Launchpad, November - December 2004
For a full list of proposed, active and closed projects see here
Qualification of the life of on-line repair techniques for pipe components
Launched: December 2004
Cost per sponsor: £9000 pa, two payments
Project Leader: John Wintle
A range of proprietary techniques is available for making on-line repairs to power, offshore and process piping and transmission pipelines but the limits to the life of these techniques and the capability of NDT are not well established. Regulatory and insurance bodies are cautious about their use. The question of the extent to which these primarily non-weld repairs may be considered permanent is one to which operators would like an independent answer. This Joint Industry Project (JIP) will evaluate and qualify the performance of techniques such as clamping and weld overlays. A programme of performance and non-destructive testing will be undertaken to fill gaps in current data and demonstrate fitness for service. The benefits to industry of this project include greater confidence in the reliability of these techniques, knowing how long they could last before a more permanent repair was necessary, and assisting gaining regulatory or insurance acceptance for their use. The deliverable from this project will be a report with recommendations and supporting performance qualification data.
SSC assessment of welds containing Ni>1% in sour service
To be launched: Early 2005
Estimated cost per sponsor: £25 000 pa, two payments
Project Leader: Stuart Bond
Presently ISO15156-2:2003/MR0175 requires demonstration of SSC acceptance for welds with more than 1%Ni in the deposit. DNV OS-F101 (DNV2000) limits application to consumables with up to Ni<2.2%. TWI published work as long ago as 1982 indicating the 1% limit was overly restrictive and questioned the historic route by which it had been included in MR0175 from OCTG. SSC data for the range 1-2%Ni could allow ballot to ISO15156-2 to eliminate the need for repeat testing, whilst exploring the limits for Ni to, say, 3-5%. This may be beneficial for applications where improved toughness would provide greater confidence in operation. Industry will benefit from reduced qualification requirements and improved weld toughness for sour service operations, which are currently not viable options for new projects or plant modification.
Definition of sour service limits for welded type 316l and cost effective CRAs
To be launched: Early 2005
Estimated cost per sponsor: £25 000 pa, two payments
Project Leader: Stuart Bond
Many applications in sour service require use of cost effective CRA materials such as Type 316L (UNS S31603) stainless steels but the limits of application are not well defined and hence conservative restrictions exist in ISO15156-3:2003/MR0175. To allow less conservative material selection and to ensure safe application of these grades in the welded condition, further data are required on the application envelope to avoid environmental cracking in sour service. This project will consider both low and high concentrations of chloride to give guidance appropriate to both downhole and well-head conditions, and environments appropriate to locations downstream of water separation such as compressors etc. Balloting to include the data in ISO15156/MR0175 is expected if the Sponsor Group so wish. Provision of an accurate application envelope will ensure optimised material selection to avoid over-design and lead to savings in materials costs. Refined application limits will ensure cost effective safe operation of facilities using such material grades thus avoiding costly failures impacting upon loss of production, personnel safety and the environment.
