Metallography of an Underground Oil Pipeline

The purpose of this article is to show a metallographic analysis of an underground pipeline taken out of operation upon failure. The pipeline had an 8.89 cm (3.5”) diameter and a 7 mm thickness. The study was based on a 45 cm long pipe sample, visibly and entirely corroded, with a fish-mouth crack along its length. The work contributes to finding new ways to prevent structural failure, which has high-impact consequences from the point of view of production, damage to property, pollution, and risks to human live. Through this analysis the knowledge on behavior of failures in terrestrial ducts has been extended. Development of the research included metallographic, chemical, and mechanical tests on the sample in order to know the composition of the material, its strength and its physical conditions upon taking it out of operation. After the analysis of the laboratory tests, the physical and chemical features were compared to existing national and international regulations, which allowed a specific characterization of the conditions of the sample. In accordance with the regulations, the grade of the pipe was between ×65 and ×70. Tensile testing was carried out to obtain mechanical properties in order to corroborate the grade of pipeline steel and complement the metallographic analysis.

Finite Element Structural Analysis of Buried Pipelines

This document uses previous results (which we call the first stage), for the development of a computer model based on finite elements under the FEAP programmer, to carry out a structural analysis of a pipeline. For this purpose, we used environmental variables that we believe influence the failure of buried pipelines such as the internal pressure of fluid, the type of support used, the temperature at which the pipelines work, the type of soil and the stiffness of the soil acting on it. Once the model was finalized, analyses were made with each of the variables separately and combined to observe the behavior of the pipeline, finding the most unfavorable case that indicates the main causes that led to its failure.

Probabilistic Model of Cumulative Damage in Pipelines Using Markov Chains

This paper presents a probabilistic model of cumulative damage based on Markov chains theory to model propagation of internal corrosion depth localized in a hydrocarbons transport pipeline. The damage accumulation mechanism is unit jump type, depending on the state. It uses a shock model based on Bernoulli trials and probabilities to remain in the same state or the next one. Data are adjusted to Lognormal distribution and proven with a Kolmogórov-Smirnov test. The vector obtained from multiplying the initial state vector with the transition matrix was developed and the system of equations to find each transition probability with a single inspection report was solved. In order to calculate propagation of internal corrosion after inspection, an exponential equation was proposed and a parameter was adjusted to the data. Time to expected failure was obtained by adding the time expected in each damage state. Each time step was adjusted to real time.

Geochemical elements in suspended particulate matter of Ensenada de La Paz Lagoon,Baja California Peninsula,Mexico:Sources,distribution,mass balance and ecotoxicological risks

The present study aimed to evaluate multi-element concentrations(Al,As,Ca,Cd,Co,Cr,Cu,Fe,Mg,Mn,Mo,Ni,Pb,Sr)in suspended particulate material(SPM)collected from Ensenada de La Paz(ELP)lagoon,Baja California Sur,Mexico in two different periods(September and May)to comprehend their origin,geochemical behavior,mass transfer and associated ecotoxicological risks.The 24 hr variation coefficient of volumetric SPM levels were found to be 51.7%in September and 40.5%in May,signifying the effects of oceanic waters.The calculated enrichment factor(EF)values for all the studied elements were of higher magnitude because of the high surface area and oxide nature of SPM,and in this study,Mo had the highest EF of 46.77 probably due to its origin from continental weathering.From the ecotoxicological perspective,the integrated toxic risk index revealed low toxic risk to the benthic community.However,the mean-ERM-Quotient calculated using the particulate concentrations of As,Cd,Cr,Cu,Ni,Pb indicated 9%probability of toxicity to biota.The comprehensive geochemical and ecotoxicological assessment of particulate metal concentrations in the ELP lagoon signify low to moderate contamination.