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Article history: A relatively new method has been developed to stop external corrosion and structurally reinforce steel
Received 14 June 2007 pipes by external wrapping of damaged sections using bre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. Several
Received in revised form 28 June 2008 different defect geometries representing corrosion patches on steel pipe were characterized using nite-
Accepted 4 August 2008
element analysis, by changing the circumferential length of the defect. Pipe vessels containing these
defects along with the composite structural repairs were modeled and the results were compared to eld
Keywords:
tests to determine the effectiveness of the repairs. It was found that the defect width around the
Composite materials
circumference had little impact on the ultimate rupture pressure of the repaired vessel, but inuenced
Finite-element method
Pipelines the stress state in the underlying pipe substrate.
Rehabilitation 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction completely [3]. FRP repair systems also slow the external corrosion
growth by shielding the damage from the environment while the
Over 1.7 million km of gas, crude oil, and petroleum product pipeline stays in service [4]. Additionally, FRPs have become a cost
pipeline exists throughout the world [1]. Many of these pipelines effective option in the repair of other decient piping such as
have been in service since the 1940s and 1950s [2]. Consequently, corroded sewer lines [5], municipal water supplies, and process
every year between $2 and $3.3 billion dollars in the United States piping and pipework. Common, FRP systems used for reinforcing
alone is lost to corrosion in gas and petroleum pipelines that need pipe walls include glass bre, aramid bre, and carbon bre
to be repaired or replaced [3]. The large amount of external pipeline composites. Toutanji and Dempsey [6] showed that carbon bre
corrosion ultimately increases the cost of energy. Traditionally reinforced polymers (CFRPs) perform better than those reinforced
pipelines with severe corrosion problems have to either be taken with glass or aramid bres in that they improve the ultimate
ofine while the damaged pipe segment is removed and internal pressure capacity of pipes, signicantly enhancing the
a replacement joint is welded in place or reinforced with a sleeve strength, durability, and corrosive properties of the system.
repair where steel sleeves are manufactured in two parts and are In order to evaluate the effectiveness of a given repair system it is
placed over the pipeline and subsequently welded, or bolted to common to rst manufacture a defect into a pristine pipe specimen,
each other along the longitudinal seam [1]. then secondly repair the damaged region, and nally pressurize the
Recently, bre reinforced polymer (FRP) matrix composite pipe monotonically or under cyclic conditions until failure occurs.
overwrap systems have emerged as an alternative repair system. The size and shape of the defect region can have a signicant effect
Repairs made with FRP materials offer distinct advantages over on the level of repair that can be achieved. In this paper we therefore
traditional, welded repairs in addition to reduced cost. Primary evaluate by nite-element analysis four different defect geometries
benets associated with FRP piping repair systems include: 1) the representing corrosion patches on steel pipe given by changes to the
short amount of time needed to complete a repair, 2) the undis- circumferential length of the defect. Pipe vessels containing these
rupted uid transmission in the piping system while the repair is defects along with the FRP repairs were modeled and the computed
made, and 3) explosion potential is eliminated since no welding or failure pressures were compared to eld tests to determine
cutting of the pipeline is required. the effectiveness of the repairs, and the inuence that circumfer-
Industry analysis shows that such repair systems are, on ential defect length has on the efciency of the repair system.
average, 24% cheaper than welded steel sleeve repairs and 73%
cheaper than replacing the damaged section of the steel pipe
2. Experimental repair and pressure testing methods
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 515 294 3101; fax: 1 515 294 5444. Three types of materials were used to fabricate and evaluate
E-mail address: mkessler@iastate.edu (M.R. Kessler). repaired pressure vessels for rupture testing: a segment of
0308-0161/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijpvp.2008.08.001
J.M. Duell et al. / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 85 (2008) 782788 783
pipeline steel, an epoxy putty (to ll defect regions in the pipe), structure to allow the repair system to be applied. First, the two-
and a carbon bre/epoxy composite wrap. The pipeline steel was part high viscosity putty was mixed using a power drill and
ASTM A-106 Grade B, a seamless, plain carbon steel that is a paddle mixer and applied to ll the defect (as shown in Fig. 3a).
commonly found in the pipeline industry. The epoxy putty and The carbon fabric was impregnated with the premixed low
resin, the carbon bre, and application tools to apply the repair viscosity epoxy/amine prepolymer using an adhesive roller. After
are shown in Fig. 1. The putty that is used to ll the defects on the the fabric was properly saturated, it was wrapped around the test
pipe, restoring its undamaged dimensions is diglycidyl ether of vessel and the freshly applied putty using hand tension to pull the
bisphenol-A (DGEBA) based epoxide cured with an alphatic wet fabric, while keeping the centerline of the wrap with the center
amine hardener and a thixotropic fumed silica additive. The of the defect. This application procedure is shown in Fig. 3b. As the
carbon bre/epoxy wrap that provides the structural reinforce- wrap was being applied, air bubbles were forced out of the system
ment is created by impregnating a woven carbon bre fabric with by hand. A total of six layers of carbon/epoxy wrap were used to
a similar unthickened DGEBA epoxy/amine prepolymer resin. The cover the aw, giving the repair (excluding the epoxy putty)
plane weave carbon fabric consists of 12 K tow in the warp a thickness of 3.1 mm (0.122 in). Once the wrap was applied the
direction and 6 K tow in the ll direction. The 12 K indicates that epoxy was allowed to cure for at least 24 h, in a room temperature
there are approximately 12,000 carbon laments (bres) in each environment, before testing began. A picture of a completed vessel
bundle (tow), while 6 K indicates approximately 6000 laments is shown in Fig. 4.
per tow. The rupture testing consisted of rst lling each wrapped
Test vessels were prepared from 6 in. nominal diameter, pressure vessel with water vertically to insure no air was present
Schedule 40, steel pipes cut into 1.52 m (5 ft) lengths with welded within the system. Next, the vessel was moved to a secure area to
end-caps, each having a 9.5 mm (0.375 in.) NPT tting. The prevent injury to personnel. An air actuated, hydraulic power unit
Schedule 40 designation corresponds to a wall thickness (t) of was used to pressurize the test vessel. The hydraulic pump was
7.11 mm (0.280 in.) and an outer diameter (D) of 168.3 mm connected to the vessel and a transducer was used to record the
(6.625 in.). Simulated defects were machined into the pipe wall pressure in the line. The pump forces water into the pressure vessel
using defects with a longitudinal length of 15.24 cm (6 in.), and until rupture occurs. The internal pressure required to fail the
a depth to 50% of the wall thickness (3.56 mm or 0.14 in.). In the vessel was recorded. Pressurization to failure takes 1015 min.
hoop dimension defect lengths are 15.24 (6 in.) or completely
around the circumference. These defects, shown in Fig. 2, are 3. Finite-element modeling methodology
referred to as 6 6 patch and axisymmetric respectively.
Once the defects were created in pipe test vessels, the steel was In order to evaluate the changing stress eld with increasing
sandblasted to a near-white nish and placed on a support pressure levels for the repaired pipe vessels, several nonlinear
Fig. 1. Pipe repair application kit. (a) Reinforcement and application tools. (b) Two-part putty and epoxy used to ll defects and wet out carbon bre wrap.
784 J.M. Duell et al. / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 85 (2008) 782788
Fig. 3. Pipe repair process (a) lling defect with putty (b) wrapping epoxy wetted carbon fabric around the defect.
J.M. Duell et al. / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 85 (2008) 782788 785
Table 1
Material properties used in nite-element models
400
Ec trepair Es ts
Eav (2)
trepair ts
300
where Es is the elastic modulus of the steel. Then the elastic strain,
Stress (MPa)
3plastic (5)
300
2Ec trepair
100
Pyield D P Pyield D
3 3elastic 3plastic (6)
2 Ec trepair Es ts 2Ec trepair
Radial Stress
Hoop Stress
Axial Stress
a b
Axisymmetric Defect 6x6 Defect
700 700
Steel Putty Composite Steel Putty Composite
600 600
500 500
Stress (MPa)
Stress (MPa)
400 400
300 300
200 200
100 100
0 0
-100 -100
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
Distance (mm) Distance (mm)
c d
3x6 Defect 1x6 Defect
700
Steel Putty Composite 700
600 Steel Putty Composite
600
500
500
Stress (MPa)
400
Stress (MPa)
400
300
300
200
200
100
100
0
0
-100
0 2 4 6 8 10 -100
0 2 4 6 8 10
Distance (mm)
Distance (mm)
Fig. 7. FEA predicted radial, hoop, and axial stress at the center of the 50% wall loss defect from the inside of the pipe wall to the outside of the composite wrap at burst pressure.
Contour plots show corresponding distribution of hoop stress for (a) axisymmetric defect, Pburst 43.8 MPa (b) 6 6 defect, Pburst 44.7 MPa (c) 3 6 defect, Pburst 44.8 MPa (d)
1 6 defect, Pburst 43.8 MPa.
does not account for the defect geometry (i.e. length or width); only
Table 2
the minimum remaining wall thickness (of the substrate) is used to Comparison of repaired vessels
infer the internal pressure at the point of substrate yield. Finally, the
presence of the ller putty is not considered in the closed-form Defect type width length (inches) 50% thickness Burst pressure, MPa (ksi)
expression, while the minimal reinforcing from the putty is FEA predicted Tested
included in the FEA model. Axisymmetric 43.8 (6.35) 43.8 (6.35)
While these assumptions are very reasonable to obtain 66 44.7 (6.48) 43.1 (6.25)
a conservative closed-form solution to use for the minimum repair 36 44.8 (6.50) N/A
16 43.8 (6.35) N/A
thickness, trepair, in the ASME standard, the FEA results are able to
788 J.M. Duell et al. / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 85 (2008) 782788
Acknowledgements
References
Fig. 8. Example of a ruptured vessel with an axisymmetric defect.
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