Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint
A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T
Keywords: Identification of the fatigue failure mode of the premium threaded connection for Oil Country Tubular Goods
Fretting fatigue pipes was conducted via full-scale fatigue tests. A through-wall crack was found at the imperfect thread root of
Threaded connection the male embodiment, but the crack initiation site depended on the stress level. At relatively higher stress
Full-scale fatigue test amplitude region, the crack originated from the thread rounded corner by stress concentration. At relatively
Large relative slip
lower stress amplitude region, the crack originated at the middle of the thread root because of fretting fatigue.
To investigate the fretting fatigue mechanism in the threaded connection, a fundamental fretting fatigue test
was conducted. This test achieved the fretting fatigue failure at the middle of the contact surface under large
gross slip condition.
1. Introduction using a drill pipe, have been developed [2,3]. In the DwC, a drill bit is
attached to the end of the casing pipe to drill a hole. Consequently, the
Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) pipes for the production of casing pipe is embedded simultaneously with the drilling. This
crude oil and natural gas are connected by threaded connections. For technology can contribute in the reduction of the total time as well as
the threaded connection, sufficient static strength and sealability are cost for the well completion. However, the threaded connections
required to achieve the stable oil and gas production. A premium receive a huge amount of cyclic rotary bending load when they go
threaded connection, which is a non-American Petroleum Institute through the well curvature. Therefore, the evaluation of the fatigue
(API) standard [1] product, is used particularly for a well with a severe performance of the premium threaded connections becomes increas-
environment. The premium threaded connection consists of metal to ingly important.
metal seal, torque shoulder and tapered trapezoidal thread portion as Several studies have been previously performed concerning the
indicated in Fig. 1. The male embodiment of a threaded connection is fatigue performance of threaded connections. For instance, full-scale
called PIN, and the female one is called BOX. When the PIN and BOX fatigue tests were conducted to evaluate the fatigue performance [3–8].
are in the make-up state, the PIN thread root and the BOX thread crest In these studies, Stress Amplification Factor (SAF) was evaluated by
are in contact with each other by interference. the ratio between the S–N curve of the threaded connection obtained
In the conventional well drilling as indicated in Fig. 2(a), a hole by the full-scale fatigue test and DNV-B1 curve [9]. The fatigue
where the casing pipe will be embedded is previously drilled by a drill performance of the connection is regarded higher, as SAF value became
pipe. Then, the casing pipe is embedded into the underground hole lower. For example, Ong et al. [3,4] reported that the sufficient fatigue
with a certain rotation. After the embedment, only static loading is performance was achieved for the premium or semi-premium threaded
applied to the threaded connection of the casing pipe. Therefore, only connection which they developed, by considering from the evaluated
static strength is required in the threaded connection. Recently, as SAF obtained by the full-scale fatigue tests. Sches et al. [5] reported the
indicated in Fig. 2(b), new drilling technologies such as Drilling with results of full-scale fatigue tests of the premium threaded connection.
Casing (DwC), which enables a casing pipe to be embedded without The fatigue performance was improved by applying the larger thread
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: oku.8fc.yohsuke@jp.nssmc.com (Y. Oku), sugino.77x.masaaki@jp.nssmc.com (M. Sugino), ando.8n9.yoshinori@jp.nssmc.com (Y. Ando),
makino.hb3.taizo@jp.nssmc.com (T. Makino), komoda6744@kyudai.jp (R. Komoda), 2TE16733K@s.kyushu-u.ac.jp (D. Takazaki),
kubota.masanobu.304@m.kyushu-u.ac.jp (M. Kubota).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2016.10.021
Received 17 June 2016; Received in revised form 30 September 2016; Accepted 13 October 2016
Available online xxxx
0301-679X/ © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article as: Oku, Y., Tribology International (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2016.10.021
Y. Oku et al. Tribology International xx (xxxx) xxxx–xxxx
Fig. 2. Applied stress to the threaded connection in conventional drilling (a) and drilling with casing (b).
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BOX (Coupling)
Pipe body
Pipe body
PIN
Φ177.8
11.5
PIN
Torque shoulder
20 μm 20 μm 20 μm
Fig. 4. Microstructures of the tested materials. L80 (a), P110 (b) and Q125 (c).
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Φ177.8
Load Pipe (PIN) Load
Motor Bearing
Motor
BOX (Coupling)
Load Load Capped end Strain gauge Support
Bending moment
Connection
1610
2670
Fig. 5. Four points rotary bending fatigue test of the real premium threaded connection. Dimensions are given in mm.
stress was produced by the resonance vibration of the specimen with 500
L80 (TS=680 MPa)
the first mode of vibration induced by rotation of the eccentric mass. 400 P110 (TS=940 MPa)
The maximum bending moment was caused at the center of the BOX Q125 (TS=1030 MPa)
Bending moment
4080
Fig. 6. Resonance fatigue test of the real premium threaded connection. Dimensions are given in mm.
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PIN
A A’
Through-wall crack
30 mm
A - A’
BOX
PIN Imperfect threads Perfect threads
Through-wall crack 10 mm
Macroscopic observation of failed connection after break-out
Stress concentration Fretting
Thread crest Thread root
Thread root
Rounded corner
Through-wall
crack Through-wall
crack
0.5 mm 0.5 mm
published in Ref. [17]. On the other hand, for the cracks at the the fretting fatigue crack originating at the boundary between stick and
relatively long-life region, the cause might be fretting fatigue because slip region [22,23]. Another is the fretting fatigue crack that originates
the crack was initiated at the contact surface between the thread root at the middle of severe fretting wear region with relatively large slip
and thread crest. It is noted that fretting fatigue failure occurred in amount because of low contact pressure [24–26]. For the latter case,
both four points rotary bending fatigue test and resonance fatigue test, the mechanism why fretting fatigue cracks are initiated at the middle of
regardless of the difference in loading frequency or loading type. The the contact surface is not fully understood.
rotation speed of the threaded connection in actual DwC is lower than As displayed in Fig. 9, more detailed observation was performed for
50 rpm, which corresponds to the loading frequency of 0.83 Hz [20]. In the specimen with the fretting fatigue failure. Fig. 9(a) displays the
fact, applied loading frequency of both four points rotary bending contact surface on the thread root viewed from the upper side. Fig. 9(b)
fatigue test and resonant fatigue test was higher than that of DwC. displays the longitudinal cross-sectional view for the line B-B′ of the
However, the influence by loading frequency would be little in the contact surface. In Fig. 9(a), the through-wall crack originated at the
present study because there was no big difference in the morphology of middle of the contact surface as described in Fig. 8(c). In addition,
the fretting on the thread root obtained by both full-scale fatigue tests. several micro cracks were found near the through-wall crack at the
Further study is needed to clarify this influence because there seems to contact surface by the observation after buffing of the contact surface.
be few anterior researches regarding the influence of loading frequency In Fig. 9(b), several micro cracks were also found around the through-
on the fretting fatigue [21]. wall crack. Although the angle was different depending on the positions
In general, for the fretting fatigue crack originating at the middle of of the micro cracks, these cracks were also tilted.
the contact surface, it seems that there are two different cases. One is These features of the multiple cracks and tilted cracks are coincided
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direction
Slip
Slip direction
Thread Thread
crest crest
Thread root
B B’
View of the failed thread root
Through-wall crack
wall crack
Rounded
Through-
PIN
corner
Thread root 1.0 mm
0.5 mm
Micro crack
Micro crack
0.1 mm 0.1 mm
Fig. 9. Detailed observation of the fretting fatigue failure in the threaded connection made of P110 (σa=73.4 MPa, and Nf=3.11×106), thread root (a), longitudinal section (b).
with the features of the fretting fatigue cracks [27,28]. Many predictive connection. A fundamental fretting fatigue test with a bridge pad was
models are established for the fretting fatigue crack at the contact edge conducted to clarify the mechanism of the fretting fatigue failure on the
[29–32]. Contrary to this situation, further research is required to thread root.
clarify the mechanism for the fretting fatigue crack at the middle of the
contact surface. Therefore, as a first step, a fundamental test using
3.1. Fretting fatigue test method
small specimen was conducted to reproduce the fretting fatigue failure
at the middle of the contact surface of the threaded connection.
Fig. 10 displays the schematic of the fundamental fretting fatigue
test. A bending fretting fatigue test with a bridge pad was conducted for
the specimen taken out from the OCTG pipes. The contact pressure, pc,
3. Fundamental fretting fatigue test using a small specimen
was applied by tightening of the bar springs with the tightening bolts.
According to the previous studies [24–26], the fretting fatigue crack
Two fatigue failure modes were found in the premium threaded
was initiated at the middle of the contact surface with the relatively low
Bending moment contact pressure. Thus, to reproduce the fretting fatigue crack in the
Strain gauge
(nominal stress)
Specimen
Slip sensor
Contact pad
Bar spring
Tightening bolt
Bending moment
Fig. 11. Loading condition for the longitudinal section of threaded connection in the
Fig. 10. Method for fundamental fretting fatigue test. full-scale fatigue test.
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Specimen
140
100.5
0.5
39.5
14.5
14.5
12
39.1 61.8 39.1
Thickness = 8
Contact pad
25
0.5
14
3 3
Thickness = 10
Fig. 12. Configurations of specimen (a) and contact pad (b). Dimensions are given in mm.
full-scale fatigue test, which was initiated at the middle of the contact
surface, 25 MPa of contact pressure was applied in the fundamental
fretting fatigue test. In addition, 100 MPa of contact pressure was also
Stress amplitude, σa [MPa]
500
applied in the test to evaluate the effect of contact pressure.
Fig. 11 shows the loading condition for the longitudinal section of σw= 480 MPa
the threaded connection in the full-scale fatigue test. It seems that
longitudinal section of the threaded connection receives tensile and
compressive load, while the whole connection receives the rotary
bending load. During the cyclic rotary bending, relative slip occurs
on the contact surface between PIN thread root and BOX thread crest.
Thus, the PIN thread root corresponds to the specimen in the
fundamental test, and the BOX thread crest corresponds to the foot 100 σw= 134 MPa
Axial fatigue test
of contact pad in the fundamental test. Fretting fatigue test
As displayed in Fig. 10, a strain gauge was pasted at the nominal
part of the specimen. Nominal stress amplitude during the test was 50
obtained by multiplying elastic modulus, which was 210 GPa, by the 105 106 107
measured strain amplitude. To simplify the failure analysis by restrict- Number of cycles to failure, Nf
ing crack initiation sites, a thin polyamide film was inserted into one
side of the contact part. The fretting fatigue failure was caused at the Fig. 13. S–N curves of fretting fatigue test and plain fatigue test for P110.
opposite contact part. The relative slip range was measured by small
slip sensors at both contact edges of one contact pad. The fretting
fatigue test was performed at a loading frequency of 15 Hz with a stress with a #400 emery paper.
ratio of −1 in air at ambient temperature.
Fig. 12 displays the configurations of the specimen and contact pad. 3.2. Results of the fundamental fretting fatigue test of OCTG material
Both specimen and contact pad were taken out from the same OCTG
pipes made of P110 and L80. As displayed in Table 3, the mechanical 3.2.1. Fretting fatigue strength of OCTG material
properties of the material for the fundamental fretting fatigue test are The fretting fatigue S–N curve of the specimen made of the P110
slightly different from that displayed in Table 1 because the production with pc=25 MPa is displayed in Fig. 13. As a reference, the S–N curve
lot of the pipes was different between the full-scale test and the of a smooth specimen obtained by an axial fatigue test is also displayed.
fundamental test. The contact surfaces of both the specimen and The fretting fatigue limit was 134 MPa for pc=25 MPa, while the plain
contact pads were finished by polishing along the relative slip direction fatigue limit was 480 MPa. Although loading type influences the fatigue
limit, the fretting reduced the fatigue limit of OCTG pipe material to
Table 3 less than one-third.
Mechanical properties of materials for the fretting fatigue test.
Material 0.2% Proof Tensile strength Elongation [%] Reduction of area 3.2.2. Observation of the fretted surfaces
stress [MPa] [MPa] [%] After the fretting fatigue test, the contact surfaces of the specimen
were observed by an optical microscope. Fig. 14 (a) and (b) display the
L80 620 760 24 78
P110 850 940 11 73 fretted surfaces at pc=25 MPa with the material of P110 and
pc=100 MPa with the material of L80, respectively. Each contact
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Fig. 14. Fretted surface on the specimen in the fundamental fretting fatigue test, pc=25 MPa, with material of P110 (a), and pc=100 MPa, with material of L80 (b).
surface was fully covered with fretting wear particles. Although the surfaces in each condition. The trend of the difference of the fretting
aspect of the fretting wear near the contact edge was different from that wear aspect between the vicinity of the contact edge and the middle of
at the middle of the contact surface, no stick region within the fretted the contact surface was more significant on the fretted surface at
area existed. Therefore, a gross slip occurred between the contact pc=100 MPa than that at pc=25 MPa. The main crack was found at the
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Fig. 15. Relation between the relative slip range and crack initiation site of L80.
middle of the contact surface except in a case that pc=100 MPa, and 4. Conclusion
σa=143 MPa. The fundamental fretting fatigue test was successfully
achieved to reproduce the fretting fatigue crack originating at the In the present study, the full-scale fatigue test of the premium
middle of the contact surface of the threaded connection. Furthermore, threaded connection for the OCTG pipes was conducted to identify the
it was found that the position of the fretting fatigue crack changed fatigue failure mode. Then, the fundamental fatigue test with a small
depending on the contact pressure and stress amplitude. specimen was also conducted to discuss the fretting fatigue mechanism
Unfortunately, the area where fretting wear occurred in the fretting in the threaded connection. The obtained results are as follows.
fatigue test with pc=25 MPa was small compared with the nominal
contact area. Therefore, the effect of the contact pressure cannot be (1) Two fatigue failure modes in the premium threaded connection
correctly evaluated in this study. However, the important point is that were found. In the case that a through-wall crack originated at the
the fretting fatigue crack at the middle of the contact surface is thread rounded corner, the stress concentration at the corner was
reproduced. the root cause of the failure. In the case that a through-wall crack
originated at the middle of the thread root, fretting fatigue was the
3.2.3. Relative slip range on the fretted surfaces cause.
Fig. 15 displays the relative slip range and the crack initiation site (2) The fretting fatigue failure in the threaded connection occurred at
obtained by the fretting fatigue test with the material of L80. The solid the middle of the contact surface when the stress amplitude was
symbol represents the relative slip range measured at the contact edge relatively low.
of pad foot where the main crack was initiated, and open symbol (3) In the fundamental fretting fatigue test, the fretting reduced the
represents the relative slip range measured at the opposite side pad fatigue limit of the OCTG pipe material to less than one-third.
foot. The relative slip range for the fretting fatigue test with pc=25 MPa (4) The reproduction of the fretting fatigue failure found in the
was significantly larger than that with pc=100 MPa. The relative slip threaded connection was successfully achieved in the fundamental
range at pc=100 MPa increased with an increase in the stress ampli- fretting fatigue test.
tude. When considering the relation between the crack position and the (5) It is proposed that the fretting fatigue failure at the middle of the
relative slip range, the crack was initiated at the middle of the contact contact surface that was observed in this study is related to large
surface except for the case that the relative slip range was the relative slip.
minimum. It is implied that the crack position moved depending on
the relative slip range level. This may indicate that the stress conditions Acknowledgements
at the contact surface were changed by the relative slip range. In
addition, with a large slip, fretting wear becomes severe. Therefore, the The present study was performed under collaborative research with
change in the stress condition at the contact surface with the develop- the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (WPI-
ment of fretting wear should be considered. I2CNER) at Kyushu University. The International Institute for Carbon-
When the morphology of the fretting fatigue failure is compared Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER) is supported by the World
between the full-scale test (Fig. 9) and fundamental test (Fig. 14), it is Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI), MEXT, Japan.
found that the position of the fretting fatigue crack in the fundamental
fretting fatigue test at larger relative slip region is similar to the fretting References
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