Failure analysis and mechanical performance of an oil pipeline

J. L. Alamilla, E. Sosa, C. A. Sánchez-Magaña, R. Andrade-Valencia, A. Contreras

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper presents a work scheme for failure analysis of buried oil pipelines. The scheme provides answers for two main questions at least: what were the causes that made the system fail and why the system failed in the way it did. The scheme is based on five stages and the results of these stages are related to each other and consistent with the type of failure, thereby providing objective conclusions. The proposed scheme was successfully applied to a case of a buried oil pipeline whose failure was a result of external corrosion. We established the occurrence of accelerated corrosion characterized by two corrosion mechanisms: one involving iron oxides and the other, iron sulfides. Furthermore, the ductile type failure has proved to be due to leakage, which is consistent with the reported evidence.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)766-773
Number of pages8
JournalMaterials and Design
Volume50
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Corrosion
  • Failure analysis
  • Fracture
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy
  • Steel

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