cause. By identifying the root cause of the failure, the pipeline operator will know if
this resulted from an event or operating condition outside of the general conditions
included in the corrosion-control program.
Steps can then be identified to mitigate future failures by eliminating recurrence of
the event. If such an event is not identified as the root cause of failure, the results of
the evaluation can be instrumental in identifying necessary changes to the corrosion-
control program. Additionally, destructive evaluations, which are a routine part of a
forensic evaluation, can be a valuable tool for validating the effectiveness of a
corrosion-control program.

Summary
Aging infrastructure, increasing performance requirements, cost and safety are all
driving the need for more comprehensive corrosion control. Experimental
assessments of materials in extreme environments will always play a critical role in
supporting material selection and design. More recently, the role of computer
modeling is playing a more prominent role. As our understanding of the fundamental
mechanisms of environmental effects on materials improves, our ability to model
these fundamental mechanisms and predict the integrity of complex structures and
systems has grown.
These models, however, require information regarding initial conditions, operational
conditions, calibration and, most importantly, validation of the predictions. Inspection
tools, sensors, and monitoring systems provide key information, but they cannot
alone provide estimates of future performance. By coupling inspection, monitoring,
mitigation, forensic evaluation, and prediction, a comprehensive corrosion-control
program can be realized. Subsequent remedial actions can then be devised to
counteract the effects of corrosion, thereby helping to assure the integrity of aging
systems.

Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the research collaborations and technical support of SwRI
staff members Dr. Stephen Hudak (Material and Component Integrity), Dr. Hegeon
Kwun and Gary Burkhardt (Staff Scientists, Sensor Systems and Non-destructive
Evaluation), Dr. Ronghua Wei (Surface Engineering and Materials Chemistry), Drs.
Marta Jakab and Gustavo Vasquez (Environmental Performance of Materials), and
Steven Clay (Environmental Performance of Materials). The authors also acknowledge
the contributions of Dr. Ashok Sabata, Aginova Inc.
Source:
By Ben H. Thacker, Glenn M. Light, James F. Dante, Elizabeth Trillo, Fengmei Song,
Carl F. Popelar, Kent E. Coulter and Richard A. Page, Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, TX | March 2010 Vol. 237 No. 3
Online: http://www.pipelineandgasjournal.com/corrosion-control-oil-and-gas-pipelines?
page=show (30 January 2014)