Safe operation of gas pipelines based on the control of stress corrosion cracking

Abstract

PurposeThe paper is devoted to the phenomenon of stress corrosion cracking (SCC), which is an urgent problem for major operator companies that use large-diameter gas transport systems built in the second half of the last century. The aim of the study is to predict the operability of gas pipelines with SCC and ensure their safe operation.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of the article mainly consisted of strength calculations, mathematical and analytical approaches.FindingsThe paper describes practical methods of assessing the residual service life and operability of pipes with SCC defects as part of gas pipelines, the developed approaches to assessing the point of failure of pipes, provides recommendations for developing requirements to ILI smart tools in order to detect cracks and the methods of pipe repair depending on the SCC defect parameters.Originality/valueThe originality of the study consists in the analytical description of the point of destruction of gas pipelines with SCC, assessment of their performance, as well as the definition of modern requirements for the accuracy of in-line inspection to ensure the detection of potentially dangerous SCC defects.

Guest editorial

“…This Part II of the Special Issue on Structural Integrity and Failure Analysis of Metal Materials and Structures, resulted from a number of papers that were subjected to a rigorous peer-review process according to the high scientific standards of the International Journal of Structural Integrity. This special issue is composed of a total of eight papers proposed by engineers and scientists, covering subjects related to the aforementioned topics, such as Weibull statistical data based on Rockwell Hardness (Nam and Son, 2020), failure analysis of high-tension bolts (Nam and Yun, 2020), reliability analysis and safe operation of gas pipelines (Yang et al , 2021; Zhedulov et al , 2021), the relationship between the friction coefficient and interference in rail axles (Liu et al , 2021), efficient steel truss system using CFS sections (Dar et al , 2020), health monitoring and innovative reinforcement of bridges (Zhang et al ., 2021a, b).…”