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Research report on ultrasonic characterization and monitoring of cracking in wet H{sub 2}S service

Conference ·
OSTI ID:403561
;  [1];  [2]; ;  [3]
  1. DNV, Inc., Houston, TX (United States)
  2. Materials Properties Council, Inc., New York, NY (United States)
  3. CLI International, Inc., Houston, TX (United States)
This paper presents the experimental methods and findings of a research program to study the performance in wet H{sub 2}S of welded steel plate of various qualities and microstructure,s and evaluate the effectiveness of NDE techniques to characterize and monitor the cracking. To accomplish these objectives, a series of large scale exposure tests were conducted with steel panels (referred to herein as windows) containing welds and attachments welded into a fabricated steel vessel filled with a pressurized H{sub 2}S containing solution prepared in accordance with NACE Standard TM0177-90, Method A. Experiments were performed using windows comprised of conventional, low sulfur, ultra-low sulfur and advanced thermo-mechanically controlled processed (TMCP) steel. Characterization and monitoring of internal cracks resulting from hydrogen induced cracking stress oriented hydrogen induced cracking and sulfide stress cracking was accomplished at various pressures, solution pH, H{sub 2}S content, and exposure time. Methods utilized included: (1) manual and automated ultrasonic testing, (2) wet fluorescent magnetic particle testing, and (3) acoustic emission. The results of these nondestructive techniques were confirmed using metallographic sectioning following exposure. It was found that complementary ultrasonic inspection methods used in combination were highly effective for quantifying hydrogen damage in terms of dimension, depth, and disposition. Automated ultrasonic examination was found to be significantly more reproducible than manual methods; however, no single ultrasonic inspection method was found to fully describe the damage.
OSTI ID:
403561
Report Number(s):
CONF-960706--; ISBN 0-7918-1783-0
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English