Experimental determination of stress corrosion crack rates and service lives in a buried ERW pipeline

Threshold stresses and crack growth rates for in-service stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of two electrical resistance weld (ERW) seam welded pipes from two 45-year-old oil pipelines were experimentally assessed. Seventeen high-pH SCC tests were carried out, in both base and ERW weld metals, at two temperatures (73 and 45 °C). Tapered specimens were used for base metal, and constant section specimens were developed for ERW tests, in which original surface conditions were preserved. It was found that susceptibility of the ERW seam welds is much higher than for base materials, so that the welds define the length of the pipe that is susceptible to SCC. Threshold pressure estimates for SCC initiation were defined from tests at elevated temperature, service temperature, and literature correlations. Fabrication residual stresses were also measured and taken into consideration. SCC threshold pressures for these lines are controlled by the ERW welds; the pipe tracts that are considered to be susceptible to SCC are those that undergo a service pressure of at least 2.4 MPa. For the case under study, this represents about 70% of the length of the pipeline.