GRI-00/0192.11 GRI GUIDE FOR LOCATING AND USING PIPELINE INDUSTRY RESEARCH SECTION 11 STRESS CORROSION CRACKING Prepared by J. Kiefner Kiefner and Associates Inc. 893 High Street, Suite L } Worthington, Ohio 43085 for GAS RESEARCH INSTITUTE 1700 S. Mt. Prospect Road Des Plaines, Illinois 60018 GRI Project Manager Keith Lewis Pipeline Program March 2001STRESS CORROSION CRACKING ‘Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) can occur in buried pipelines and is a serious pipeline- integrity concem under certain circumstances. It has caused pipeline ruptures, and although it has not caused a large number of pipeline service failures, its prevention is or should be a major concem to operators of high pressure natural gas or liquid petroleum pipelines. From a historical perspective, underground, steel pipelines were operated for well over 50 years before the first case of a failure caused by SCC was recognized. Once it became known that SCC could affect pipeline integrity, the pipeline industry began a comprehensive research program to assess the causes of SCC and to investigate various techniques for preventing failures from SCC. With respect to understanding SCC the following issues are important. © What is SCC? + When was it first recognized by the pipeline industry? © What was the industry's response? * Can SCC be prevented? ‘+ What can pipeline operators do to control SCC? What Is Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC)? Stress corrosion cracking is brittle cracking of a normally-ductile material by the combined action of a tensile stress and a specific corrosive medium. SCC is a recognized cause of failure in numerous materials and in various applications of those materials. Low-carbon steels and low-alloy steels are susceptible to SCC in certain chemical environments when subjected to sufficiently high tensile stress. Buried steel pipelines can be affected because they are often subjected to a high tensile hoop stress from their internal operating pressures while at the same time they are immersed in a soil/ground water environment in which potent cracking environments can develop. SCC becomes possible when the extemal protective coating on a pipeline is disbonded. Coating disbondment allows the pipeline steel to come in contact with the ‘SCC-causing chemical environment. When that happens, cracks can begin to form at the OD surface perpendicular to the maximum tensile stress direction. Since hoop stress from pressure usually produces the greatest tensile stress, the phenomenon generally produces longitudinally-11-2 Stress Corrosion Cracking oriented cracks. Individual cracks form in close proximity to one another creating an interacting colony. In time, the interacting cracks may reach a size which will cause the pipeline to fail. It should be noted that there are two forms of SCC. One is referred to as high-pH SCC because of the fact that it occurs in an alkaline environment which can exist under a disbonded coating. The other is referred to as near-neutral pH SCC because it is generally associated with a fairly neutral environment under a disbonded coating. The high-pH cracks are usually very tight cracks that propagate along grain boundaries in the material (ie., they are intergranular), and they usually are not associated with pitting or general corrosion. The near-neutral pH cracks propagate across grains of the material (i. they are transgranular). Also, they tend to become widened by corrosion, and there is often pitting of the OD surface. The surfaces of the cracks in both cases are coated with magnetite (Fe,0,) or iron carbonate (FeCO,) films which accounts for theit black color. High-pH cracking is believed to arise from anodic dissolution of the grain boundaries as passivating films are broken by tensile stress. New neutral-pH cracking is believed to be caused by hydrogen embrittlement of the metal where the hydrogen and corrosion. are contributing factors in the cracking process. ‘When Was SCC First Recognized by the Pipeline Industry? SCC was first recognized as a failure-causing mechanism in 1965 when a 24-inch natural ‘gas pipeline ruptured in Natchitoches, Louisiana resulting in 17 fatalities. The ensuing investigation revealed that the pipeline had failed because of the presence of numerous intergranular cracks that, prior to this occurrence, had not been recognized as a cause of pipeline failures. The failure drew wide-spread attention. It led to an intensive effort by the industry to study the phenomenon with the objective of preventing reoccurrences, It undoubtedly also influenced the federal government's decision to enter into the role of regulator in the area of pipeline safety beginning in 1970. In the 20-year period between 1965 and 1985, additional service failures from SCC occurred. Hydrostatic testing of pipelines affected by SCC resulted in even more failures and suggested that the problem could be fairly wide-spread in certain pipelines. Up to 1985 all of the cases of SCC investigated were thought to have been caused by the same mechanism, namely, high-pH, intergranular cracking, Then, in 1985, a service failure occurred in a natural gas113 Stress Corrosion Cracking pipeline in Canada which, although similar to many of the previous SCC-related failures, appeared to be somewhat different. This failure, it tums out, involved the first recognized case of near neutral-pH cracking. Subsequent to 1985, additional service and hydrostatic test failures from both types of cracking have been noted. The potential for such cracking still exists and its prevention requires diligence on the part of operators of highly-stressed pipelines. When the problem surfaces, the costs of dealing with it can be significant. What Was The Industry’s Response? The pipeline industry reacted swiftly and appropriately to the occurrence of the Natchitoches failure. Since the problem initially was associated only with natural gas pipelines, the initial research efforts in conjunction with SCC were carried out by the Pipeline Research. Committee (PRC) of A.G. A. (Now called PRC Jntemational). ‘The initial work was started at Battelle in 1965. After the problem of near-neutral-pH SCC was discovered in Canada, research efforts were started by others including both U.S. and Canadian gas and liquid pipeline operators through both PRCY and the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA). Many research organizations continue to participate in efforts to understand and control the problem. A brief chronology of this research is presented below. The initial pipeline industry research on SCC started with the knowledge that SCC, in general, is caused by tensile stress and an appropriate chemical environment, At that time, low- carbon and low-alloy steels, the typical line pipe materials, were known to be susceptible to SCC in nitrate solutions and when subjected to hot caustic solutions. Neither of these environments seemed to be consistent with the known circumstances of pipeline SCC incidents. By extracting solutions from beneath disbonded coatings, the researchers learned that the environment producing the cracks was alkaline and consisted of carbonates, and bicarbonates. The nature of the environment that develops at the pipe surface depends on a number of factors including the level of cathodic protection, the concentration of CO,, temperature, moisture content, and the ability of the environment to diffuse away from the pipe surface. Seasonal fluctuations in the cathodic-protection system play a role in the cracking process. It appeared that the cracks formed when the pipe-to-soil potential was somewhere between the native corrosion potential and that required for adequate cathodic protection. By duplicating these conditions in laboratory4 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking tensile specimens of line pipe subjected to slow strain rates, the researchers found that they could indeed produce SCC. In the early work, no correlation between soil type and SCC susceptibility ‘was found. Indeed, it would scem that the key anion species could arise from the effects of cathodic protection on carbon dioxide dissolved in soils and groundwater independent of particular soil types or geographic areas. However, according to a private communication from Dr. John Beavers, current research suggests that some soil types may be more prone than others to promote high-pH SCC. Itis well known that tensile stress is necessary for SCC to occur. Generally, it is not observed if the material is not stressed to at least some “threshold” level under particular loading conditions in a specific environment. However, it appears that the role of stress is related to the fact that it causes small amounts of plastic strain. The plastic strain must take place at a rate high enough to create new surfaces at the crack tip before the surface has time to passivate. Small stress risers and residual stresses may augment the nominal applied stress that might not otherwise exceed the threshold level, and cyclic stresses, because they contributed to microplasticity, are believed to aggravate an SCC problem by lowering the threshold mean stress. for cracking to occur. By a combination of knowing that increasing temperature drives chemical reactions at higher rates, and by observing that both service and hydrostatic test failures occurred more frequently near compressor stations, the researchers concluded that the temperature of the pipeline was an important factor, atleast in the case of the high-pH form of SCC. The fact that ‘SCC is also stress-driven complicates the issue of temperature, however, because both stress and ‘temperature are at a maximum at a compressor station discharge and tend to decrease with increasing distance downstream from the compressor station. This picture may be further complicated by the fact that coating deterioration and disbonding is facilitated by high discharge temperatures. Before this problem was recognized, many pipelines were operated at discharge temperatures of 140 to 180°F. Undoubtedly, this contributed to some of occurrences of high-pH SCC failures. This fact, along with the need for increased flow efficiency, has led many ‘operators to install after-coolers at compressor stations to lower discharge temperatures to levels below 120°F.us Siress Corrosion Cracking When the phenomenon of near-neutral-pH cracking was discovered later, many of the same techniques were used by pipeline industry researchers to determine the causative factors. In contrast to the high-pH cracking, the near-neutral-pH cracking seemed to be not very temperature dependent, if at all. This may be one reason why liquid petroleum pipelines, which typically do not see the higher levels of temperature that gas lines often do, have experienced some problems with near-neutral-pH cracking but few instances of high-pH cracking. Also, it became clear that the carbon dioxide dissolved in ground water was forming carbonic acid under disbonded coatings in the absence of an alkaline environment. Hence, a slightly acid reaction ‘was creating corrosive conditions possible accompanied by hydrogen generation. The cracks looked very much like transgranular hydrogen embrittlement cracks in contrast to the intergranular cracks that accompanied high-pH SCC. The lack of an alkaline environment suggested the absence of cathodic protection, and indeed, the research showed that the cracking was reproducible in the absence of cathodic protection. Circumstantial evidence from the conditions observed in conjunction with service failures caused by near-neutral-pH SCC and subsequent laboratory tests confirmed the role of CO, and little or no cathodic protection. The majority of cases were found to occur in pipelines coated with polyethylene tape coatings, a material with a high dielectric potential effectively preventing cathodic current from reaching the surface of the pipe. At the same time carbon dioxide readily diffuses through this type of coating. Thus, a pipeline with disbonded tape becomes a readily susceptible target for near- neutral-pH cracking, Moreover, because tape coatings when wrapped over the crowns of submerged arc-welded seams leave voids due to “tenting”, a number of failures and numerous cases of cracking have been observed along longitudinal submerged-arc-welded seams. Other factors which contribute are colder the ground water, more dissolved carbon dioxide, and decaying organic materials typical of bog-like conditions. These conditions are plentiful in the northem U.S. and Canada, which tends to explain why the phenomenon was first recognized and has occurred most frequently in Canada, A smaller number of cases of near-neutral pH SCC have been associated with asphalt-coated pipelines. In these cases, the soil has tended to be dry and granular or rocky. High soil resistivity in such cases appears to effectively shield the pipeline from cathodic protection, thus providing an opportunity for the near-neutral pH ‘environment to be present.11-6 ‘Siress Corrosion Cracking ‘Can SCC Be Prevented? When one considers the causes of SCC in buried pipelines as described above, several Preventative steps come to mind. One might be to lower the operating stress level. In today's competitive environment this is not a popular solution, and itis not much help in the case of an existing pipeline where SCC has already taken hold. Once cracking has commenced, research hhas shown that the gross applied stress-intensity factor has little effect on the rate of crack growth; the crack tips undergo reverse plasticity; yielding in both tension and compression in Tesponse to cycles of stress. As a result, cracking may continue at applied stresses below the level required for cracking to initiate. However, some stress related factors can be controlled to ‘good advantage. Making sure that new pipe is free of slivers and other stress risers helps as does grit blasting that may actually impart compressive residual stress at the surface prior to coating, ‘Also, research has shown that avoiding or minimizing cycles of stress favors a higher threshold stress for cracking to begin, Lowering the temperature, as has been noted, will reduce the potential for coating damage and will reduce the cracking rate of the high-pH form of SCC. Lowering the temperature also reduces the range of the pipe-to-soil potential over which high-pH SCC occurs, thus reducing the probability that the potential will lie in the critical range. As previously described, many gas pipeline operators have addressed this issue by installing coolers to lower discharge temperatures. A high-quality coating, applied to a grit-blasted line pipe surface that is free of slivers, pits, and contamination, goes a long way toward preventing SCC. Also, avoiding coatings which tend to shield the pipe from cathodic protection when not bonded is an obvious means of reducing the potential for near-neutral-pH cracking. Historically, the pipeline industry research teams have sought the “silver-bullet’ to Prevent SCC altogether, but no such cure-all has emerged; certainly not for existing pipelines. Examples of things tried and found wanting in the case of existing pipelines are: inhibitors which could be added to coatings for new pipelines or to soils over existing pipelines and altering or cycling the cathodic protection potentials to keep disbonded areas from being subjected to potentials in the “cracking range” (applies to high-pH SCC only). The idea of inhibitors was11-7 Siress Corrosion Cracking dropped because it was impractical for several reasons. Disrupting the cathodic protection is no solution at all for near-neutral-pH cracking nor does it seem appropriate for preventing high-pH SCC because the potential is always in the cracking range somewhere, some of the time, under disbonded coatings. The picture may be brighter for recently constructed and future pipelines, Some researchers believe that the application of a high-quality, non-shielding coating with good surface preparation will reduce the probability of SCC to a negligible level. In addition, there is hope as will be seen in one of the following references that a truly SCC-resistant line-pipe material will emerge. ‘What Do Operators Do to Control SCC? The steps taken by pipeline operators to control SCC in existing pipelines include but are not necessarily limited to: * Vigilance in terms of periodically examining areas of pipelines that rank high on the scale of factors which favor SCC. * Conducting nondestructive examinations of pipe surfaces when exposed for any reason. ‘+ Replacing or recoating problematic areas. * Periodically subjecting problematic segments to a hydrostatic test. In terms of vigilance, proprietary “tisk models* are available that an operator can use to select the segments of pipeline most likely to exhibit SCC. A prudent operator may elect to examine a certain number of these segments in each year’s maintenance program. A thorough inspection of the OD surface is usually carried out when a pipeline segment is examined because of being singled out by a risk evaluation or if segment is exposed for any reason. The preferred inspection technique is wet magnetic particle inspection. Replacement or recoating of pipeline segments is done in the most critical cases where cracking continues to be a problem that cannot be dealt with by means of less expensive mitigation methods. ‘The preferred strategy for controlling SCC, in segments which have a demonstrated history of SCC problems, is periodic hydrostatic retesting. The objective is to conduct tests at a118 Stress Corrosion Cracking frequency that is high enough to assure that no crack grows large enough to cause a service failure in the interval between tests. Those that have grown large enough to fail in the test will be eliminated and the test pressure level will establish the threshold remaining crack size. Models to predict retest intervals based on crack growth are in various stages of development, ‘but none has been accepted as an industry standard as yet. Obviously, the higher the test Pressure, the smaller the remaining crack size will be, and the longer will be the allowable interval between tests. ‘On the horizon, there exists the strong possibility that an in-line inspection tool will emerge with a demonstrable degree of reliability for finding and characterizing the remaining strength of pipes containing SCC colonies. To date more than one such tool has been tried, but none has proven completely satisfactory. However, the technology is evolving rapidly, and when such a tool becomes available, it will make the job of controlling SCC easier, cheaper and more reliable than the altematives available today. In particular, the use of reliable in-line tools is to be preferred over hydrostatic testing because the crack-affected areas will be identified. With hydrostatic testing, the operator learns only about areas where the cracks are big enough to fail The following references are reviewed individually in the next part of this document. A. table is also provided to assist the reader in deciding which of the references will best suit his or her purposes. References | through 21 are primarily of historical interest. They describe the industry's attempt to understand the high-pH SCC phenomenon and to develop solutions for new and existing pipelines. References 22 through 49 are more focused on models of both the high- pH and near-neutral-pH forms of cracking. The one reference that every interested person should consider reading is References 42, the "public inquiry" conducted by the National Energy Board of Canada. This document was written with input from many of the experts in the field. It is the best summary of the SCC problem and the industry's efforts to control it. A close second in terms of relevance to all aspects of understanding and controlling SCC is Reference 43, a “handbook” compiled by experts associated with the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. Although not reviewed, References 47 and 48 probably present the latest and most thorough descriptions of the two recognized SCC phenomena. A quick scan of the two documents indicates that they are likely more suitable for those interested in in-depth studies of SCC than for those interested in a quick overview.10. i. 12. 1-9 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking REFERENCES Fessler, R. R., *Stress-Corrosion Cracking”, 4" Symposium on Line Pipe Research, AGA. Catalog No. 130075, p. F-1 (1969). Sutcliffe, J. M., Fessler, R. R., Boyd, W. K., and Parkins, R. N., “Stress Corrosion Cracking of Carbon Steel in Carbonate Solutions”, Corrosion—NACE, 28, (8), p. 313-320 (August 1972). Fessler, R. R., Wenk, R. L., Berry, W. E., Osbome, D. E., Parkins, R. N., and Elsea, A. R., “Determination of Inhibitors to be Added to Pipeline-Coating Systems to Prevent Stress-Corrosion Cracking”, NG-18 Report to the American Gas Association, Pipeline Research Committee, Battelle Memorial Institute, pp 39 (August 31, 1973). Brooman, E. W., “Stress-Corrosion Cracking Inhibition", 6* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No, L30175, pp 14 (1979). Wenk, R. L., “Field Investigation of Stress-Corrosion Cracking”, 5* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30174, pp 22 (1974). Parkins, R. N., “The Controlling Parameters in Stress-Corrosion Cracking”, 5* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30174, pp 40 (1974). Berry, W. E., “Stress-Corrosion Cracking Laboratory Experiments”, 5* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30174, pp 43 (1974). Fessier, R. R., “Applications of Stress-Corrosion-Cracking Research to the Pipeline Problem’, 5* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30174, pp 22 (ag74), Fessler, R. R., “Overview of Solutions to the Stress-Corrosion Cracking Problem”, 6% Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 10 (1979). Fessler, R. R., “Preventative Measures for Pipeline Stress-Corrosion Cracking Described”, Oi! and Gas Journal (January 7, 1980). Bartol, J. A., etal, “Environmentally Induced Cracking of Natural Gas and Liquid Pipelines - Volume I. Technical Report, Volume 2. Appendices A and B®, Contract No. DOT-OS-60519, U.S. Department of Transportation, Report No. DOT/MTB/OPSO- 78/01, PB 282 923, PB 282 924 (December 1977). Barlo, T. J., “Stress-Corrosion Cracking Stee! Susceptibility”, 6* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 17 (1979).1B. 14. 15, 16. 7. 18, 19. 20. 21. 23. 24. 11-10 Siress Corrosion Cracking Parkins, R. N., “Stress-Corrosion Cracking Strain Aging and Creep”, 6* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 22 (1979). Fessler, R. R., *Stress-Corrosion Cracking Temperature Effects”, 6" Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. 130175, pp 10 (1979). Barlo, T. J., “Effects of Hydrostatic Retests on Stress-Corrosion Cracking”, 6* ‘Symposium of Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 9 (1979). Barlo, T. J., Berry, W. A., Fessler, R. R., and Biber, R. J., “Effects of Hydrostatic Retesting on Stress Corrosion Cracking’, NG-18 Report No. 137 to the American Gas Association, Battelle Memorial Institute, A.G.A. Catalog No. L51444, pp 34 (October 31, 1983). Fletcher, E. E., and Fessler, R. R., “Laboratory Studies of Interrupted Cathodic Protection”, 6* Symposium of Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 20 (1979) Parkins, R. N., “Interrupted Cathodic Protection Concepts", 6% Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 16 (1979). Mercer, W. L., ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking—Controi Through Understanding” 6* ‘Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 32 (1979). Beavers, J. A., and Parkins, R. N., “Recent Advances in Understanding Factors Affecting Stress-Corrosion Cracking of Line-Pipe Steels”, * Symposium on Line Pipe Research, AG.A. Catalog No. L 51495, Paper No. 25, pp 13 (1986). Christman, T. K., “Evaluation of Stress-Corrosion Cracking of Newly Developed Grade ‘X70 and X80 Line Pipe Steels", NG-18 Report No. 173 to the American Gas Association, Battelle Memorial Institute, A.G.A. Catalogue L51563, pp 23 (August 1988). Leis, B. N., “Update on Stress-Corrosion-Crack Life Predictions Models for Pipelines", EPRG/NG-18 Eighth Biennial Joint Technical Meeting on Line Pipe Research, Vol. I, Paper No. 12, pp 20 (1991). Leis, B. N., and Parkins, R. N., “Modeling Stress-Corrosion Cracking of High-Pressure Gas Pipelines", 6% Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L51680, Paper No. 19, pp 24 (1993). Parkins, R.N., and Delanty, B. S., “Transgranular Stress Corrosion Cracking of High- Pressure Pipelines in Contact with Near-Neutral pH Solutions”, &* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L51680, Paper No. 16, pp 18 (1993).25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31, 32. 33. 34, 35. 1-1 Siress Corrosion Cracking Beavers, J. A., “On the Mechanism of Stress Corrosion Cracking of Natural Gas Pipelines", 8 Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. 151680, Paper 17, pp 11 (1993). Wells, D. B., “SCC Threshold Stress in Line Pipe Steels", 6 Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L51680, Paper No. 18, pp 15 (1993). Parkins, R. N., “Line Pipe Stress Corrosion Cracking-Prevention and Control", 10* EPRG/PRC Meeting, Paper No. 28, pp 16 (April 1995). Zheng, W., Revie, R. W., MacLeod, F. A., Tyson, W. R., and Shen, G., “Pipeline SCC in ‘Near-Neutral pH Environment: Recent Progress’, 1" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, Vol. 1, pp 485-493 (1996). Zheng, W., Revie, R. W., Dinardo, O., MacLeod, F. A., Tyson, W. R., and Kiff, D., “Pipeline SCC in Near-Neutral pH Environment: Effects of Environment and Metallurgical Variables", # Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 22, PRC Jnternational (1996). Beavers, J. A., and Harle, B. A., “Mechanisms of High-pH and Near-Neutral-pH SCC of Underground Pipelines", J“ International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 555-564 (1996). Parkins, R. N., and Delanty, B. S., “The Initiation and Early Stages of Growth of Stress. Corrosion Cracks in Pipeline Steel Exposed to a Dilute, Near-Neutral pH Solution”, 9" Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 19, PRC International, pp 13 (1996). Beavers, J. A., and Hagerdom, E. L., “Near-Neutral pH SCC: Mechanical Effects on Crack Propagation’, 9* Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 24, PRC International, pp 19 (1996). Kharionovsky, V. V., and Tchemi, V. P., “Stress and Strain State of 2 Gas Pipeline in Conditions of Stress-Corrosion’, 1 International Pipeline Conference, ASME, Vol. 1, pp 479-483 (1996). Kirshnamurthy, R. M., MacDonald, R. W., and Marreck, P.M., “ Stress Corrosion Cracking of a Liquid Transmission Line”, J" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, Vol. 1, pp 495-506 (1996). ‘Wilmott, M. J., and Diakow, D. A., “Factors Influencing Stress Corrosion Cracking of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Detailed Studies Following a Pipeline Failure. Part 1 Environmental Considerations", 1" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, Vol. 1, pp 507-524 (1996).36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 4. 42. 43. 45. 47. 1-2 ‘Siress Corrosion Cracking Wilmott, M. J. and Diakow, D. A., “Factors Influencing Stress Corrosion Cracking of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Detailed Studies Following a Pipeline Failure. Part 2: Metallurgy and Mechanical Testing”, !” International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 573-585 (1996). Sergeyeva, T. K., Tychkin, I. A., and Vasiliev, G. G., “Hydrogen-Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking of Pipe Lines of Russia”, /" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 525-532 (1996) Karpov, S., Korolyov, M., and Sergeyeva, T., “Study of Stress-Corrosion Cracks, Physical and Mechanical Properties of Steel After Hydrostatic Testing”, 1" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 547-554 (1996). Plumtree, A., and Lambert, S. B., “Stress Corrosion Crack Growth of Pipeline Steels in NS4 Solution”, 1* International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 565-571 (1996). Asahi, H., Kushida, T., Kimura, M., Fukai, H., and Okano, S., “The Investigation on Stress Corrosion Cracking in a Carbonate-Bicarbonate Solution and Its Mechanism from Metallurgical Aspects", 9 Symposium on Pipeline Research, Papet No. 17, PRC International (1996). Leis, B. N., “Stress-Corrosion Cracking in Gas Transmission Pipelines—The Interplay Between Serviceability and Inspection”, 9" Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 23, PRC Intemational (1996). “Public Inquiry Concerning Stress Corrosion Cracking on Canadian Oil and Gas Pipelines”, National Energy Board, MH-2-95, Catalog No. NE23-58/1996E, pp 158 (November 1996). *Stress Corrosion Cracking-Recommended Practices", Canadian Energy Pipeline ‘Association (CEPA) (May 1997). Wilmott, M., Emo, B., Jack, T., and Worthingham, R., “The Role of Coatings in the Development of Corrosion and Stress Corrosion Cracking on Gas Transmission Pipelines”, International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 399-408 (1998). Beavers, J. A., Durr, C. L., and Delanty B. S., “High-pH SCC: Temperature and Potential Dependence for Cracking in Field Environments”, International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 423-437 (1998). Jaske, C. E., and Beavers, J. A., “Review and Proposed Improvement of a Failure Model for SCC of Pipelines”, International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 439-445 (1998). Parkins, R. N., “Overview of Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking Research Activities", Project PR-232-9401, PRCI (November 1994).49. 1-13 ‘Seress Corrosion Cracking Parkins, R. N., “A Review of Stress Corrosion Cracking of Pipelines in Contact with Near-Neutral (Low) pH Solutions®, Project PR-232-970, PRCI (April 1999). Eiber, R. J. and Leis, B. N., ‘Protocol to Prioritize Sites for High pH Stress-Corrosion Cracking on Gas Pipelines", Project 3-9403, PRCI (September 1998).u-4 x |= xf [= | et [wey [sae] evomaannne a mst saxon mem x x fox fox [x] x [oo | mat | omarvoy |, te, tang uo Sea ORG Hoa el eae meearne ioe x x] x xfox foe [we [ouvoy | ersten sag ue oom a x efx fox fal foo | an | onrvoy [S| ame) coment wna bearers es 0 ee eee x Se 2 a ee Gd ee ees ol ‘eu ptrp a Jemwozod | seve | wv Reg] suri teneo roe sums : Sele bel en ever | SS roel vw : TR x x | x x] [ome [ae [avo | 228t0| ermmo euenmipmanees mea x |x | see [x fmm] ce | st | onvoy [erste | vem apes abaantace mara x w]e fox [xl foo fon | owvoy [arse | awe aman toppagwysuegyane x x |x xf x fo | met | omvoy | ager | sr) seueganasumauens tine ee eae ee |r| ea | ns | omrvoy | 2438427) rama] sen womans snags rr x x | x x] x | | wat | oxuvow [380° | among] eng see9 oem ou pe ; x x foe fom fe] x Pe” car | oumvoy [tists : cs ‘orev oreo cons x x |x xfox [os | ae | owvoy | see spas wogng o taponn won Hea x x] x ourvoy | wala seeag conan w wa Ta a sansa ms somag | "me crn Tupppean woysennep eaangnezsiea n-15 ae x Temenos DO] woe aanorans Roo] x | x x £ | sat [emo i] MERLAA — qauntuabenonectenpetene aaa = er x |x x x] | a | om | ouvow | Faron [etl anmiounvn cosminetey wages Tmt | cpgigaal me HBR aC onea ra rt x | x x x]ox | | ser | ou | Sener | se'seua ee teres an tage pegeapreteg wrap a te aaa = tox bo | pea froma aa [am | va maa podionen srr] “vt ema] ubomncanpcne@n pean eeonewany bay x] x x x] fo | cen | meee remanence sweunnuritamieate 28 228 eee : xl le fcc fmstteaay raters roost wou nance oa x | x x [|x [xl x [0 | sn | owvev — poppy wo amma senna x x x orate a 661 ouarvov | % toms och aur ea Sang PrOEAMYL, 20S x x x] ox fou | car | owvev seepncuoeong mas ramtteg | ‘$a ‘hunjsql alin x | x x |x |xfx fom | cca | omvov es er lr trem wou ong ee 2 alee : warmed eda os 7 = aan “Nee 's17T] —-¥84H4 0 FupAoeID vopsouIDD-ssang Sup>poPt| x x fee 7 vest owvov ‘Ne ae ee . anvpennnony sey 0 =a} x | x x xl x |e | wa | owvov orm aor onc x00 Pte Ae pet ieebeyersee erp "Nu ‘supsengl ea] x | x x x] x ] oa | om | owvev ZW agro fee ening mens tee] ae pesca ney eo x 7 eeazel — meme stro ong touo etn) ag x x ouarvow | 4 Nw ‘sued -sedacuc.) wowawong spoyre’ poxdeusey| 3} afore a aaa ory sume | wpa [oo manets a [sme | oom0 Bapppeay wosonsey SAG oN1-16 pong Bey $y ——sgerepnaee = = x — [si91 ru 9 _seong Hd wi 409 sms sanyHOM oF Josen0H4l = ; a a woe emaftneaponcen grea ae 2igkenemenees = x x ‘$661 SARSW GaREIAY SUPPER coop neg ener saneaan seal = ia il - = amy #30 wowanorday posodacg pus a2 ; eae Fiala ee ee ~crarramo amar aed aires Pe ee adele Saeed spose rs fs [ef Tee [ee eee, [on ies c a Sopecomccune] Pale |ae ype fe] pm | om eee ion oon aoe rn 7] reife a ee ace ns| Soares a Tacneeory ae =n ea ; eee tea ee eae aoeanmeeesca Pet al - aaa aaa ae ; “Pete [= ee Scum one ea Sooec = ee yx lele |e | om [some SS oa rena etme eer ame = eee x foe fel x] a | nn ESSE arse | poze seounse Ree oar ac ee | = eae ee eee i aaa aa seman taper | ehaoqiearseyny | Tay ww |) sie] aiqepuey |aousizedea [ieee] spamay | saleg |wepermaag | ena, vooameg | Whacuiny nt Sent ts [on eon eee eae as ae pe ee) ee |S oe [rea] soa = Buppavap wosonne seg1-17 aay a PS SD Ty PE pS TEE ATP ST TT ATT] Ej og ag SF ah A ee eo MEST HE Hy MPF OTe aS w mamas proent | Aimeg | eat [usd | ae posses ‘m0 aE RT| HRT POTN | AE Buppansn wojeni03 sg11-18 Siress Corrosion Cracking Reference 1 Fessler, R. R,, *“Stress-Corrosion Cracking”, 4" Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30075, p. F-1 (1969). This is the earliest known paper on the subject of SCC in pipelines. It appeared in 1969, 4 years, after the first recognized occurrence of a pipeline service failure from SCC (March 1965). It describes SCC research started in 1965 by the NG-18 Committee under A.G.A. (forerunner of the present Line Pipe Research Supervisory Committee of PRC International), In the paper SCC is defined as being a cracking mechanism caused by tensile stress in a specific chemical environment. The characteristics of SCC in general and with respect to pipelines are described. It is noted that the world-renown experts, R. N. Parkins and H. H. Ublig, were retained to assist Battelle researchers in determining the causes of SCC in buried pipelines and in efforts to develop preventative measures. Field and laboratory studies are described in which the objectives were to determine the factors which cause SCC in buried pipelines. The factors included soil type, coating condition, stress, temperature, electrostatic potential and chemical environment. The study of inhibitors and methods to administer them on both new and existing pipelines is discussed. ‘The contents of the paper show that, at that time, disbonded coating was a suspected contributor to SCC, that the environment under a disbonded coating was alkaline (pH 10 to 12)" and that sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate were present in solutions taken from under such coatings. No evidence had been uncovered that could tie the phenomenon to a common soil characteristic. ‘The type of cracking observed at the time was characterized by clusters of branched, tight, intergranular cracks coated with a black-colored oxide comprised mostly of magnetite (Fe,0,) sometimes accompanied by iron carbonate. The SCC phenomenon had been observed in both coated and bare pipelines in grades ranging from Grade B through X52. Partial shielding from the beneficial effects of cathodic protection was suspected to play a role. At this time only the high-pH form of SCC had been recognized. Itwas not until the early 1980s that pipeliners recognized that another fora of SCC was oveurring in some pipelines (i, near-neural pH SCC).11-19 Siress Corrosion Cracking ‘The laboratory work to that point in time had succeeding in producing SCC in line pipe in ammonium nitrate and sodium hydroxide solutions which had been known previously to cause cracking in mild steel. Work was also underway to determine whether inhibitors could be used on pipeline rights-of-way to prevent SCC in existing pipelines. Mention is made of an “inspection device” being pursued by an “equipment company” to find SCC in an operating pipeline. Reference 2 Sutcliffe, J. M., Fessler, RR., Boyd, W.K., and Parkins, R.N., “Stress Corrosion Cracking ‘of Carbon Steel in Carbonate Solutions”, Corrosion NACE, 28, (8), p. 313-320 (August 1972). ‘The work described in this paper started with the premise and proved that carbonate solutions would produce intergranular SCC in carbon steels. Previous research had shown that SCC in carbon steels occurred in nitrate and hydroxide solutions. The work also identified the form of the potentiodynamic polarization curves and microstructural dependence of the corrosive attack, which were known to promote SCC in carbon steels. The majority of the work was, conducted at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. under the auspices of the Pipeline Research Committee of the NG-18 Committee of the A.G.AJPRC. Constant strain rate SCC tests, with some supplemental constant strain and constant load tests, showed that intergranular cracking would occur in certain ranges of electrode potential in carbonate solutions over a wide range of concentrations and temperatures with NH, Na, or K as the cation. The range of potentials for cracking, which varied with solution composition and temperature, was shown to coincide with that range in which polarization curves obtained at different sweep rates indicated marked anodic activity and strong passivating tendencies. It was shown that for SCC to occur in carbon steels the crack and other surfaces must be relatively inactive, i¢., “passivated” while dissolution occurs at the crack tip—if not, then just pitting and general corrosion occurs. At more negative potentials than those that promoted intergranular cracking, superficial transgranular fissuring was first detected and then, as the potential was moved towards even more negative values, a progressive loss in ductility was observed due to hydrogen entry into the steel.11-20 ‘Siress Corrosion Cracking The important practical result of the present work was the discovery of a new intergranular stress corrosion system involving ferritic steels. The potent solutions contained CO,? and HCO,, together with NH,", Na’, or K’, in proportions such that the initial pH lay approximately in the range from 8 to 10.5. It was concluded that intergranular (high-pH) SCC can occur in ferritic steels in a carbonate solution. The prediction of potential environments which will promote SCC may be assessed by following a procedure outlined in this paper. Reference 3 Fessler, R. R., Wenk, R. L., Berry, W. E., Osbome, D. E., Parkins, R.N., and Elsea, A. R., “Determination of Inhibitors to be Added to Pipeline-Coating Systems to Prevent Stress- Corrosion Cracking", NG-18 Report to the American Gas Association, Battelle Memorial Institute, pp 39 (August 31, 1973). Reference 4 Brooman, E. W., “Stress-Corrosion Cracking Inhibition”, * Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 14 (1979) Both of these references describe studies conducted on various inhibitors which can be applied to a pipeline coating or a pipeline environment for the prevention of SCC. Both of these works were sponsored by the NG-18 Committee of the A.G.A/PRC. ‘The experiments resulted in identifying several effective inhibitors of SCC that could be incorporated in the primer and/or coating. Field and laboratory studies indicated that the most probable environments that may cause SCC are water solutions of carbonate-bicarbonate mixtures, hydroxides, or nitrates. The chemical additives were evaluated in these three environments. Some 80 chemical were evaluated partially with only six chemicals being evaluated fully. (Chromate and lead compounds were eliminated from the study conducted in Reference 3 due to their relatively high toxicity.) Four chemicals were found to be effective inhibitors in all three environments: calcium monobasic phosphate, sodium monobasic phosphate, sodium triphosphate and potassium silicate, It was further found in Reference 4, that chromates were more effective than phosphates and in tum phosphates were more effective than silicates as leachable inhibitors for controlling SCC. Also, some work was done in examining11-21 Stress Corrosion Cracking the possible enhancement of SCC by these inhibitors over certain ranges of concentrations. It ‘was found to be of no practical concern. ‘Itwas determined that applying inhibitors to the environment, i., to the soil above an existing pipeline, was not feasible due to the slow rate of migration to the pipeline as well as possible soil contamination in the case of chromates. It was concluded that chromates added to the pipeline coating were an environmental hazard, Conclusions of both references indicated that the use of appropriate inhibitors in the coating of a pipeline was a viable approach to controlling high-pH SCC. ‘The problem is that this offers no help for existing pipelines. When it was later recognized that another form of SCC existed, ({e., near-neutral-pH SCC), it was recognized that a major factor in this form of cracking ‘was one or two types of existing coatings. By avoiding these coatings, an operator could greatly reduce the exposure of a new pipeline to SCC. In fact, in the evolution of coatings it appears that neither type of SCC occurs readily under the mew generation of coatings, thus interest in inhibitors in coatings has waned. A final point about coatings worth noting is that no coating stands up to excavation damage. Since, SCC has been known to develop in areas of mechanical damage, especially because of the high local residual stress induced by denting and cold ‘working, the idea of having SCC inhibitors present in the coating still has merit. Reference 5 Wenk, R. L., “Field Investigation of Stress-Corrosion Cracking", 5* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No, L30174, pp 22 (1974). This paper describes studies of the factors associated with occurrences of service and ‘hydrostatic test failures in natural gas pipelines caused by SCC. The work was conducted at Battelle under the sponsorship of the NG-18 Committee of A.G.A. (forerunner of the current Line Pipe Research Supervisory Committee of PRC International), The common characteristics of SCC discovered in buried pipelines up to that time were described: clusters of cracks formed at the OD surface perpendicular to the hoop stress direction (in most cases). The cracks are tight, branched, intergranular, and coated with black-colored Fe,0, oxide (magnetite) with iron11-22 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking carbonate being found in some’cases as well. Little or no pitting or general corrosion was found in conjunction with SCC.” The field studies revealed a number of things based on examinations of 35 lengths of pipe in which SCC was found to have occurred. Nothing unique was found about the type of line pipe steel or manufacturing process. No unique locations or soil types were identified. No unique coating type was associated with the failures. Common factors included the occurrence of coating disbondment, the existence of alkaline solutions or salts under the disbonded coatings, ion species consisting of carbonate and bicarbonate ions, and a propensity for most failures to occur in relatively close proximity to the ischarge sides of compressor stations where both stress and temperature levels are highest. Of 229 hydrostatic test failures and 23 service failures from SCC, 92 percent were found to have occurred within 20 miles downstream from a compressor station. Reference 6 Parkins, R. N., ‘The Controlling Parameters in Stress-Corrosion Cracking”, 5* ‘Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30174, pp 40 (1974), This paper provides detailed discussions of the role of stress, strain rate, the electrochemical environment, and the mechanical and chemical properties of the steel in the ‘occurrence of high-pH SCC. Crack propagation is described as requiring a balance between these interdependent parameters. Dissolution of the material at the crack tip is necessary for crack advance while simultaneously, the sides of the crack must be passivated lest the form of attack becomes pitting instead of cracking. Stress is seen as having the role of breaking the crack tip film and allowing dissolution. However, the rate at which material is exposed at the crack tip is critical. Hence, strain rate or creep is seen as the primary necessary ingredient. A threshold stress is the level below which creep exhaustion occurs faster than increasing creep. When that ‘occurs, crack growth ceases because the crack tip becomes passivated by a film of corrosion products. ae ‘These are the classic characteristics of high-pH SCC. ‘The near neutral-pH form of SCC, which was only recognized inthe carly 1980s has some what different characteristics.11-23 Stress Corrosion Cracking ‘The role of various alloying clements was examined. Since soluble carbon at grain boundaries is thought to facilitate cracking, carbide formers such as titanium might be beneficial. However, the amounts of such elements required to tie up all soluble carbon appear to make this approach uneconomical. Reference 7 Berry, W. E., "Stress-Corrosion Cracking Laboratory Experiments", 5* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A., Catalog No. L30174, pp 43 (1974), This document describes laboratory test methods used to study high-pH SCC in the early 1970s, Findings of these tests are also discussed. The objectives were to determine the causes of ‘SCC (high-pH SCC being the only form recognized at that time), to examine effects of operating and environmental parameters, and to seek solutions to the SCC problem. The work was focused on stress, strain, and strain rate effects; electrode potential; temperature, three chemical environments suspected of causing SCC; carbon content; surface condition of the steel; and inhibitors that might prevent or retard cracking. In all of the tests, line pipe materials known to be susceptible (i.e, those having been removed because of the discovery of SCC) were used. Constant load tests, conducted on specimens with machined surfaces, produced cracking only at stress levels at or above the actual yield strength of the material. Constant strain-rate tests emerged as a reliable means of producing cracks in all three test environments. The main parameter use to judge the results was percent reduction of area upon failure. Also useful were notched-bar tests and precracked cantilever beam tests (especially when the latter were tested at constant strain rates), Although the fact is not discussed in this paper, the relative success of the strain-rate tests for producing SCC was due to the fact that on-going plastic strain is necessary to continually break-up or prevent the formation of passivating oxide films at the crack tip thereby exposing the material to the environment at a critical rate, Three environments were suspected of producing SCC at the time. (These were ‘Na,COyNaHCO, (carbonate/bicarbonate), NaOH (sodium hydroxide), and NHNO, (ammonium nitrate) all in aqueous solutions. Later, it was concluded that the NaCO,/NaHCO, environment is, the critical environment for causing high pH SCC in buried pipelines.124 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking ‘These studies showed that cracking occurs within relatively narrow electrode potential ranges for both NaOH and Na,CO,/NaHCO, solutions. In contrast, the range for cracking in ‘NELNO, solutions was found to be relatively broad. The critical range for Na,CO,/NaHCO, solutions was found to lie between -670 mV and -770 mV (CwCuSO, reference half cell). This ange lies below the level usually regarded as constituting adequate cathodic protection (-850 mV Cu/CuSO,). This finding apparently led to the conclusion that high-pH SCC is caused by the build up of a carbonate/bicarbonate (pH 9 to 11) environment because of coating disbondment and holidays in the coating. It was concluded that the potential under a disbonded coating would tend to deteriorate because of the IR drop to the point where even though the potential at the holiday was adequate, it would lie within the critical range for cracking at some point under the disbonded coating. The high pH carbonate-bicarbonate environment was thought to be oreated by the cathodic reaction from CO, dissolved in ground water. These early hypotheses regarding the electrode potential and the Na,CO,/NaHCO environment turned out to be essentially correct. The work with NaOH and NH, NO, environments was eventually discontinued. At this time near-surface decarburization was felt to contribute to SCC initiation. It was shown at this time that a decarburized layer (<< 0.25-percent carbon) did enhance crack initiation in comparison to a material with a carbon content of 0.25 percent in constant load tests. Oxide films (rust or mill scale) were shown to increase susceptibility to SCC because these layers tended to keep the electrode potential under a disbonded coating within the critical cracking range for longer periods of time. Finally, this document discusses the search for chemical compounds which might be used to inhibit SCC. The criteria for successful inhibitors included not only preventing initiation of cracks but retarding the growth of existing cracks. It was envisioned, at the time, that solutions of effective inhibitors could be injected into the soil along the pipeline and that, as they migrated down to the pipeline, they would effectively prevent or retard the growth of cracks, As was discovered later, this technique proved to be impractical. Not enough inhibitor could be expected to reliably arrive at the pipeline by diffusion through the soil. While the technique has occasionally been reconsidered, the practical barriers have not been overcome.11-25 ‘Stress Corrasion Cracking Reference 8 Fessler, R. R., “Applications of Stress-Corrosion-Cracking Research to the Pipeline Problem”, 5" Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30174, pp 22 (1974). Reference 9 Fessler, R. R., “Overview of Solutions to the Stress-Corrosion Cracking Problem", 6* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 10 (1979). Reference 10 Fessler, R. R., “Preventative measures for pipeline stress-corrosion cracking described”, Oil and Gas Journal (January 7, 1980). These three papers are grouped together as they essentially cover the same material. Reference 9 is an update of Reference 8 and the journal article, Reference 10, is a brief review of the information contained in Reference 9. The papers outline the state-of-the-art during a progression of time regarding possible solutions to controlling SCC in pipelines. Fessler reiterates the five interrelated factors that have a strong influence on whether a stress corrosion crack will initiate, grow and its rate of growth: © Environment—SCC will only occur in a limited number of chemical environments. + Potential—For any chemical environment, there is a restricted range of potentials in which SCC can occur. ‘¢ Metal—The type and condition of the metal will influence the rate of crack growth and types of environment that will support crack growth. ‘© Stress and rate of strain—These two parameters are so closely related that they are considered together as a single factor. ‘+ Temperature—While temperature has a strong influence on the rate of cracking,” it cannot be changed enough to completely eliminate stress corrosion cracking unless the environment is vaporized or frozen. Applicable to high-p# SCC only. When the near-neutralpH form of SCC was finally recognized as a separate phenomenon, its occurrence was found tobe relatively independent of temperature.11-26 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking Fessler briefly looks at the experience with SCC in other industries for applicability of their solutions to the pipeline problem. He then discusses preventive measures that can be directly applied to pipelines. Then, eighteen possible methods for preventing or retarding SCC at the outside diameter of a pipeline are discussed as grouped according to the following factors: Modify the Environment 1, Avoid aggressive soils 2. Isolate the pipe from any liquid environments with a better coating 3. Use of inhibitor-containing coatings 4, Add inhibitors to the right-of-way 5. Upset the formation of the carbonate-bicarbonate environment ‘Change the Potential 6. Move the potential out of the cracking range 7. Fluctuate the potential 8. Affect the potential through changes in surface condition of the steel ‘Modify the Steel 9. Shot peen or grit blast 10. Select a steel with a special composition 11, Select a particular grade (strength level) of steel 12, Design for a heavier wall thickness 13, Eliminate surface decarburization 14. Strain aging Control the Stress 15. Lower the maximum allowable stress 16. Control pressure fluctuations 17. Periodic hydrostatic retesting Lower the Temperature 18. Lower the temperature127 Stress Corrosion Cracking ‘The foregoing eighteen items shows those areas which were being or were to be pursued at that time. According to the author, the most promising approaches in terms of technical feasibility were: + For the pipe already in the ground: —Control pressure fluctuations —Lower discharge temperatures —Include hydrostatic retesting and —Pethaps interrupted cathodic protection., + For future pipelines (additional measures to be considered): —Inhibitor-containing coating systems —Shot peening or grit blasting for inducing a favorable stress states as well as —Removal of mill scale (completely) before coating —Insure optimum coating properties by care in application, inspection and use —Pethaps improved steels that are resistant to SCC. ‘The author states that the optimum solution to the problem of SCC may vary from one pipeline to another and, as mentioned, above will be different for existing pipelines and for future pipelines. Reference 11 Bartol, J. A., et al., “Environmentally Induced Cracking of Natural Gas and Liquid Pipelines. Volume I. Technical Report, Volume 2. Appendices A and B*, Contract No. DOT-OS-69519, U.S. Department of Transportation, Report No. DOT/MTB/OPSO- 78/01, PB 282 923, PB 282 924 (December 1977). This report reviews and summarizes the information available, i.e., reports and technical papers, regarding environmentally induced (EI) cracking of natural gas and liquid pipelines. The investigation presented in this report was divided into several tasks: 1 Review all reported cases of environmentally induced cracking and characterize these with respect to all factors regarding pipe material, construction, operation, environment, and other pertinent conditions. Review existing theories of causes and mechanisms underlying such cracking, Based on the foregoing, formulate predictions of the probable extent and likely locations of future occurrences of these types of failures.11-28 ‘Siress Corrosion Cracking 4. Survey the methods available for identifying, locating and evaluating these problems and the extent and adequacy of inspection methods in use for pipelines. 5. Identify any further research needed to cope with or forestall recurrence of these problems. ‘This report details the authors’ findings in these five areas and is replete with good references. ‘The authors concluded that the frequency of occurrence of environmentally-induced cracking in pipelines is very low when compared to all other causes of failures. In comparison to other causes of incidents that result in fatalities, injuries and significant property damage, El cracking accounted for less than 1 percent of the incidents in the U.S. at that time. ‘The authors found that stress corrosion cracking’, one of the four sub-classes of El, represents the majority of the failure incidents from EI. However, they could not conclude how serious a problem this would be in the future since the mechanisms of pipeline SCC initiation, incubation, and propagation/arrest were not fully know at that time. The authors state that of the remaining three sub-classes of EI, only hydrogen stress cracking (HSC) appears to warrant serious consideration after SCC. These HSC failures were associated with “hard spots” in the pipe wall produced by a deficient pipe manufacturing process being cracked as the result of hydrogen produced by cathodic protection. They noted that several in-line inspection tools are available that can detect hard spots in a reliable manner. The authors farther state that corrosion fatigue (CF) and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) have been identified as, the cause of cracking in a relatively few instances. ‘The authors identified the pipe coating system as the key element in protecting the exterior pipe surface from attack. However, they also found that the coating systems in use at that time did not exclude the environment from the pipe wall in the long term. They found that cathodic protection used to overcome the shortcomings of the coating system, in fact, sometimes tended to furnish one of the necessary elements in starting and promoting SCC and HSC. ‘Their recommendations were classified into five categories: 1. Improve data collection 2. Initiating a monitoring system 3. Conduct future research and development At the time this work was carried out high-pH SCC was the only recognized form of SCC.11-29 Stress Corrosion Cracking 4, Assure participation of pipeline operators 5. Address the need for better coating systems on future pipelines. ‘They provided a discussion of these five categories and concluded that implementation of these ‘would serve to elose the gaps in the present knowledge and understanding, and to increase the awareness of all those concerned with pipeline safety. Again, their main conclusion as well as their main recommendation was the need for a superior pipeline coating system. Reference 12 Barlo, T. J,, “Stress-Corrosion Cracking Steel Susceptibility”, 6* Symposium on Line Pipe Research, A.G.A. Catalog No. L30175, pp 1-17 (1979). ‘This paper examines the five conditions that must be present at appropriated levels for high-pH_ SCC to occur: ‘The environment next to the pipe ‘The potential at the pipe surface The state of stress The temperature The condition of the steel. payee Because these factors are interrelated, the value of each factor will, in turn, control the threshold stress of a particular steel. In this paper each of these factors was examined, but ‘emphasis was given to the metallurgical factors that control the susceptibility of the steel. Environment. Extensive field failure examinations have shown that the environment most likely responsible for SCC of pipelines is a solution of sodium carbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate. Even though other environments, like nitrates and hydroxides can cause SCC in pipelines under certain conditions, the carbonate-bicarbonate solutions are the most likely ‘environment to build up next to the pipeline. Potential. SCC will occur within a well-defined range of potentials. However, the range is affected by the concentration and type of environment. Generally, the critical point associated11-30 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking with the lowest threshold stress is not affected by steel type or composition nor by various surface treatments, Stress State. Experiments have shown that cyclic loads can reduce the threshold stress for SCC, sometimes significantly. For one particular steel it was found that a stress frequency of the order of 1 cycle per 3 days and a stress variation of « 1.5 or 5 percent of the mean stress lowered the threshold by 60 percent. At the time this paper was written, the magnitude of this effect on any given steel was not predictable. Temperature. This effect was not quantifiable at the time this paper was written. Steel Condition. Extensive field experience has indicated that grade, size, and method of manufacture of the pipe steel are not critical with regard to being an indicator of the relative susceptibility of the steel to SCC. However, the principal metallurgical factors that do influence susceptibility to SCC are the microstructure, thermomechanical history, and surface treatment. ‘No one microstructure has been found to be more susceptible to SCC, but a partial 100 mV Narrow (< 100 mV) ‘Temperature Dependence Not Established Arrhenius Behavior Reference 31 Parkins, R. N., and Delanty, B. S., “The Initiation and Early Stages of Growth of Stress Corrosion Cracks in Pipeline Steel Exposed to a Dilute, Near-Neutral pH Solution”, 9 ‘Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 19, PRC fnternational, pp 13 (1996). ‘This paper presents data on the initiation and early stages of crack growth in an X65 line pipe steel exposed to a dilute solution of simulated ground water containing carbon dioxide, CO,, with a pH level at approximately 6.5. Crack initiation was found to be a complex process involving the growth of groups of small cracks. It was observed that the majority of these embryonic cracks from initially plain surfaces rarely extend beyond about 0.02 mm in depth before developing into a pit. A few cracks were observed to continue to grow or initiated from a pit. The growth rates were somewhat dependent on the maximum stress and the magnitude of stress amplitude in cyclic loading—but only at stress conditions that were more severe than an operating pipeline is likely to experience. ‘The authors believe that the scatter seen in their tests on initially plain specimens reflects service experience in the sense that SCC does not invariably occur on operating pipelines even when the environmental conditions are met. The authors also give two possible explanations for the different results. Laboratory conditions sometimes do not replicate field observatior 1. The operating stresses in the field rarely follow the simple repetitive pattem of cyclic loading such as that usually applied in the laboratory. The spectrum of11-50 Siress Corrosion Cracking field load cycles may contain occasional large pressure changes which may be more detrimental than repetitive cycles involving relatively high R values. 2. Laboratory specimens, although they are cut from actual line pipe material or pipelines, do not necessarily possess the residual stresses that are present in the field. Reference 32 Beavers, J. A., and Hagerdom, B. L., *Near-Neutral pH SCC: Mechanical Effects on Crack Propagation’, 9” Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 24, PRC Intemational, pp 19 (1996). The objective of the investigation described in this paper was to determine the roles and synergistic effects of pressure, pressure fluctuations, and hydrostatic testing on stress corrosion crack growth in a near-neutral pH cracking environment. Compact tensile test specimens were prepared from an X65 line pipe steel and tested in a near-neutral-pH electrolyte designated NS4, The NS4 electrolyte is designed to simulate the liquid found beneath disbonded coatings in the vicinity of near-neutral-pH SCC field failures. A gas containing 5-percent CO, and 95-percent N, was bubbled through the liquid to simulate the high levels of CO, found in the soil adjacent to pipelines. It was found that under steady state cyclic loading, the cracking velocity was not a fiction of the applied J-integral value. The prior history on the specimen was the primary controlling factor in determining crack velocity. Decreasing the frequency (from 10* Hz to 10° Hz) and changing the wave form from triangular to trapezoidal decreased the cracking velocity somewhat, but the size of the decrease was believed to be within the range of experimental variation. When the R ratio was decreased from 0.9 to 0.6 the cracking velocity increased by over a factor of 2. Some crack extension occurred during simulated hydrostatic testing but the hydrostatic testing also promoted a decrease in the cracking velocity. Slightly less crack extension occurred upon reloading following unloading of the specimens that had been stressed by simple cycling. These observations indicate that hydrostatic testing may be no more harmful than simple depressurization of a pipeline.1151 ‘Siress Corrosion Cracking Reference 33, Kharionovsky, V. V., and Tchemi, V. P., “Stress and Strain State of a Gas Pipeline in Conditions of Stress-Corrosion”, international Pipeline Conference, ASME, Vol. 1, pp 479-483 (1996). The authors state that insufficient attention is given to the role of mechanical stresses in SCC of gas pipelines. In general, they state that the main stresses considered are the hoop stresses. They believe that the equivalent state of stress in the pipe including stress due to ovalization and/or dents should be considered as well. They conducted a brief analysis to show that there are large increases in the surface stresses due to ovalization and to dents, even smooth and shallow dents. They point out that the majority of SCC failures seen to occur where ovalization and/or denting are present. They conclude with the observation that research needs to be conducted on the influence of varying through-wall stresses and strains on the initiation and propagation of SCC. Reference 34 Kirshnamurthy, R.M., MacDonald, R. W., and Marreck, P. M., * Stress Corrosion Cracking of a Liquid Transmission Line”, J" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, Vol. 1, pp 495-506 (1996). The authors examined the causes of two ruptures in a 610 mm diameter X52 liquid transmission line just down stream from 2 pumping station. To accomplish this and to assess the overall cracking and corrosion status of the pipeline, they picked 136 dig sites (totaling 2500 m) over the entire 300-km length of the pipeline. The soil types and drainage and topography of the sites were recorded. The authors also developed an analytical model using a fracture mechanics approach to aid them in assessing the effects of operating pressure and hydrostatic test pressure. ‘The ruptures initiated at two clusters of cracks, one of 250 mm in length and one of 500 mm in length. The rupture-initiating clusters were the result of the coalescence of small cracks produced by near-neutral pH SCC. The microcracking was transgranular, and it was found to have occurred in a void under a wrinkle in the polyethylene tape coating.11-52 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking ‘This study showed that the deeper and long cracks occurred predominantly in regions of localized corrosion. Seven locations were found where the crack depth exceeded 20 percent of the pipe wall. The maximum crack length discovered was 90 mm, and it was found in conjunction with a colony of localized corrosion. The cracking consistently was found in clusters. Only limited correlation between the soil type and depth of cracking was found. Analysis showed that the predominant corrosion product was siderite (FeCO,) which is consistent with the presence of bicarbonate and low pH. No evidence of bacterial corrosion was found. ‘The authors concluded that cracking in the pipeline was transgranular and the result of a low pH water environment. Only a limited relationship between the depth of cracking and operating pressure was observed. No correlation was found between the type of soil and degree of SCC. Finally, the authors found by comparison with limited excavation and rupture data that their elastic-plastic fracture mechanics approach was adequate to predict a period of safe operation, hydrotest frequency and pressure, and critical crack depth. Reference 35 ‘Wilmott, M. J., and Diakow, D. A., “Factors Influencing Stress Corrosion Cracking of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Detailed Studies Following a Pipeline Failure. Part 1: Environmental Considerations”, /* International Pipeline Conference, ASME, Vol. 1, pp 507-524 (1996). Reference 36 Wilmott, M. J., and Diakow, D. A., “Factors Influencing Stress Corrosion Cracking of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Detailed Studies Following a Pipeline Failure. Part 2: ‘Metallurgy and Mechanical Testing", /" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 573-585 (1996). ‘These two papers provide a detailed account of conditions along a natural gas, transmission pipeline which had sustained a rupture caused by near-neutral-pH SCC. An in-line inspection of the pipeline was carried out. Extensive investigations of the samples of corrosion deposits and soil samples were conducted. In all, 1.1 km of pipe was excavated and replaced. ‘The initial rupture occurred in an externally corroded area approximately 155 mm in length. The11-53 Stress Corrosion Cracking depth of the corroded area was insufficient to produce the rupture, however, a longitudinal stress corrosion crack having an average depth of 66 percent of the wall over a 77 mm length in conjunction with the metal loss was sufficient to cause the failure. After the failure, the pipeline was hydrostatically tested and five addition cracks were detected. Of these five cracks one was associated with a corroded area while four were not. It appeared that all of the cracks were the result of near-neutral-pH SCC. Neither soil type nor mechanical properties of the pipe were correlatable with the ‘occurrence of SCC. However, all of the corrosion and SCC were observed to follow the same geometry of the’ disbondment of the protective coating. Consequently, the results of this investigation suggest that coating disbondment governs the manner in which cracks initiate and propagate. Further the results suggest that emphasis needs to be placed on inspection for SCC not only near welds where tenting of the coating can occur but also under visibly disbonded tape winkles. Reference 37 Sergeyeva, T. K., Tychkin, I. A., and Vasiliev, G. G., “Hydrogen-Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking of Pipe Lines of Russia", !” International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 525-532 (1996). ‘The authors present the results of laboratory studies of SCC-damaged pipeline steels and of steels buried in soils taken from locations where operating failures have occurred. They have observed that the failure mechanism of hydrogen-induced stress-corrosion cracking (HISCC) is realized during hydrogenation of the steel during plastic deformation. Their laboratory and field studies indicated that HISCC usually developed in diluted neutral or low acid electrolytes (pH's between 5.6 and 7.0) at temperatures < 40 C. They also noted that signs of SCC may be deterioration of the coating, micro-brittle character of the fractures, and that SCC occurs in the lower part of the pipe (Where denting is usually most prevalent). The cracks they observed were parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe.11-54 ‘Siress Corrosion Cracking Reference 38 Karpov, S., Korolyov, M., and Sergeyeva, T., “Study of Stress-Corrosion Cracks, Physical and Mechanical Properties of Steel After Hydrostatic Testing”, 1" International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 547-54 (1996). This paper discusses the results of hydrostatic tests conducted on SCC-damaged pipe specimens and tensile tests of pipe fragments that were taken from gas pipelines (X65 and perhaps X70) that had undergone hydrostatic testing to rupture, Analyses of both types of specimens during and after loading was done by local nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, magnetic-particle, ultrasonic, eddy current and vibration acoustic techniques. No enlargement of defects was detected by the NDE techniques. They concluded that hydrostatic retesting does not produce any significantly harmful effect on pipe with SCC cracks. Reference 39 Plumntree, A., and Lambert, S. B., “Stress Corrosion Crack Growth of Pipeline Steels in ‘NS4 Solution”, /* International Pipeline Conference, ASME, pp 565-571 (1996). SCC growth tests were conducted on one pipe steel of Grade X60. Only near-neutral ‘SCC was investigated and then only the presumed last stage of near-neutral SCC, ice, fast growth of a dominant crack. The authors conducted cyclic loading tests on samples of the steel in dilute and noutral electrolyte (NS4) in which transgranular SCC was produced, (NS¢ is a non- classical electrolyte designed by TransCanada Pipelines that is adjusted and controlled at a pH value of between 6.5 and 7.) The tests were conducted at a temperature of 25 C with the potential at the free corrosion level, Fatigue loading was used to extend starter notches to the desired depth in the test specimens. The authors found that, although crack growth rates showed some scatter, the higher crack growth rates corresponded to lower frequencies for a given stress intensity range. Fracture surfaces showed quasi-cleavage morphology similar to field cracks,11-55 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking Reference 40 Asahi, H., Kushida, T., Kimura, M., Fukai, H., and Okano, S., “The Investigation on Stress Corrosion Cracking in a Carbonate-Bicarbonate Solution and Its Mechanism fom Metallurgical Aspects", 9” Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 17, PRC International (1996). This paper investigated three effects, chemical composition, microstructure, and surface condition, on SCC of high strength pipeline steels in various conditions: XS2CR (cold rolled), X65QT (quench and tempered), X6STMPCP and X80TMCP (thermo-mechanical controlled processing). SCC resistance was evaluated by cyclically-loaded tapered tensile specimens in a carbonate-bicarbonate solution at approximately 75 C. The tests were conducted for 14 days at a potential of -650 mV, at four different laboratories. While the results varied somewhat among the laboratories, the steels produced in the ‘TMCP and the QT conditions showed slightly higher threshold stresses than the average value for the CR steels. Steels produced by TMCP and QT processing were bainitic ferrite and/or bainite. The microstructures of the CR steel were ferrite-pearlite or quasi ferrite-pearlite. The results suggest that bainitic structures are more resistant to high-pH SCC than ferrite-pearlite structures. The effect of carbon content was examined for the Mn-Nb steels. The bainitic ferrite structures produced in the TMCP and QT processed steels and the higher carbon (0.05 percent and 0.08 percent C) ferrite-pearlite structure formed in the CR steels were resistant to SCC. It was only in the lower carbon (0.02 percent C) CR steels that SCC occurred. The effect of surface condition on SCC for polished, grit blasted, and mill-scaled surfaces ‘was examined. The polished surfaces showed many more cracks than the mill-scaled surfaces ‘but the cracks in the mill-scaled surfaces were deeper. No SCC cracking was observed in the grit lasted surfaces which was no doubt due to the compressive residual surface stress produced by the grit blasting.11-56 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking Reference 41 Leis, B. N., “Stress-Corrosion Cracking in Gas Transmission Pipelines—The Interplay Between Serviceability and Inspection”, 9* Symposium on Pipeline Research, Paper No. 23, PRC International, 1996. ‘This paper examined the lengths, depths, and spacings of cracks found in four specific colonies of SCC to characterize them for situations that can be faced by in-line inspection (IL) tools for pipelines. Crack sizes and spacings are discussed in light of recently published trends for field cracking. Thereafter, the expected stability of the cracking was examined in terms of a failure criterion to identify a range of crack sizes that could cause a field failure. Thresholds for sizing the cracks were developed from the cracking patterns of the colonies and the role of pipe toughness and in-service cracking kinetics, ‘The author concluded the following: 1. The four colonies of SCC followed recently developed and published trends’. 2. Imaddition to locating SCC, ILI tools should also identify and characterize the nature of the cracking in the colony including the lengths and depths of the deeper cracks as well as their relative proximity to one another. 3. _A six-year inspection interval and typical field cracking kinetics require ILI tools with a reliably achieved depth threshold of about 0.06 inch or about 20 percent of the wall thickness for older less tough pipes. 4. More work is needed to lower this threshold before ILI tools can be reliably used in the control of SCC or related serviceability and risk decisions in such pipelines. 5. Tougher, modem steels significantly enhance the utility of ILI for applications to SCC. “The conclusion is apparently based on the following observations. ‘The long, deep crack parallel to the to ofthe longitudinal seam caused an in-service ruprure (as one might expect) A shorter erack with variable depth comprised of colinear cracks was stable in service but filed in a high-pressure retest. . ‘The lage single crack within a colony grew inservice but only bulged during a hydrostatic retest. . A dense cluster of shaliow cracks remained stable both in service and during a hydrostatic test.11-57 Stress Corrosion Cracking Reference 42 “Public Inquiry Concerning Stress Corrosion Cracking on Canadian Oil and Gas Pipelines", National Energy Board, MH-2-95, Catalog No. NE23-58/1996 E, pp 158, November 1996. This study is perhaps the best single reference available at this time on the subject of stress corrosion cracking in pipelines. Itis well written, highly readable, and quite comprehensive. It takes into account all of the historical research and practical knowledge about SCC in pipelines, it presents the views of the recognized experts on SCC in pipelines, and it provides a valuable list of references. It is a long document and it requires careful reading. It also is somewhat weighted toward emphasis on near-neutral pH SCC because that has been the predominant form of SCC that has been experienced in Canada. Nevertheless, it does adequately describe the classical, high pH form of SCC, and as a result it constitutes a fine basic reference for training pipeline personnel not familiar with SCC or for anyone desiring a review or update of the phenomenon and the steps that can be taken to prevent or control SCC. A copy of this document is an essential item for the technical library of any pipeline operator or pipeline regulatory agency. If the purpose of reading this document is to leam about or to review the phenomenon of ‘SCC in pipelines, the reader could skip over Chapters 1 and 2, although the table on Page 11 of Chapter 2 presents a good summary of the SCC failures in Canada. Chapter 3 describes the phenomenon of SCC in pipelines (both for the near-neutral and. high-pH forms), The particular problems that have arisen in Canada are emphasized. The problems with older single-layer polyethylene tape coating are discussed. The effects of soils, moisture, and bacteria are discussed as is the role of CO, A thorough discussion of stress, strain, and alternating stress is presented. The various morphologies of crack colonies that arise with different operating stress levels are described. Finally, the subjects of crack growth rates and crack coalescence are discussed. This chapter provides an excellent introduction to the phenomenon and facilitates a good review document for someone already familiar with the phenomenon11-58 Stress Corrosion Cracking Chapter 4 covers prevention, detection, and mitigation of SCC. The types and characteristics of coatings and surface preparation that work well in preventing SCC are discussed. ‘The nature and use of "predictive models” is presented. A predictive model is used to prioritize pipeline segments according to suspected propensity for exhibiting SCC, Each model is specific to a particular pipeline, its coating, age, and operating history being extremely ‘important in terms of the likelihood of its being affected by SCC. The other main element of such models is a soil/terrain evaluator reflecting the known characteristics of soils and terrain where SCC has been found. These characteristics are described in a table in the document. Each predictive mode! is verified and enhanced as excavations are carried out along the pipeline to permit examination for the occurrence of SCC. The NEB study indicates that the effectiveness of such models is very good. Data are presented which suggest that the use of an effective model results in a "success" rate (Le, finding SCC upon excavation) as high as 45 percent. in contrast, when excavation are made of random (ie., examinations made for other reasons), the expectation of finding SCC is only 4 percent. No specific model is described in the document, but one company which specializes in such models is named, and itis implied that models are described in detail in the background data submitted to the NEB by the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA). Also, a special soil probe is described which can be used to measure relevant soil properties at pipeline depth. The remaining sections of Chapter 4 discuss inspection and repair of SCC-affected pipe, in-service, in-line inspection to defect and characterize cracks, pressure reduction to reduce the level of stress thereby reducing the propensity for crack initiation and propagation, hydrostatic testing to detect and eliminate critical cracks before they can grow large enough to cause a failure in service and selective pipe replacement. With respect to inspection and repair, the document Provides some general guidelines but alludes to comprehensive procedures compiled into a document by CEPA. On the subject of in-line inspection, the NEB document notes that promising crack detection tools are commercially-available but have not yet achieved the degree of reliability needed to replace hydrostatic testing. From the standpoint of pressure reduction, the NEB report concludes that it would be an inefficient way to control a problem that only occurs in certain pipelines in certain locations. Besides it is not certain how much pressure reduction would be required to stop existing cracks from growing. It further concludes, however, that a1139 Stress Corrosion Cracking temporary pressure reduction can be used effectively in particular segments where SCC has been discovered in order to buy time for other mitigative measures to be effected. ‘The information on hydrostatic testing in Chapter 4 supports what has been known intuitively for a long time, namely, that periodic hydrostatic testing is a viable means for preventing service failures from defects that are becoming larger with the passage of time. The key is to determine the rate of crack growth so that the test can be effected in a timely manner before any crack becomes large enough to fail in-service. The report provides an average crack growth rate based on one company’s experience, but it indicates that rates may vary from location to location. A high pressure test to range of 100 to 110 percent of SMYS for a short hold time (1 hours) is recommended as the most effective means of eliminating large flaws while minimizing the risk of damage to flaws too small to fail in the test. In the final subsection of Chapter 4, the concept of selective pipe replacement is discussed, The puspose of selective pipe replacement is to reduce the risk associated with SCC in locations where the consequences of a failure might be high. The use of models of "thermal radiation" damage as a means of estimating consequences in populated areas is discussed. The models could be used to define the limits of pipe replacements that would have the optimum effect of reducing risk. Chapter 5, titled "Community Issues" addresses concerns of land-owners, emergency responders, and other members of the public. ‘The issues of wall thickness and "buffer zones" are discussed. Also discussed are emergency response and community relations. These issues are of current general interest to all pipeline operators, Chapter 6 covers the scope of the SCC problem in Canada, and it reviews the activities of CEPA and others with respect to understanding and managing the phenomena with the objective of preventing SCC-caused pipeline failures. Reference 43 “Stress Corrosion Cracking-Recommended Practices", Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) (May 1997). This document is an excellent reference, perhaps the only non-intemal document available at this time on the subject of “practices” to support companies in the management of11-60 ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking their longitudinal, low or near-neutral pH SCC concems. It is highly focused on near-neutral pH ‘SCC because that has been the predominant form of SCC that has been experienced in Canada. ‘However, itis still applicable to all types of pipeline SCC. It is well written, highly readable, and quite comprehensive. It takes into account the experiences of many Canadian pipeline ‘companies, specifically those that are members of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA). It was developed and compiled by pipeline integrity practitioners within the CEPA member companies. The “Practices” incorporate the findings and methods developed by the world-wide scientific community as well as being based on operational and field experiences. It makes a fine companion reference to Reference 42. It presents some discussion of the historical research and practical knowledge about SCC in pipelines, it presents the views of the recognized ‘experts on SCC in pipelines, and it provides a valuable list of references. It is a fairly long document and it requires careful reading, Following are the chapter headings in this document: Introduction Scope Definitions and Abbreviations SCC Integrity Management Program Field Program Development Inspection Data Collection Integrity Analysis Prevention and Mitigation Risk Assessment BOON AMAYNE Beer avayenyr Asan be seen by the contents, this document consists of a fine basic reference for setting up “practices” procedures for establishing an SCC management program as well as providing a training document for pipeline personnel not familiar with SCC or for anyone desiring a review and/or update of the phenomenon and the steps that can be taken to prevent or control SCC. A copy of this document is an essential item for the technical library of any pipeline operator or pipeline regulatory agency. The document consists of a excellent model if a pipeline company desired to develop their own “practices” for preventing, controlling, and mitigating extemal SCC in pipelines.11-61 Stress Corrosion Cracking Reference 44 Wilmott, M., Emo, B., Jack, T., and Worthingham, R., “The Role of Coatings in the Development of Corrosion and Stress Corrosion Cracking on Gas Transmission Pipelines", International Pipeline Conference, pp 399-408, ASME (1998). This paper discusses the use of various pipeline protective coatings and their failure modes. The authors trace the use and development of coatings from asphalt/tar hot applied over the ditch, through asphaltic enamels and polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tapes to extruded polyurethane systems and fusion bonded epoxies (FBE). The authors classified coating failures under four basic mechanisms or modes: missing coating, shielding disbondment, permeable coating, and pinholes and blisters. In each case, the coating defects or degradation strongly influence the environment and will often dictate whether SCC will occur. The following figure, Figure 5 reproduced from this paper, summarizes the possible consequences of the of the coating failure modes. Coating | Does CP Deposits: Failure Mode | ‘Type | ReachSteel? | pH UnderCoating | Corrosion scc Missing Coating (Caor MgCO; Scales; (Golideyijeep) | any type Yes no trapped water | Negligible Not seen Shielding | PE,PVC | No(uness saline | See Jack, etal.* Disbondment | tape | _groundwate) neutral pET ‘Mild to Severe | Neutral pH SCC Permeable | Aging NaCOyNaHCO,; | Negligible to (sponge model) | Aspialt Yes very basic pH Moderate | High pH SCC Blisters, Not characterized; Likely Pinholes FRE Possible basic pit Negligible Notseen * Jack, T.R., Wilmott, M. J, and Sutherby, RL. “Indicator Minerals Formed During External Corrosion of Line Pipe’, Materials Performance, 34(11), pp. 19-22, (1995). ‘The authors conclude with the observation thiat coatings exposed to identical field conditions can fail in completely different modes. Further they have shown that cathodic protection currents ‘can penetrate asphalt and FBE coatings to an extent dependent on the coating resistance. In this relation, laboratory and field studies have shown that concentrated solutions of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate and high pH conditions can be generated under damaged asphalt11-62 ‘Stress Corrasion Cracking coatings through the influence of cathodic protection. Finally, they observed that the conditions ‘generated under permeable coatings due to the influence of cathodic protection are similar to those traditionally associated with high pH SCC. Reference 45, Beavers, J. A., Durr, C. L., and Delanty B. S., “High-pH SCC: Temperature and Potential Dependence for Cracking in Field Environments”, international Pipeline Conference, pp 423-437, ASME (1998). ‘The authors discuss their investigation into the temperature and potential dependence for propagation of high-pH stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in field environments encountered on the TransCanada PipeL ine’s system in westem Canada, The electrochemical potential range was determined for the SCC tests in a simulated field electrolyte, A slow strain rate technique was used for SCC assessment. A standard IN Na,CO, - IN NaHCO, solution was included in the test program as a control. However, a more dilute simulated field solution was also used in the testing. Based on the generally assumed mechanism of anodic dissolution for high-pH SCC of pipelines, the authors conclude that there must be an additional mechanism coming into play for slow strain rate tests. This observation was predicated on the test results which showed that the predicted crack velocities were always higher than the measured values for the control solution and the measured crack velocities were always higher than the predicted values in the field simulated solution. Other conclusions were: 1. The electrochemical and cracking behavior of the line pipe stee! in both solutions were similar in all respects. 2. In general, the field simulated solution was less potent than the control solution in that the potential range for cracking was narrower and the maximum cracking velocity was lower at a given temperature, 3. The center of the potential range for cracking with the field simulated solution ‘was consistently more negative with respect to the control solution. This may inorease the likelihood that the pipe-to-soil potential of cathodically protected pipe lies in the cracking range. 4, The likelihood of high-pH SCC on operating pipelines increased with temperature11-63 Stress Corrosion Cracking, 5. At75C, the cracking range for both solutions extends to within 30 mV of the -850 mV CCS 6. Non-Faradaic processes may contribute to crack growth in actual field electrolytes. Reference 46 Jaske, C. E., and Beavers, J. A., “Review and Proposed Improvement of a Failure Model for SCC of Pipelines", International Pipeline Conference, pp 439-445, ASME (1998). ‘The authors point out that stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is characterized by colonies of many longitudinal surface cracks that link up to form long shallow flaws, with length-to-depth ratios of 50 to 200 or more. These flaws present a challenge to standard prediction models. In addition, inelastic material behavior is usually associated with SCC failures of pipelines. For these reasons, the authors previously developed a failure prediction model that utilizes both strength and J fracture toughness to evaluate the failure potential of pipelines with crack-like flaws, Failure is predicted to occur when either the applied J value is equal to the J fracture toughness or the net-section stress is equal to the flow strength, which ever comes first. ‘This paper discusses the improvement of that model and concentrates on a method to treat long, deep surface cracks as well as multiple surface cracks and their possible interaction. An overview of the technical approach is presented in terms of describing the steps in a flow chart used to assess the integrity of a pipeline subjected to SCC. The paper does not present the model per se, but it does describe the model and its salient features in some detail. At the time of writing this paper, the authors proposed incorporating the foregoing changes to evaluate multiple flaw interaction and ductile tearing instability into the model. They ‘were in the process of being evaluated in experiments and analytical studies at that time. Reference 47 Parkins, R. N., ‘Overview of Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking Research Activities", Project PR-232-9401, PRCI (November 1994).11-64 Siress Corrosion Cracking Reference 43, Parkins, R. N., “A Review of Stress Corrosion Cracking of Pipelines in Contact with ‘Near-Neutral (Low) pH Solutions”, Project PR-232-970, PRCI (April 1999). Although the reviewers did not obtain and review these documents, it is clear from their titles and the eminent qualifications of the author that these constitute essential reading for the ‘SCC researcher or specialist. Both documents are believed to be obtainable by contacting PRCI. Reference 49 Eiber, R. J. and Leis, B. N., “Protocol to Prioritize Sites for High pH Stress-Corrosion Cracking on Gas Pipelines", Project 3-9403, PRCI (September 1998). This document constitutes an “index” by which a pipeline operator can establish a pipeline integrity management program with respect to high-pH SCC. An experienced-based index is developed for prioritizing pipeline segments based on their likely exposure to high-pH SCC. Actual cases were used to benchmark the likelihood index.