Proceedings of the ASME 2013 32nd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering
OMAE2013
CONNECTORS FOR PRODUCTION RISERS
Marco Figoni
American Bureau of Shipping
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
ABSTRACT
Increased interest in deepwater and ultra-deepwater
field development is leading the industry to revisit the standard
design and testing methods of production risers. The main
challenges involved in a deepwater project are the riser sizing,
management of external pressure at maximum water depth
with acceptable weight to keep low stress at riser-vessel
interface, the riser/vessel dynamic interaction and riser
installation. The most critical areas on the riser system are the
top section, where most of the damage occurs, and the touch-
down zone. While the second area can be addressed by
effective riser design, the connection to the production facility
is always required and it must be sufficiently strong to provide
an appropriate fluid containment. A connector failure can lead
to highly flammable fluid leakage, putting in danger the entire
production vessel and the surrounding environment.
Technological advancements are leading to new equipment
layouts with more efficient materials selection. The top section
and connector can be subjected to different kinds of loads and
environment induced degradation.
Applying the actual standards is sometimes difficult due to the
fact that they generally are too conservative. With the objective
June 9-14, 2013, Nantes, France
OMAE2013-10899
Sudheer Chand
American Bureau of Shipping
Houston, TX, United States
of closing this gap, this paper provides an overview of the
issues regarding different types of connectors in different
working environments. The criteria for achieving an optimum
connection selection depends on the type of riser utilized, riser
configuration, metocean conditions, support vessel type,
properties of fluid/chemicals transported inside the riser, life
expectancy, maintenance and accessibility. Three main kinds
of connection seals were analyzed, namely pure metallurgical
(i.e. welding), pure mechanical (i.e. flange, threaded
connections) and a combination thereof for line-end interface
(i.e. metal-to-composite). All of the seals must provide
retention of internal fluids and exclusion of external fluids and
impurities. In an offshore environment, both of these
characteristics must be achieved through the use of at least one
metal-to-metal contact between mating interfaces and one
static seal (i.e. metal rings).
INTRODUCTION
Environmental impact and fluids containment are some of the
most important aspects of oil and gas operations. Following
this philosophy, the industry has identified the need to improve
the standards regarding some key equipment inside drilling
and production processes. Without a doubt, connectors for
1 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
production risers are one of the most critical pieces of
equipment. Failure can lead to highly flammable fluid leakage,
putting in danger the entire production vessel, crew and
environment. ABS recently was asked to provide a clear
methodology for connector design and certification. This paper
represents an overview of what has been done since the start of
the project.
The search for oil and gas in deep and ultra-deep waters has
been expanding rapidly, and the challenges associated with
these environments also increased. High external pressure and
low temperature are some of the most important aspects today
influencing riser sizing strategy and layout design; depending
on water depth, some riser layouts are unachievable because
they impart unmanageable loads at riser/vessel interface. On
the other hand, the “ultra-deep water layouts” require an
increased number of interfaces between different kinds of
equipment (e.g. lower and top riser assembly on a free-
standing riser). In this context, one single layout can include
different kinds of connectors that have to withstand different
loading depending on their position inside the system.
NOMENCLATURE
The following nomenclature is used in this work:
EIC Environmental Induced Cracking
M2MS Metal-to-Metal Seal
NDT Nil Ductility Transition
CAT Cracking Arrest Temperature
FEA Finite Element Analysis
SCR Steel Catenary Riser
DTD Damage Tolerance Design
RFC Retirement for Cause
HAZ Heat Affected Zone
MCI Metal to Composite Interface
CONNECTION SEALS
The choice of a connector depends on the type of riser/jumpers
utilized (flexible or rigid), riser configuration (e.g. catenary,
lazy, steep, compliant, free standing), metocean conditions,
support vessel type and the properties of fluid/chemicals
transported inside the riser with regard to type, pressure and
temperature.
During its life expectancy, a connector can be subjected to the
following:
- Multi-axial cycling loading resulting mainly from
variations of effective tension (i.e. the total axial
tension including the effect of internal and external
pressure – Sparks, 1984 [1]) bending moment and
torsion
- Temperature and pressure transients, i.e. shocks due
to the combined stresses from a rapid temperature
and/or pressure change
- Environmental induced cracking (EIC, i.e. stress
corrosion cracking, hydrogen embrittlement and
corrosion fatigue)
- Corrosion on metallic components not subjected to
stress, including internal erosion-corrosion
- Aging and degradation of non-metallic components
- Accidental impact and/or fire-induced loading
- Biological fouling, also known as marine growth.
In general, a subsea system can include three main kinds of
connection seals:
- Metallurgical (e.g. welding)
- Mechanical, (e.g. bolted, threaded, clamp hubs,
hydraulically activated). It can include a metallurgical
connection like a girth weld
- Hybrid, design based on compression, winding and/or
bonding methods that can include a mechanical
and/or metallurgical connection depending on the
riser/jumpers type, (i.e. rigid, flexible or composite).
For a production riser the sealing system must have two
functions:
- Retention of internal fluids, which is achieved by the
use of at least one metal-to-metal seal (M2MS)
between mating surfaces and can be reinforced by a
metal seal ring.
- Exclusion of external fluids and impurities, which is
achieved by the use of one metal-to-metal contact
between mating surfaces or by a static, not necessarily
a metallic seal.
The system selected to make a particular connection feasible,
must keep retention and exclusion above the minimum
detectable leakage regardless any of these variables:
- Environment around the connection, including
internal and external fluids properties
- Stresses applied to the connection that can be
mechanical, thermal and/or residual
- Materials selected
- Examination and testing methods
- Installation procedures
Depending on conditions, the combination of environment,
stresses and material properties can be responsible for serious
damages. One of the most dangerous is the interaction between
the environment and the tensile portion of a stress (Fig.1),
namely EIC. No metal is immune to EIC. The nature of the
fractures induced by the process is mainly brittle, a fast
2 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
propagating and catastrophic phenomenon happening without
any visible or audible warnings.
The origin of the stress that causes EIC can be residual (e.g.
after cold work, welding, thermal treatment) and/or applied
(e.g. mechanical cycling, thermal cycling, vibration, bolting,
pressure). EIC, when present, can change, appear or disappear
during the equipment life. In terms of stress and corrosive
environment, all possible conditions surrounding a connector
during fabrication, temporary events such as storage,
transportation, handling, assembly/installation, examination
and testes, service, accidental and extreme events must be
evaluated. When it is not possible to select a material with
characteristics that can satisfy all of these conditions, the
design must contemplate a way to isolate or minimize the
effects of stress and corrosive environment. Examples of that
can be stress concentration reduction or redistribution,
introduction of compressive residual stresses (e.g. shot
peening), cyclic stresses reduction or elimination, isolation of
base metal from the corrosive environment, prevention of
hydrogen diffusion inside the base metal (e.g. welding, metal
electroplating and cathodic protection [2]).
Fig. 1: Schematic showing conditions for a brittle fracture to
develop. Modified from Russell D. Kane, at al., [3]
Depending on the environment temperature, a brittle fracture
can start even in the absence of a corrosive environment [4].
Fig. 2 shows a schematic stress-temperature diagram for
fracture initiation and crack arrest of a metal without flaw. Nil
ductility transition (NDT) is the “zero ductility” temperature
below which the fracture is 100% brittle. It also is the
temperature at which the yield and tensile strength coincide.
Between pure brittle and pure ductile zones, there can be a
transition zone where a brittle fracture can still appear. The
cracking arrest temperature (CAT) curve defines the
relationship between the temperature and the stress required
for a crack to propagate; the propagation only occurs below
CAT curve. In general large grain size, low temperatures and
higher stress tend to promote crack propagation. With the
presence of a flaw, tensile strength equals yield strength earlier
at higher temperatures than in a metal without flaws and NDT
increase.
The necessary conditions for a temperature-induced brittle
fracture are:
- Materials or equipment by their own nature
susceptible to brittle fracture, e.g. materials with high
NDT, metals with elevated thickness, metals with
flaw
- Tensile stresses, uniform or concentrated, steady or
cyclic
- Environment temperature, below material NDT or
inside transition zone.
These conditions can all be present together in an offshore
deepwater environment, where temperatures can stay below
5ºC, in Arctic areas and even during a simple hydrostatic test
without a control on test fluids temperature. A connector in
deep water can be subject to low temperatures and high
external pressures permanently or periodically.
Fig 2: Schematic showing stress-temperature diagram for
fracture initiation and crack arrest of a metal without flaw.
Even in the presence of low uniform tensile stresses, the
equipment itself can present manufacturing-related stress
concentrators or flaws. In addition, the brittleness behavior of
metal increases with metal thickness, which is one of the
parameters necessary for equipment sizing in the presence of
high external pressures. In this context, material selection and
stress concentration control become very important. The
following aspects are to be considered in the selection of
materials:
3 Copyright © 2013 by ASME

- Fabrication procedures
- Properties (i.e. chemical, physical, electrical and
mechanical)
- Internal and external fluid properties including
temperature
- Environmental loadings
- Installation methods and procedure
- Weight requirement
- Weldability (only for metallurgical connections).
Stress concentration control generally is achieved by finite
element analysis (FEA), but due to the criticality of a
connector, FEA predicted parameters must always be
confirmed by equipment testing and vice versa. The simulation
of seal performance through FEA, that eliminate the need of
costly prototype tools and reduce development times, is helpful
when testing is practically unfeasible or where the real
environmental conditions affecting the equipment cannot be
adequately replicated but it cannot alone substitute precious
information derived from testing and qualification procedures
dictated by established standards. The discussion regarding the
use of appropriate standards to guarantee the performance of
each type of connector is outside the scope of the present paper.
Independently of connections type, the design of the seal must
at least consider that:
- The mating surfaces must maintain their original
manufacture properties at least until the start of the
assembly process. Any damage to the sealing surfaces
during accidental and temporary conditions (i.e.
storage, transportation, handling and tests) must be
avoided. A contingency plan should be evaluated and
applied in case of detected damage.
- The connection process should not damage or weaken
the riser and/or the connection itself introducing
unplanned residual tension (e.g. hydrogen diffusion
inside base metal during welding or galling for
threaded connections). On the impossibility of
avoiding such damages, a risk-management study
should be evaluated
- The use of mating surfaces with dissimilar metals
should be carefully assessed in order to prevent
galvanic corrosion.
- The processes responsible for introduction of
hydrogen inside metals, e.g. welding, cathodic
protection and some coating process such as
electroplating, must be carefully assessed to prevent
hydrogen embrittlement.
- The geometry of mating surfaces must be designed to
avoid, after assembly, unsealed areas and maximum
contact pressure at the interface seal/environment.
- After assembly, the mating surfaces should not create
any change on the original riser internal diameter to
maintain proper piggability and avoid undesired flow
turbulence leading to the development of erosion
corrosion.
- The sealing system must be at least as strong as the
riser or the structure where it is connected to but
cannot be “over-engineered” and become itself a
“stress concentrator” for the entire riser system.
- The connection system cannot rely upon just a single
contact. To assure redundancy, the connection system
must be programmed to use at least one additional
contact with different characteristics, different
exposure to the environment and, if possible, not
correlated mode of failure (e.g. resilient metal seals)
- Whenever possible after assembly is completed, the
connection system must provide physical evidence
that the seal has been properly achieved and that any
additional loading exerted on the seal will not
negatively affect the connection.
Another important aspect regarding seal integrity is the choice
of a proper strategy to deal with acceptable and, above all,
manageable risks. Between fatigue design methodologies, the
Damage Tolerance Design (DTD) [5], which includes the fail-
safe and slow cracks growth criteria, should be utilized to
enhance the reliability of the system, in particular for
connectors that have to be installed in areas with difficult
access such as seabed. The decision to use either one of these
criteria depends on the impact of a failure on the entire system
in particular regarding physical harm to people or the
environment and loss or destruction of property or equipment.
For example, with fail-safe criterion, material selection (e.g.
ductility properties) can be refined to promote detectable and
manageable failures. Even if a failure develops during service,
it is likely to produce detectable information and would allow
the application of mitigation measures preventing a
catastrophic event. Detectable information can be obtained
through prevention measures such as in-service inspections
and the use of failures/leakage detection systems. The
importance of detection systems stands on the fact that, in
some cases, the system provides an opportunity to detect a
failure/leakage before it becomes big enough to be critical and
unmanageable. The main characteristics of a fail-safe criterion
can be summarized as follows:
- Redundancy, to avoid a single point catastrophic
failure
- Introduction of “sacrificial” or “weak” parts easy to
replace and designed to fail before the entire structure
- Materials behavior to fail in ductile rather than in a
brittle manner
4 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
 - Failure detection, designing the structure such that
failure will be easily detected before it becomes
critical.
DTD generally is employed for new equipment. The
Retirement for Cause (RFC) procedure is the life extension
program based on damage tolerance approach for existing
installed equipment. The life of equipment is extended until
the appearance of an unmanageable failure. The RFC
procedure is based on inspection intervals such as periodic
non-destructive examinations to maintain a high level of
component reliability. All components of a piece of equipment
are inspected first at the end of a calculated limit period using
an appropriate safety margin. Only the components that do not
meet a defined evaluation criteria are retired. All other
components are returned to service for another inspection
interval. Components are rejected only for cause (cracks or
defects).
METALLURGICAL CONNECTIONS
Metallurgical connections for risers and connectors are mostly
circumferential butt welds, and they can be present on
mechanical and hybrid connections. In general, welders and
welding procedures are qualified according ASME Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code Section IX [6], API STD 1101 [7].
The welding process can introduce tensile residual stresses in
weld material and on the heat-affected zone (HAZ) through the
thermal loading itself or by hydrogen diffusion at high
temperatures. Residual stress depends on several factors like
the structural restraint, wall thickness over diameter ratio, the
heat input, the number of weld passes and weld pass sequence.
Proper evaluation of such stress fields and remedial actions are
always needed. There are controversial studies regarding the
interaction between residual stresses on welded joints and
fatigue loads, but it is a common opinion that tensile residual
stresses, when present, are deleterious for the systems in
particular when the material is in contact with a corrosive
environment [8]. In some cases, even without a corrosive
environment, hydrogen diffusion itself promotes tensile
stresses and a loss of metal strength and ductility. Another
important aspect of welded connections is the influence of
environment temperature that, on the weld area and HAZ,
could fall below a critical point when the mechanism of failure
changes from ductile to brittle. The welding procedure
specification must contain details regarding the following:
- Metal properties and geometry
- Welding equipment and personnel responsible for its
use
- Welding technique and procedures including
measures to protect surrounding materials and
equipment
- Pre-weld and post-weld treatment
- Examination and testing procedures
- Contingency plan in case of weldment failure
MECHANICAL CONNECTIONS
The seal of mechanical connections is based on a metal-to-
metal contact of two static mating surfaces. The sealing
applications, including the metal seals, are considered static
due to the fact that, even if they have fluid movement, the
design does not contemplate a relative motion between sealing
surfaces after assembly.
A M2MS is accomplished through the application of a force,
commonly called preload, to the mating surfaces generating
the required strain energy in the seal. The preload can be
applied using three main sealing systems:
- Bolts
- Clamps
- Threads.
Due to the fact that the oil industry, in particular for the
offshore environment, is always looking to improve equipment
performance by introducing new technologies, the methods
used to design and test a specific system must follow
recognized standards, but not necessarily related to the oil and
gas industry if the technology employed is derived from other
sectors where specific standards have already been recognized.
Some of the actual standards for mechanical connections
include ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII
[9], ASME B16.5 [10], ASME B31.3 [11], API RP 17G [12],
API 6A [13] or equivalent, API RP 2RD [14], ISO 21329 [15],
API 5B [16], API 5CT [17], API 5CRA [18] and API RP 5C5
[19].
Once a specific sealing method is selected, the following must
be considered:
- Metallic mating surfaces by their own nature cannot
follow abrupt geometric changes and must follow
parallelism within close tolerances.
- The mating surfaces finish, controlled by degree of
roughness, amount of waviness and lay direction,
become a critical factor and should be closely
analyzed to reduce any unplanned lack of contact
pressure on the contact area after assembly.
5 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
 - The seal preload must be performed without
overstressing the sealing system. To assure good
structural integrity, the geometry of the entire
connection must be designed to avoid or minimize
areas of tensile stress concentration.
- If, during their life, mating surfaces are subjected to
relative movements and reuse, a robust galling and
seizing prevention method must be evaluated
depending on materials employed (e.g. lubrication or
coating for stainless steels).
- To compensate for a possible lack of contact pressure,
the sealing surfaces can be separated by a thin film of
lubricant. When possible, the use of lubricants must
be avoided. Lubricants should be replaced by coatings
that are environmentally friendly.
- The seal pre-stress has to be predetermined based on
the required sealing performance. It must be greater
than the expected system pressure plus maximum seal
load per linear inch. All possible applied separation
forces (e.g. effective axial tension) must be evaluated.
- The sealing load has to be high enough over the
whole life of the joint to ensure mechanical contact.
In case of detected seal weakness, a contingency plan
should be evaluated.
- The application of axial and/or radial force during
installation, service and testing must be limited to and
not greater than the calculated seal compression.
- Some M2MSs are directly subjected to fatigue loads
(e.g. threaded) that must be minimized, redistributed
or at least assessed.
To assure redundancy, most of the mechanical connections
consider the use of a static face seal. They are employed on
risers and subsea systems and can be metallic, elastomeric or a
combination thereof. Depending on their application, they can
have either full exposure to internal fluids or lay inside a
precisely machined and smooth finished groove with limited
exposure to internal and/or external fluids. Static in nature,
these seals are affected in most cases only by cyclic stress
resulting from pressure and temperature variations. Where
temporary high pressure are expected during service or testing,
the design must take into account the selection of a metal seal
with a working pressure sufficient to accommodate such high
pressure exposures. The seals can be made of these materials:
- Pre-molded elastomeric O-ring
- Metal, machined or formed in circular configuration
- Hybrid achieved by the integration of metal with
elastomer.
Common characteristics of all kind of seals are:
- Seating load: the load required to compress a seal to
its working height (i.e. the cross-sectional height of
an installed seal that is equivalent to the groove
depth).
- Springback: the difference between the working
height and the free height (i.e. the cross-sectional
height of an uncompressed seal before platings or
coatings) after all applied loads has been released.
Seating load represents the total elastic recovery of
the seal. The shape and material of the seal
determines the total spring back or elasticity of the
seal.
- Useful springback: the portion of the springback curve
(example of metal seal on Figure 3) where the load
exceeds 20-25% of the load at working height. Below
this, the load may be insufficient to maintain good
seal performance. The start of a leakage corresponds
with the time at which the metal-to-metal seal
separation exceeds the useful springback of the seal.
- Compression set: the inability of a seal to return to its
original shape after being compressed. It can be
measured in percentage using the ratio:
Compression Set = (Free Height-Springback)/(Free Height-
Working Height)*100
Fig. 3: Schematic of a compression-load diagram for a static
face seal.
The elastomeric seal challenges include:
- Resistance to extrusion, when the mating surfaces
separate or “gap”
- Area of exposure to fluids attack
- Temperature tolerance
- Rate of permeability.
Metal sealing reliability and groove surface damage prevention
are achieved through:
6 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
 - Precise machining
- Metal hardness control
- Coating and heat treatment
- Plastic deformation control
- Sweet and sour environment assessment.
The sealing mechanism can be accomplished by:
- Elastic deformation. They are seals that can provide
springback to maintain good sealing despite
separation of the metal-to-metal mating surfaces. A
seal with proven pure elastic characteristic can be
reutilized. Special care must be taken for high-
temperature and high-pressure applications. Some
elastic metal seals are pressure-energized and have a
greater seal pressure capacity than their working
pressure due internal pressures that complement the
seal ring self-energization forces. In this case,
permanent deformation of the seal must be expected
and carefully assessed during design phase.
- Plastic deformation. Sealing is ensured by the ductile
outer layer or coating that flows into and fills the
mating surface imperfections. The seal is
characterized by a flow of the material that can be a
result of temperature, pressure, compression or a
combination thereof. These seals cannot be reused
since they have a permanent deformed area after
installation.
- Combination of elastic and plastic deformation (Fig.
4). The seal generally is made of an outer layer with
plastic behavior and an inner layer with elastic
behavior. The outer layer surface undergoes localized
flow while the seal is elastically deformed. As a result
of the localized plastic flow, this kind of seal should
not be reused. These seals have a good adaptability to
conditions of prolonged high temperatures, large
thermal gradients and mechanical loading.
Fig. 4: Schematic of a static seal with elastic and plastic
deformation.
HYBRID CONNECTIONS
Hybrid connectors can be defined as connectors
characterized by the coexistence of metallic and polymeric
materials joined together by compression, winding and/or
bonding methods. They also can include metallurgical and/or
mechanical connections between metallic parts of the system.
An example of such connectors are Metal-to-Composite
Interface (MCI), Flex Joint and flexible riser End-Fitting.
Polymeric materials encompass:
- Themoplastics (e.g. polyamide); they can be melted
into liquids and recycled
- Thermosettings (e.g. epoxy); once cured, they cannot
be melted back into liquids
- Elastomers (e.g. natural rubber, nitrile); viscoelastic
materials that cannot be melted into liquid for
recycling
In addition to specific standards like API 17K [20] or
equivalent, API 17J [21] or equivalent, API RP 2RD [14] and
general requirements defined for all connectors, there are some
considerations that should be mentioned:
- The use of different materials must be carefully
assessed to avoid loss of structural strength.
- The most important restriction regarding the joining
methods is that the design may not rely on adhesive
bonding to accomplish load transfer, riser sealing or
other functions critical to the safe and continued
operation of the riser [22], in particular when high
effective axial tensions are expected. A joint loaded in
pure compression does not need structural adhesive
bonding, and a failure can only appear due to
irregular stress distribution;
- Whenever possible, the metallic part in charge of load
transfer must be assembled in compression, and the
introduction of residual tension during manufacturing
and/or installation process must be avoided.
- The contact of non-metallic parts with fluids must be
evaluated and avoided when the probability of
equipment deterioration is high (e.g. explosive
decompression for elastomer in contact with high-
pressure gases).
- Non-metallic parts designed to support and transfer
riser loads must contain metallic structural
reinforcement when the probability of equipment
deterioration is high.
CONCLUSIONS
The effects of environment, stresses applied and the
material composition are the main factors influencing
connector reliability. The proper understanding of the
interaction between these parameters helps for an appropriate
connector selection. In offshore environment, EIC is the most
common example of such kind of interaction and can lead to
7 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
unexpected and catastrophic failures. The effect of 6.
environment and stresses should be minimized through
isolation and design optimization respectively while materials 7.
must be selected to withstand all environmental and stress
conditions encountered by a connector during its entire life. 8.
Particular care must be taken on materials selection for ultra-
deep water environment due to the effect of low temperature 9.
that can trigger brittle fracture mode. To provide proper
retention and exclusion, the connector design must be based on 10.
a fail-safe criterion or at least it should consider redundancy to
avoid a single point failure; additionally to the main M2MS, at 11.
least a second point of contact with different characteristics 12.
should be considered. It is also essential to implement,
whenever possible, a strong monitoring strategy to detect a 13.
failure before it becomes critical and unmanageable.
14.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank ABS Corporate 15.
Managers, for their constant support during the project and
helpful insights during peer review of this paper. 16.
REFERENCES 17.
1. Sparks, C.P., “The Influence of Tension, Pressure and
Weight on Pipe and Riser Deformations and Stresses”, 18.
ASME transaction vol. 106, pp. 46-54, 1984.
2. Ćwiek J., “Prevention methods against hydrogen
degradation of steel”, Journal of Achievements in 19.
Materials and Manufacturing Engineering 43 (2010)
214-221.
3. Russell D. Kane, at al., “Low Stress Connection 20.
Design versus Environmental Cracking in Corrosive
Well Service Conditions”, NACE C2012-0001593 21.
4. Pellini W. S. et al., “Fracture Analysis Diagram
Procedures for the Fracture-Safe Engineering Design 22.
of Steel Structures”, NRL Report 5920, Naval
Research Laboratory, 1963.
5. SSC-409, “Guide to Damage Tolerant Analysis of
Marine Structures”
8 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
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