The effect of corrosion defects on the burst pressure of pipelines

The loss of metal in a pipeline due to corrosion usually results in localized pits with various depths and irregular shapes on its external and internal surfaces. The effect of external corrosion defects was studied via a series of small-scale experiments and through a nonlinear numerical model based on the finite element method. After calibration was conducted, based on the experimental results, the model was used to determine the burst pressure as a function of material and geometric parameters of different pipes and defects. This paper briefly summarizes these results, which are subsequently used to develop a simple procedure for estimating the burst pressure of corroded pipes.