Enhancing the corrosion resistance of API 5L X70 pipeline steel through thermomechanically controlled processing
Date
2020-05-11
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Thesis
Degree Level
Doctoral
Abstract
Pipelines are widely used for transportation of oil and gas because they can carry large volume of these products at lower cost compared to rail cars and trucks. However, they are prone to environmentally assisted degradation. Different methods of optimizing pipeline steels such as micro-alloying, desulfurization, microstructure design, and inclusion morphology control have been used to improve their performance in different service environments. This study presents the use microstructure and texture control to improve the reliability of API 5L X70 pipeline steel.
The properties of API 5L X70 steel was manipulated through thermomechanical processing. Pipeline steel plates were produced using different processing schedules. The final microstructure and texture of processed steels were determined. Also, electrochemical corrosion studies were performed on selected steels in hydrogen producing and non-hydrogen producing electrolyte solutions. In addition, samples from each steel was investigated for hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) with and without the application of tensile stress. Further annealing heat treatments were conducted on the steel with improved HIC behavior before assessing hydrogen embrittlement characteristics. All the tests were performed at room temperature.
Generally, the lowest corrosion rate was measured in the hydrogen producing electrolyte due to the rapid formation of a corrosion protective film on the pipeline substrate. It was found that variations in the processing conditions affects corrosion and cracking behavior of steels. The least corrosion resistant steels experienced more intense surface deterioration after polarization. Subsequently, such steels were damaged by hydrogen attack. The steel with improved corrosion resistance displayed no visible cracking after probing in corrosive mediums and charging with hydrogen. Despite weak texture noticed in all the steels, (111) crystal planes showed better electrochemical corrosion resistance compared to (110) and (100). Moreover, microstructural features such as non-metallic inclusions/precipitates, grain characteristics, phase distribution, and local average misorientations were analyzed in relation crack initiation and propagation. Evidence suggests that cracking occurred mainly through deformed regions in the mid-thickness section. Early onset of crack formations was characterized by stepwise discontinuities. It was demonstrated that during in-situ tensile deformation and hydrogen charging, sudden failure takes place in the elastic zone. The obtained results indicate that cracks propagated through segregations of iron carbide around high angle grain boundaries. Also, multi-component inclusion particles comprising of angular (Ti-Nb) N precipitates, spherical Al-Mg-Ca oxides, and some traces of Mo-Mn-S influenced susceptibility to HIC. It was observed that hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility was lowered after annealing in two consecutive cycles compared to single annealing treatment. The double step heat treatment resulted in a dual-phase (ferrite and tempered martensite) microstructure with greater ductility than in original steels. Finally, the pipeline steel that was hot rolled (880 – 820 °C) and rapidly cooled (755 – 615 °C) at the rate of 25 °C/s has shown improved resistance to corrosion.
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Keywords
Pipeline steel, Crystallographic Texture, Corrosion, Hydrogen Induced Cracking, Grain Boundary, Thermomechanically Controlled Processing
Citation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Program
Mechanical Engineering