Proceedings of the ASME 2009 28th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering
OMAE2009
May 31 - June 5, 2009, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
STUDY ON THE RESIDUAL STRENGTH ASSESSMENT METHOD ON CORRODED
SUBSEA PIPELINE BASED ON REFERENCE STRESS METHOD
Li hui
China National Defense Key Laboratory of Multi-
Hull Ship
Harbin Engineering University
Harbin, Heilongjiang,150001, China
Email: lh_heu@163.com
Ren huilong
China National Defense Key Laboratory of Multi-
Hull Ship
Harbin Engineering University
Harbin, Heilongjiang,150001, China
Email: renhuilong@263.net
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the reference stress method is adopted in the
residual strength assessment of corroded subsea pipeline.
Through the monitoring of the von Mises stress σ local in the
minimum cross section, the relationship between the stress
response and input pressure is found. Then, based on this
relationship, a simple and effective method to assess the
residual strength of corroded subsea pipeline is proposed.
Through the comparison with experimental results, the
accuracy and reliability of this method is confirmed
INTRODUCTION
With the development of computer science, finite element
technique is widely applied to assess the residual strength of
corroded subsea pipeline. Though the accurate simulation
study can be carried out by FEM (finite element method), there
are still a lot of difficulties in modeling analysis when the
corroded pipeline has different shapes and many geometric
parameters. Therefore a kind of accurate and convenient
engineering method should be investigated, which can be used
in the assessment of residual strength of corroded subsea
pipeline.
Subsea pipelines are commonly made of ductile materials,
whose common failure mode is plastic failure. At present, there
OMAE2009-79677
Pan xiaobing
China National Defense Key Laboratory of Multi-
Hull Ship
Harbin Engineering University
Harbin, Heilongjiang,150001, China
Feng guoqing
China National Defense Key Laboratory of Multi-
Hull Ship
Harbin Engineering University
Harbin, Heilongjiang,150001, China
are many kinds of engineering methods which can determine
the limit load of structure, but most of them are limited to take
the plastic limit load expressed by a characteristic point getting
from the load-deformation curve. In fact, the deformations of
structure under different load cases are mostly concerned with
its geometry and material. So, the basis to exactly represent the
plastic bearing capacity of structure are how to choose correct
deformation factor as monitored object. Therefore, in order to
get the accurate residual strength of structure, its limit load
must be obtained firstly.
According to the point of limit analysis，no matter how
complex the forms of loads are, the essence of structure failure
is that the value of equivalent stress in dangerous section
reaches the flow stress of material.
Obviously, the bearing capability of structure and the
effects of loads can all be reflected through the equivalent
stress in dangerous section. In order to achieve that objective, a
reference stress strength can be defined, which is the function
of structural parameters and loads.
In this paper, the reference stress method to estimate
the limit load of corroded pipeline is proposed based on the
reference stress definition of the full plastic structure.
Nonlinear finite element analysis of subsea pipeline
containing different dimensional corroded defect is carried
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out by the finite element software ABAQUS. The σ local = α ( Pg − p , Pg − d , Pm , P）⋅
Q
⋅σ y (4)
relationship between the applied pressure and the von Mises Ql
stress in the minimum section is found. According to this where Q is generalized load, which could be pressure,
relationship, an accurate and simple method which could be bending moment or the combined effect of them. Ql is the
applied to assess the residual strength of corroded pipeline
is proposed. limit load corresponding to yielding stress of material σ y . α is
a non-dimensional parameter characterized by Pg − p , Pg − d , Pm , P .
THE REFERENCE STRESS METHOD USED IN For the pipeline with surface corrosion defect, when it is
DETERMINING LIMIT LOAD only under the action of internal pressure, reference[2] has
The reference stress method is a kind of engineering given the analytical solution of limit pressure,
approximation method. Through the verification of Pl d ⎛ Ri ⎞ ⎛ Ro ⎞
experiments, reference stress is insensitive to characteristic = + ⎜⎜ ⎟ ln⎜
⎟ ⎜R +d
⎟
⎟ (5)
σy Riϕ ⎝ Ri + d ⎠ ⎝ i ⎠
parameters of material creep behavior. Based on it, Sim [1]
proposed a kind of approximate method. In that method, the where,
creep constitutive relation ε c = Bσ n is adopted. When n 1.61l 2
ϕ = 1+ (6)
Rit
tends to infinite, it is considered that the distribution of stress
will be equivalent to the fully plastic limit solution, Ri is the inner radius of pipeline, Ro is the outer radius of
σ ref =
P
⋅σ y (1) pipeline, t is the thickness of pipeline. Generally the plastic
Pl (a,σ y ) failure of the subsea pipeline mainly results from
Where, Pl is the limit load corresponding to the yielding stress circumferential stress σ h . Assuming the expression of
of structure σ y , a is the length of crack, P is external load. circumferential stress at the minimum section as,
P
When more than one group of loads are acting on structure, σ h,local = α σy (7)
Pl
more generally, we can define the generalized load as P1, P2 .
The expression of longitudinal stress at the minimum section
Then (1) is modified as, as,
P1, P2
σ ref = ⋅σ y (2) σ a,local = α
PRi
(8)
P1, P2 2t
l
Based on (2), the reference stress method which is used in According to the Von Mises strength theory, the equivalent
determining limit load is proposed in this paper. The criterion stress σ local can be expressed as,
for reference stress is that the load corresponding to the Pσ y
reference stress in load-stress curve is defined as limit load. σ local = σ h2,local − σ h,local ⋅ σ a,local + σ a2,local = α (9)
Pref
Obviously, reference stress is different for different failure
where,
criterion and material. So, limit load is different. When
1
reference stress is yielding stress, the corresponding limit load Pref = (10)
2 2
is the pressure plunging corrosion defects into the status of ⎛ 1 ⎞ Ri ⎛ R ⎞
⎜
⎜P
⎟ −
⎟ +⎜ i ⎟
yield. When it is flow stress, the corresponding limit load is ⎝ l ⎠ 2t σ y l ⎜⎝ 2tσ y
P ⎟
⎠
failure pressure of pipeline (bursting pressure).
According to the analysis above, it could be known that the
next problem to be solved is to find the relationship between
ESTABLISHIMENT OF THE STRESS EXPRESSION AT
α and geometric parameter of pipeline, geometric parameter
CORRODED DEFECT
Under the action of internal pressure, the relationship of defect, material parameter and the load parameter. So, a
between stress and load can be found according to the local series of FEM analysis should be carried out.
failure criterion and reference stress method. Generally, the
equivalent stress σ local at corrosion region can be expressed INFLUENCE FACTORS AND SIMPLICATION OF
MECHANICAL MODEL
as,
σ local = F ( Pg − p , Pg − d , Pm , Pl） (3)
where, Pg − p is geometric parameter of pipeline, Pg − d is
geometric parameter of corrosion defect, Pm is material
parameter of pipeline and Pload is load parameter. It is obvious
that this relationship is nonlinear and is hard to be found. But
referring to (1) a similar expression can be obtained as,
Fig.1. The geometry model of pipeline

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 The geometry model of pipeline is shown in figure 1. and 15-node second order prism element is used in transition
There are many factors which can influence the limit load of region. The regions around the corroded defect are meshed
pipeline with corrosion defects and they are very complex. uniformly and densified appropriately. The finite element
These factors may include structure parameters, the size of model is shown in figure 3. When defining the plastic data in
defect, the location of defect, the direction of defect, the shape the finite element analysis software ABAQUS, the real stress
of defect, material properties, etc. It is impossible and useless and strain should be used. For investigating the influence of
to consider all kinds of the combinations of these factors in the material, two material models API 5L X52 and API 5L X60 are
3-D plastic finite element numerical analysis. In order to reflect used in this paper. And, the real stress-strain relationships of
the important factors, when constructing the mechanical model, them are shown in figure 4 and figure 5. Symmetric boundary
the partial influence factors should be simplified according to condition is adopted in finite element analysis, ZSYMM
the structural characteristics, related theories and engineering （ U3=UR1=UR2=0 ） is used in xy plane and YSYMM
experience. So, through comprehensive consideration, the ratio （U2=UR1=UR3=0）is used in xz plane as shown in figure6.
of defect length 2 l and the outer diameter of pipeline Do , the
ratio of the defect depth d and the thickness of pipeline t
and the ratio of the relative circumferential half-angle are
considered in this paper. The values of them are shown in table
1. The shape of corrosion defect is idealized as semi-
ellipsoidal [3][4].
The simplified corrosion defect geometry size is shown in
figure 2.
Table1. The geometry parameters of corrosion defect
θ /π d /t l / Do
0.25 Figure 3 Finite element model of corroded subsea pipeline
0.3
0.50 500
1/6 0.5
0.75
0.7
1.00 400
0.3 0.50
1/3 0.5 0.75 300
STRESS (MPa)

0.7 1.00
0.3 200
1/2 0.5 1.00
0.7 100

0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10

STRAIN (mm/mm)
Fig.4. Stress-strain relationship curve for
API 5L X52 [5]
700

600

500
STRESS (MPa)

400
Fig.2. The geometry size of simplified corrosion defect
300

FINITE ELEMENT MODEL 200

In order to reduce the scale of the model and computing
time, based on the symmetry of the structure, a finite element 100

model of a quarter of the pipeline is built. When the applied 0

load is limit load, larger stress concentration may generate in 0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.20 0.24
defect area. For the sake of getting more precise stress value, STRAIN(mm/mm)
20-node second order hexahedral element with reduced Fig.5. Stress-strain relationship curve for
integration C3D20R is used in simulating the corrosion region, API 5L X60[6]

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 1.4
预测值
l=0.25D
1.2 l=0.5D
l=0.75D
l=D
1
θ =pi/6
d/t=0.3
0.8

ref
P/P
0.6

0.4

1.27

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4

Fig.6. Boundary condition of finite element model (a)σ local

/σ y

1.4
预测值
LOADING AND RESULTS ANALYSIS FOR FINITE l=0.25D
1.2 l=0.5D
ELEMENT MODEL l=0.75D
l=D
In order to study the trend of stress, internal pressure is 1
θ =pi/6
increased step by step until the stress reach or slightly exceed d/t=0.5

the ultimate tensile strength of material at the minimum section. 0.8

ref
P/P
At the same time the parameter of geometric nonlinearity
0.6
Nlgeom is opened. Firstly, 24 kinds of reference pressures of
defect in different forms are calculated based on (10). For API 0.4
1.27
5L X52, the applied pressures are 0.2，0.4，0.6，0.8，0.9，
0.2
1.0，1.1，1.2，1.3 times of the reference pressure separately.
For API 5L X60, they are 0.2，0.4，0.6，0.8，0.9，1.0， 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
1.1，1.2，1.3，1.4 times. The axial force which results form σ local/σ y
(b)
internal pressure at the end is loaded on in the form of pressure.
1.4
According to (9), through monitoring the minimum equivalent 预测值
l=0.25D
stress of the element center at the minimum section, the 1.2 l=0.5D
l=0.75D

relationship between the applied pressure and σ local is found. 1

l=D

Then, the dimensionless parameter α can be determined. Mises θ =pi/6

d/t=0.7

stress nephogram of the result is shown in figure 7. 0.8

ref
P/P

0.6

0.4
1.27

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
σ local/σ y

(c)
1.4
预测值
l=0.5D
1.2 l=0.75D
l=D

θ =pi/3
Fig.7. Mises stress nephogram of the pipeline 1
d/t=0.3

( l / Do =0. 5， d / t =0.3， θ / π =1/6,1.3 Pref , API 5L X52) 0.8

ref

According to (9)，the curve of σ local / σ y and P / Pref are

P/P

0.6

plotted, shown in figure 8.

0.4
1.27

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
σ local/σ y

(d)

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 1.4
1.4
预测值
预测值
d/t=0.3
l=0.5D
1.2 d/t=0.5
1.2 l=0.75D
d/t=0.7
l=D

1 θ =pi/6
1 l=0.25D
θ =pi/3 o
d/t=0.5

0.8 0.8

ref
ref

P/P
P/P

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 1.27

1.27

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
σ local/σ y σ local/σ y

(e) (i)
1.5 1.4
1.4 预测值 预测值
l=0.5D d/t=0.3
l=0.75D 1.2 d/t=0.5
1.2 l=D d/t=0.7

θ =pi/3
θ =pi/3 1 l=0.5D
o
1 d/t=0.3
API 5L X60

0.8 0.8
ref

ref
P/P

P/P
0.6 0.6
1.40
1.27
0.4
0.4

0.2
0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.5
σ local/σ y 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
σ local/σ y

(f) (j)
1.4 1.4
预测值 预测值
θ =pi/6 θ =pi/6
1.2 θ =pi/3 1.2 θ =pi/3
θ =pi/4 θ =pi/4

1 1
l=Do l=Do
d/t=0.5
d/t=0.3
0.8 0.8
ref

ref
P/P
P/P

0.6 0.6

1.27
0.4 1.27 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
σ local/σ y σ local/σ y

(g) (k)
1.4 1.5
预测值 预测值
1.4
d/t=0.3 d/t=0.3
1.2 d/t=0.5 d/t=0.5
d/t=0.7
1.2 d/t=0.7

1 θ =pi/6
l=0.25D
o 1
θ =pi/6
l=0.75D
0.8 o
ref

0.8 API 5L X60

ref

P/P
P/P

0.6
0.6

0.4 1.27 0.4 1.40

0.2 0.2

0
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.5
σ local/σ y σ local/σ y
(h) (l)

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 Based on the experimental data in related literatures, the
1.5
1.4 预测值 comparison between suggested method and other methods is
l=0.5D
l=0.75D
carried out, and the comparison results is shown in figure 9 and
1.2 l=D table 2. The average and minimum values of pressure
1
calculated by (11) agree with the experimental data better
θ =pi/3 than other methods, and the maximum pressure is a little larger.
d/t=0.5
0.8 API 5L X60
On the whole, the method proposed in this paper is more
ref
P/P

0.6
reasonable.
1.40
0.4

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.5
σ local/σ y

(m)
Fig.8. Curves of σ local / σ y and P / Pref for different defect
sizes and materials
The material shown in figure 8 (figure (a) to figure (j)) is
API 5L X52 steel, which ultimate tensile strength σ u is 1.27
times of its yielding strength σ y . While for API 5L X60 steel,
this ratio is 1.4. Through the analysis of figure 8, it is obvious
that the relationship between σ local / σ y and P / Pref almost
keeps linear after the material starting yielding at the minimum Fig.9. Comparison results for pressure of different methods
section. So, the parameter α in (9) can be supposed to be 1.0. Table.2 Comparison results with the experimental data
Then, (9) becomes, P/P_test
Pσ y
σ local = （11）
Pref Method Average Maximum Minimum
From the analysis above we can know that (11) doesn’t
depend on the size of defect and the material of pipeline. In value value value
addition, the parameter α is a little larger than 1.0 as d / .t 0.796 0.993 0.564
equals to 0.7. So, there could be a certain risk in this evaluation B31G[3] (0.839) (0.993) (0.727)
method. But this relatively large corrosion depth is very scared 0.853 1.131 0.510
for the real corroded pipeline[7]. DNV[8] (0.929) (1.131) (0.794)
0.832 1.081 0.463
VERIFICATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STRESS PCORRC[9] (0.906) (1.081) (0.764)
EXPRESSION AND ITS APPLICATION
Different failure criterion (different selection for flow Proposed 0.863 1.142 0.541
stress) would have great influence on the prediction results. (0.946) (1.142) (0.785)
So, it is important to choose a reasonable failure criterion. In method
previous part of this paper, the expression of minimum Note: the data in () is the statistical data when d/t<0.5
equivalent stress at corrosion region has been derived.
According to the different properties of materials, different CONCLUSION
failure criterion can be selected in (11). By (11), the failure In this paper, the reference stress criterion of limit load of
pressure of corroded pipeline can be estimated conveniently corroded subsea pipeline is presented firstly. The limit load is
and effectively. The failure criterion is, the load corresponding to reference stress in load-stress curve.
σ local = σ mat （12） Through monitoring the Von Mises stress σ local at minimum
where, σ mat is material strength characteristics. For high section, the linear relationship between σ local / σ y and P / Pref
strength steel, the value for σ mat is usually taken as its stretch is found when σ local is bigger than material yielding strength.
limit strength of material σ u . In addition, the influence of Because this linear relationship is hardly influenced by the size
geometric correction coefficient and defect shape to assessment of defect and material properties, a kind of simple and
results could be neglected in (11). applicable residual strength assessment method for corroded
subsea pipeline is proposed. Through the verification of

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experimental data, this reference stress method presented in this
paper is verified to be more accurate and reliable.

REFERENCES
[1] Sim R G. Ph D dissertation. University of Cambridge, 1968
[2] R6: Assessment of the Integrity of Structures Containing
Defects, Revision 4.British Energy, 2001
[3] American Society of Mechanical Engineer. ANSI/ASME
B31G-1984 Manual for Determining the Remaining
Strength of Corroded Pipelines. New York: ASME B31
Committee, 1984.
[4] J.B.Choi et al. Development of Limit Load Solutions for
Corroded Gas Pipeline. International Journal of Pressure
Vessels and Piping, 2003
[5] Fang Huacan. Safety and reliability analysis of Long-
distance pipeline Petroleum Industry Press, 2002
[6] Adllson Carvalho Benjamin. Predicting the Failure
Pressure of Pipeline Containing Nonuniform Depth
Corrosion Defects using the Finite Element Method.22nd
International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and
Arctic Engineering, Cancun, Mexico, 2003
[7] Chen Gang, Liu Yinghua. Numerical Theories and
Engineering Methods for Structural Limit and Shakedown
Analyses. Science press, 2006
[8] DET NORSKE VERITAS, RP-F101 Corroded Pipelines,
1999
[9] Stephens D R,LeiB N,Kurre M D,et al. Development of
Alternative Criterion for Residual Strength of Corrosion
Defects in Moderate to High Toughness Pipe. Catalog
No.L51794e.1999

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