2011

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Present address: Technip USA, Inc., 11700 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX 77079 USA, igrigorescu@technip.com
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Erosion-Corrosion Failures in Wellhead Chokes

Gladys Navas
Instituto Universitario de Tecnologa Dr. Federico Rivero Palacio (IUTFRP).
Km. 8, Carretera Panamericana. Municipio Libertador, Caracas 1040
Venezuela

Ioana Cristina Grigorescu
1

Universidad Simon Bolivar, Sartenejas, Baruta, Caracas 1080.
Venezuela


ABSTRACT

The surface morphology and chemistry of two chokes for oil and gas condensate, which failed by
leakage, were related to the flow pattern and material degradation mechanisms. In the choke for oil
production, severe circumferential channeling develops near the screw connection between the nozzle
and choke body, due to fluid leakage through the thread in imperfect contact. One of the channeling
branches crossed the case wall producing leakage, this trajectory being enhanced by defects in the
girth weld, inappropriately placed near the thread. Downstream, CO
2
induced corrosion becomes the
governing damage mechanism, being promoted by an almost stagnant back-flow in the annular gap
between the nozzle and the choke body. In the second case, the corrosive fluid induces intense
erosion-corrosion downstream the nozzle; the abnormal flow pattern is the consequence of the prior
fracture of the nozzle. Toward the valve outlet, the damage turns into uniform CO
2
corrosion, which is
the typical degradation mode of the choke body. Both failures were enhanced by the inappropriate
location of girth weld in the zones where the most intense erosion-corrosion damage occurs.

Key words: corrosion- erosion, channeling wear, wellhead chokes, failures, gas wells


INTRODUCTION

Chokes in oil and gas wellheads are valves which reduce the flow and, correspondingly, the fluid
pressure to values sustainable by the surface pipeline. In some wellheads configurations, the choke,
deviates the flow at 90. Chocking-back the well to relatively low production rates tends to decrease the
sand content in the flow, and implicitly, the erosion intensity. However, the risk of erosion-corrosion
damage persists in those cases where choking leads to an important increase of flow velocity. This risk
is higher if, additionally, the hydrocarbon fluid contains corrosive agents and remnant fine sands, even
in low concentration. In such cases, the service life for choke valves may decrease from 1 - 3 years to
very short time intervals, in extreme cases even as low as few days [1].

2011 by NACE International. Requests for permission to publish this manuscript in any form, in part or in whole, must be in writing to NACE
International, Publications Division, 1440 South Creek Drive, Houston, Texas 77084. The material presented and the views expressed in this paper are
solely those of the author(s) and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association.
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Paper No.
11247



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The main component of the choke (nozzle or reducer) is the most vulnerable to erosion, being typically
made of a sintered WC-Co insert in a steel housing. Other wear resistant advanced materials, such as
hard coatings, tough ceramics (e.g. partially stabilized zirconia) and polycrystalline diamond have
been tested to increase the life-time of the choke nozzle [2 -4].

The case or body of the choke may be either a single cast piece or forged sections that are girth
welded; material grade and manufacturing method depends upon the required mechanical resistance
and fluid corrosiveness. Flow induced damage is not expected to be intense in the choke body, except
cavitation downstream the reducer which, however, is unlikely to occur under normal operating
conditions [5]. Other less common damages morphologies and associated mechanisms were observed
in choke bodies of oil and gas wellheads in the eastern Venezuela production fields. Two case histories
are further exposed to exemplify these damage mechanisms.

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EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

The typical failure analysis routine was followed: i) Information and sample recovery in the field; ii)
Chemical and microstructural characterization of the material; iii) Surface damage analysis by visual
inspection, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). For
both studies, the choke body was cross sectioned on the symmetry plan, and then samples were
extracted for microstructural and SEM-EDX analysis.


RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Failure of an oil production fixed choke

A fixed choke has a simple structure, schematically illustrated in the Figure 1. The nozzle is thread
assembled to the body and can be replaced to modify the inner diameter and, accordingly, the well
production rate.
Outlet
Cap / Sensor
Inlet
Nozzle
Welds
Flanged
Ends
Elbow

Figure 1. Scheme of fixed choke.
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The analyzed choke had been in service for six months in a wellhead handling an oil flow which main
characteristics are shown in the Table 1. The choke is type PS1-1EE for standard sour service, per API
6A [6] and it is constituted by a nozzle with a sintered WC-Co insert and a body made of low alloy
carbon steel AISI 8620. The choke body is built with three segments, the elbow section and the two
flanged ends, jointed by girth welds.

Table 1. Flow parameters in the oil-production wellhead
Parameter Value
Oil production 800 BPD
Associated gas 35 MMcf
Choke inlet pressure 3054 psig
Choke outlet pressure 1100 psig
Water cut 1 %
CO
2
molar content 1.4 %

In the oil production field there are 15 similar chokes, which life time is about one year each. At the end
of the life time, the internal thread is worn out, decoupling the nozzle from the body. The analyzed valve
failed prematurely, at half lifetime, due to a leak trough the wall of the choke body. The failed body of
the choke was supplied for failure analysis, while the nozzle was retained, with the aim of being
replaced in operation, since no important damage could be visually detected in this component.

Material

Although the parent material of the choke body meets the chemical composition of the AISI 8620 steel,
its microstructure is deficient. Porous sized between 20 and 30 m are frequent and phase distribution
is not homogenous. Bands rich in large ferrite grains alternate with pearlite bands containing
Widmanstaetten ferrite zones (Figures 2 and 3). Such non homogeneous banded microstructure was
reported in forged AISI 8620 steel, being caused by manganese micro-segregation during solidification,
which stabilizes austenite and reduces carbon activity in austenite. During posterior forging, the
dendrites with segregated manganese are reoriented by plastic deformation, thus creating the ferrite
and pearlite rich bands [7]. The banded microstructure appears in the end segments (Figure 2) and in
the elbow material (Figure 3), proving that all body sections are manufactured by a forging process with
insufficient quality. The girth weld showed a sound uniform microstructure (Figure 3).

Damage mechanism

The visual inspection showed that the damage concentrates around the annular gap between the
nozzle and the choke-case, in the outlet duct of the choke body (Figure 4). In this space there is an
almost stagnant backflow of part of the fluid leaving the nozzle. Besides, the fluid coming from the inlet
side, turbulent due to the impact against the perpendicular wall of the elbow, tends to leak through the
screw connection, which is imperfectly sealed. The flow pattern of the two interfered flows is
reproduced by the damaged surface morphology (Figures 4 and 5).

The maximum thinning of the wall occurs near the thread (Figure 5) and it is probably produced by a
channeling effect of the fluid which leaks through the screw connection and it is accelerated due to the
small size of the gap between the thread sides in imperfect contact. This irregular flow produces
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intense erosion-corrosion, undermining deep channels, fairly oriented in a helical way. It is worth
noticing that the severe channeling damage coincides with the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the weld
girth (Figure 5 b), which resistance to mechanical and/or chemical attack uses to be lower with respect
to the base metal. As the channels become wider, the velocity of the flow decreases, producing a less
intensive damage in the adjacent zone. However, in the shallower groves of this area, the damage
mechanism is still erosion controlled, producing a macro-relief similar to the one in the channeling zone
but more attenuated (Figure 5a).



Figure 2. Microstructure of an end segment of the choke body. Optical micrographs, 3% Nital etching.



Figure 3. Weld microstructure. Optical micrographs, 3%. Nital etching. a) Cross section trough weld
and base material; b)Base material in the elbow segment.

The measurements of Brinell hardness in the non homogeneous parent material of the choke body
gave scattered values, between 183 and 221 BHN; the hardness was almost uniform in the weld (257
BHN) and in the heat affected zone (226 - 232 BHN).

Corrosion contribution to the material degradation is revealed in the SEM micrographs of the severely
damaged surface. As illustrated in the Figure 6.a, corrosion deposits were found on the eroded area.
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They are mainly iron oxides and contain low amounts of Ca and Si, probably a mixture of oxides and
iron carbonates produced by CO
2
induced corrosion. At higher magnification, zones of apparently pure
erosion can be seen, with the micro-relief oriented in the flow direction (Figure 6.b). However, pits can
be observed within erosion marks, either pre-existent pores, opened by the material removal on the
surface, or produced by the etching action of the fluid (Figure 6.c).



Figure 4. Cross section of the choke body on the symmetry plan. The outlet side is horizontal.

Weld

(a) (b)
Figure 5. Damaged surface near the thread. a) Front view; b) Side view. The weld is marked with
dotted line.

Beyond this zone, the corrosion turns into the governing damage mechanisms and it is induced by the
almost stagnate back-flow in the annular gap between the nozzle and the choke body. The SEM
micrographs in the middle of the outlet duct make the uniform corrosion evident (Figure 7). The pits are
dense and uniformly distributed (Figure 7.a) and develop around sub-micron precipitates (Figure 7. b).
Few erosion marks are grooved on the corroded surface by solid particles with random trajectories
(Figure 7.a). The corrosion attack is enhanced by the deficient microstructure of the material,

Weld
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promoting potential differences between the ferrite rich and poor bands, as well as between the
precipitates and surrounding matrix.




Figure 6. SEM micrographs of the severely damaged surface.



Figure 7: SEM micrographs in the middle of the outlet side of the choke box.
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The observed failure morphology allows the identification of the normal degradation mode and the
enhancing factors that reduced at half the life time of the choke. Since the same flow pattern develops
in the outlet duct of all chokes, the channeling in the threaded zone is expected to appear
systematically, leading to the decoupling of the nozzle from the choke body; this is the main reason for
the choke to be replaced with a new one, as it was reported in the oil production field.

However, channeling is a process that initiate and develop randomly and, in the present case, the
channeling groves were oriented toward the zone downstream the thread, which remained almost
unaffected until the failure occurred. One of the channeling branches penetrated the case wall
producing leakage, this path being enhanced by the lower resistance to erosion-corrosion in the HAZ of
the girth weld. A poor choke design with inappropriate position of the girth weld along with a deficient
microstructure of the material weakening its resistance to corrosion, are considered the factors that
adversely affected the performance of the choke body.

There is a relatively high probability of such failure to be recurrent, whenever the channeling would be
randomly driven toward the bottom of the screw assembly, thus coinciding with the weld. Therefore,
modifying the chocke design and avoiding exposure of the girth weld to the insert outlet along with
materials quality improvements would reduce the risk of body wall perforation. However, a more radical
solution is required to change the damage pattern into a more uniform; to this end, modifying the flow
parameters and/or choke design is necessary.

Failure of an adjustable choke on a well producing gas condensate

The well where the failed choke operated is producing a liquid mixture of natural gas condensate and
water, as shown in the Table 2. The choke has operated normally for about two years and it failed by a
leakage trough the choke body wall, near the girth weld joining the outlet side with the elbow section
(Figure 8). While dismounting the choke, the nozzle was found to be broken, but the fragments were
not supplied for analysis.

The adjustable choke has a more complex design; however, the flow wetted section of the valve is
structurally similar to the one of fixed choke, the nominal characteristics being the same as in the
previous case, i.e., type PS1-1EE for standard sour service, per API 6A [6], with a sintered WC-Co
insert in the nozzle and a body made of low alloyed carbon steel AISI 8620.

Table 2. Flow parameters in the wellhead handling the gas natural condensate.
Parameter Value
Gas production 20 MMcf
Choke inlet pressure 3200 psig
Choke outlet pressure 700 psig
Condensate content in the liquid phase 55%
Water cut 45 %
CO
2
molar content 3.4 %



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Material

The material of the choke body meets the chemical composition of the AISI 8620 steel and has a
strongly non homogeneous pearlite microstructure, with cementite rich shells surrounding zones
containing large widmanstaetten ferrite grains with reduced pearlite areas within (Figure 9). The girth
weld between the outlet and intermediate sections is microstructurally uniform, containing fine
tempered martensite (Figure 10).



Figure 8. Passing defect trough choke wall that led to leakage.



Figure 9. Microstructure in the elbow section of the choke body. Optical micrographs, 3% Nital etching.

Damage mechanism

According to the macroscopic surface morphology, the most severe damage appears downstream the
nozzle and coincides with the girth weld between the elbow and the outlet sections of the valve. The
defect that allowed the fluid leakage is located in the thinned wall of this zone. The shape of the erosion
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marks shows that, originally, the fluid flows longitudinally. As an ampler cavity forms by the preferential
material removal at the HAZ of the weld, the flow is slightly tilted, and then it recovers the longitudinal
pattern downstream, in the outlet duct of the valve. In this zone the erosion groves are shallower,
thinner and denser.



Figure 10. Microstructure of the girth weld. Optical micrograph, 3% Nital etching.

Attempts were done to SEM-EDX analyze the sample taken in the severe damage zone. On the
surface of this sample taken near the nozzle seat, very thick and adherent layers of corrosion products
were found, that could not be removed by intensive etching with Ortophosphoric acid (Figure 11). The
corrosion products are mixtures of oxides, carbonates and, possibly, other salts; as shown in the EDX
spectrum in Figure 11. Besides the large amount of Fe, O and C, other elements such as Cr, Si and Na
are contained in the corrosion products. In the enlarged cavity with tilted grooves, the corrosion deposit
is still thick and hard to remove by chemical etching. However, in this zone the corrosion pits inside the
erosion grooves could be better resolved by SEM (Figure 12).


(a) (b)
Figure 11. Well adhered corrosion deposits on the sample taken near the nozzle seat. Ortophosphoric
acid etching. a) SEM view at low magnification. b) EDX spectrum.

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Figure 12. SEM micrographs in the enlarged cavity with tilted grooves. Ortophosphoric acid etching.

These macro and micro morphological features suggest that the grooving erosion preferentially
occurred at the beginning of the degradation process, until the large cavity downstream the nozzle seat
opens sufficiently to decrease the turbulence in the flow. Thereafter, generalized CO
2
induced corrosion
controls the damaging process, lasting a relatively long time to produce corrosion deposits that are very
thick and strongly adherent to the substrate.

The corrosion governed damage is more evident in the downstream sample, which is characterized by
dense coalescing pits and multiple layers of corrosion products, tending to exfoliate (Figure 13). By
comparing the micro-morphological and microstructural features in this zone, the preferential corrosion
of the ferrite phase could be inferred.




Figure 13. SEM micrographs near the valve outlet. Ortophosphoric acid etching.

This damage mechanism is expected, since the corrosiveness of the fluid is classified as moderate to
severe due to CO
2
partial pressure being 30 to 110 psia; furtheremore the non homogeneous
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microstructure of the material enhances the formation of corrosion micro cells between ferrite and
cementite rich zones enhancing the overall wall loss.

The lack of evidences regarding the fracture of the nozzle does not allow defining the root-cause of the
failure. However, it might be inferred that this event originated a change in the flow regime, increasing
turbulence and intensifying the erosion-corrosion process downstream the broken nozzle. Other
adverse flow production conditions and characteristics particular to this choke design could have
enhanced erosion-corrosion damage but they are not likely to be the root cause of the failure. Such
adverse conditions are: i) increasing the outlet flow velocity to increase production, as a routine
practice; ii) positioning of the girth weld in the proximity of the nozzle outlet, same as in all other valves
in field.



CONCLUSIONS
The two cases histories here reported show that failures in chokes bodies, although not frequent, could
occur under either normal conditions or as a consequence of the primary failure of an internal
component. Whether normal conditions systematically lead to channeling within thin gaps inside the
choke, the failure risk has to be carefully considered. Otherwise, when the damage on inner surfaces is
almost uniform, premature failures are not likely to occur. It is worth to notice that in both case, the
inappropriate location of the girth weld enhanced the excessive tinning in reduced zones.


REFERENCES

1. A. Huser, O. Kvernvold and T. Sntvedt, Erosive Wear in Choke Valves, Valve World 2000
Conference and Expo, http://www.dnv.ru/Binaries/ErosiveWearInChokeValves_tcm83-8475.pdf
2. K. Haugen, O. Kvernvold, A. Ronold and R. Sandberg Sand erosion of wear resistant materials:
Erosion in choke valves, Wear, 186-187 (1995), p. 179-188
3. L. Nkleberg and T. Sntvedt, Erosion in choke valvesoil and gas industry applications, Wear,
186-187 (1995), p. 401 412.
4. I. C. Grigorescu, C. Di Rauso, C. Zerpa, A. Mentesh, Asimilacin de la cermica avanzada Mg-
PSZ en PDVSA. Proc. Conf. MATERALTER 2002, Materiales Alternativos Guayana 2002, Cd.
Guayana, Venezuela, Oct. 2002.
5. N A Barton, Erosion in elbows in hydrocarbon production Systems, -TV NEL Ltd. Review
document for HSE, 2003, http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr115.pdf
6. ANSI/API SPEC 6A, Specification for Wellhead and Christmas Tree Equipment, 19
th
Ed., 2004
7. R. Ramanathan and R. P. Foley, Effect of Prior Microstructure on Austenite Decomposition and
Associated Distortion, IIT Report, 2001, http://www.forging.org/FIERF/pdf/Microstructure.pdf






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