Engineering Encyclopedia

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

OVERVIEW OF PART 2
“FAILURE ANALYSIS”

Note: The source of the technical material in this volume is the Professional
Engineering Development Program (PEDP) of Engineering Services.
Warning: The material contained in this document was developed for Saudi
Aramco and is intended for the exclusive use of Saudi Aramco’s employees.
Any material contained in this document which is not already in the public
domain may not be copied, reproduced, sold, given, or disclosed to third
parties, or otherwise used in whole, or in part, without the written permission
of the Vice President, Engineering Services, Saudi Aramco.

Chapter : Corrosion For additional information on this subject, contact

File Reference: COE-110.05 PEDD Coordinator on 874-6556
Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

Section Page

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 2

The Relationship Between Failure Analysis and Materials Selection ................. 2

Materials Failures............................................................................................... 3

Causes of Materials Failures.............................................................................. 5

Corrosion and Mechanical/Materials Failures .................................................... 8

SUMMARY................................................................................................................... 10

REFERENCES............................................................................................................. 11

List of Figures

Figure 1. Large Petroleum/Petrochemical Industry Property Losses of the 1980s........ 4

Figure 2. Significant Saudi Arabian Property Losses .................................................... 5

Figure 3. Root Causes of Materials Failures ................................................................. 5

Figure 4. Types of Failed Equipment............................................................................. 7

Figure 5. Typical Distribution for Causes of Failure (Mobil Experience, 1980-1988) .... 8

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

INTRODUCTION

The Relationship Between Failure Analysis and Materials Selection

Typically, initial materials selection is based on the requirements

of the governing standards, specifications, and codes. The
process of materials selection usually starts by considering the
minimum and maximum temperatures and pressures the part
will experience during its service life. The lowest cost material
meeting these mechanical requirements is normally chosen as a
starting point.

The preliminary materials choice is then reviewed for risks of

early failure due to chemical, thermal, and mechanical effects.
Conditions during shutdowns and process upsets can be
significantly different from those during operation and may
require upgraded materials or other preventive actions to avoid
premature failures. Reference 1 at the end of this module
describes the materials selection process in detail.

The relationship between failure analysis and materials

selection is shown below.

1. Initial materials selection is usually given in the Company's

engineering standards (SAESs), purchase specifications
(SAMSSs), and standard drawings. National and
international codes as well as process licensor
recommendations may also be used.

2. Facilities are designed and constructed in accordance with

the applicable standards.

3. The facilities are put into operation. For a variety of

reasons (such as incomplete design, faulty construction, or
substandard materials), failures occur in service.

4. Failure analyses are conducted, and the results are used

for two purposes: (a) to determine the root cause of the
failures and make the appropriate immediate repairs or
replacements and (b) to revise the governing standards
and specifications, or make other corrective actions, in
order to preclude similar failures in the future.

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

The development and maintenance of the Company's

engineering standards and specifications is an ongoing, iterative
process. Failure analyses contribute substantially to the
continual improvement of the Company's standards, because
the lessons learned from the failures are incorporated into the
standards.

Materials Failures

By the broadest definition, failure analysis involves the

determination of causes that are related to the unexpected loss
of performance of a structure or piece of equipment. Failure
analyses are performed mainly for the following reasons:

• To determine the primary or root cause of failure.

• To avoid future failures by establishing corrective actions

that are based on the determined cause of failure.

Serious incidents in production, refining, and petrochemical

facilities have been initiated by what would have appeared
otherwise as inconsequential failures. Some of these failures
have resulted in explosions and fires that cost millions of Saudi
Riyals and result in personal injury, loss of life, and loss of
production. Large losses in the hydrocarbon-chemical industries
are periodically summarized by M&M Protection Consultants as
provided in the course handouts. Some of the largest
petroleum-petrochemical industry losses in the 1980s are listed
in Figure 1. While Saudi Arabian losses were not as costly,
failures nevertheless have occurred, as shown in Figure 2.

Photographs of the rupture initiation sites of the 1977 Abqaiq

Plants fire and the 1978 Abqaiq GOSP-3 fire are shown in
Photo 1 in the Participant's Handout. Subsequent failure
analyses determined that both these incidents were caused by
pitting corrosion. In the case of the Abqaiq Plants fire, the
pitting corrosion occurred on the external surface of a crude oil
pipeline under disbonded tape wrap. In the case of the Abqaiq
GOSP-3 fire, pitting corrosion occurred under debris in a bypass
that was normally valved off in service, creating a "dead leg."

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

As a result of the Abqaiq Plants fire failure analysis, the

Company's standards were revised to require that all
hydrocarbon lines in plant areas within 500 feet of critical
equipment must be above ground. An extensive program was
conducted throughout the Company to elevate all existing,
buried hydrocarbon lines in these areas.

As a result of the Abqaiq GOSP-3 failure analysis, a Company-

wide effort, still in force, was made to eliminate "dead legs"
wherever possible and to take appropriate corrosion prevention
measures whenever they could not be eliminated due to
process considerations. Common preventive measures are (1)
internal coating and (2) sloping the "dead leg" portion back into
a flowing line in order to drain free water.

Year Location Loss (Riyals) Cause

1981 Shuaiba, Kuwait 375,000,000 Undisclosed

1984 Romeoville, U.S. 476,000,000 Sulfide Stress

(Union Oil) Corrosion Cracking of
Hard Steel Welds

1987 Pampa, U.S. 807,375,000 Undetermined

(Hoechst - Celanese)

1988 Norco, U.S. 1,125,000,000 Erosion-Corrosion in

(Shell) Steel Elbow

1989 Pasadena, U.S. > 1,875,000,000 Human Error

(Phillips)

Figure 1. Large Petroleum/Petrochemical Industry Property Losses of the 1980s

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

Year Location Loss (Riyals) Cause

1975 Abqaiq LPG Plant 39,750,000 Undetermined

1977 Abqaiq Plants 204,375,000 Buried Pipeline

Rupture

1978 Abqaiq GOSP-3 201,375,000 Internal Corrosion of

Pipeline

1987 Juaymah Gas Plant 225,000,000 Flange Leak

Figure 2. Significant Saudi Arabian Property Losses

Causes of Materials Failures

The failures that are cited in Figures 1 and 2 resulted from

several causes. The root causes for 100 major incidents
reported in Reference 2 fall into approximately six categories, as
shown in Figure 3.

Mechanical 38
failure

Operational
error 26

Unknown -
miscellaneous 15

Process
upset 10

Natural 7
hazard

Design
error 4

Figure 3. Root Causes of Materials Failures

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

Typical causes of failures (Figure 3) that are included in this

course are mechanical (38 %) and design error (4 %), as well as
various unknown or miscellaneous (15 %).

Figure 4 identifies types of failed equipment within the facilities.

The large number of unknown causes of failure or failed

equipment in Figures 3 and 4 is due to the fact that these
statistics are from major incidents in hydrocarbon and chemical
plants. Explosions and fires in these facilities can be very
destructive, and the location where the initial failure occurred
may be destroyed by the subsequent fire.

This was the case for the 1975 Abqaiq LPG Plant fire in
Figure 2. An initial vapor release resulted in a gas cloud that
exploded upon reaching a source of ignition. The explosion
caused a secondary rupture and fire involving a jet of flame that
melted most of the equipment in the location eyewitnesses
identified as being the probable source of the initial release.
Under circumstances such as these, it is sometimes impossible
to unambiguously identify the root cause of failure. Sometimes
the best that can be done is to identify, and eliminate from
consideration, the various secondary failures usually found in
the immediate area.

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

Piping systems 29

Miscellaneous or unknown 22
Storage tanks 17
Reactors 10
Process holding tanks 5
Heat exchangers 4

Valves 4
Process towers 3

Compressors 2
Pumps 2

Gages 2

Figure 4. Types of Failed Equipment

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

Corrosion and Mechanical/Materials Failures

The preceding survey broadly categorizes materials-related

failures as mechanical, design, and miscellaneous. Actually, all
of these failures can be categorized as corrosion or
mechanical/material failures. A survey of failure analyses that
were performed at Mobil for a nine-year period revealed over
300 nontrivial metal failures. (Failures that are termed
“nontrivial” included those failures that were not clearly
identifiable in the field and those failures that required further
laboratory examination.) A roughly equal number of corrosion
and metallurgical causes of the failures were found, as shown in
Figure 5.

Mechanical/Material

















Corrosion
135

173

Interrelated
14

Figure 5. Typical Distribution for Causes of Failure

(Mobil Experience, 1980-1988)

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

Numerous corrosion failures and mechanical/material failures

will be studied in the next three modules. The types of failures
discussed have been chosen because they are of interest in the
Company's normal operations. Specific examples from
Company experience (often supplemented by photographs in
the Participant Handout) are given.

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

SUMMARY

This module has described the relationship between failure

analysis and materials selection. Initial materials selection is
based on experience and existing standards, specifications, and
governing codes. The following modules will describe the
common ways that materials fail as well as the procedures used
to identify the failure modes and take corrective actions.

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Engineering Encyclopedia Materials Selection and Failure Analysis
Overview of Part 2
“Failure Analysis”

REFERENCES

1. Hansen, D.A. and Puyear, R.B. “Materials Selection for

Hydrocarbon and Chemical Plants,” Marcel Dekker, Inc.,
New York, 1996.

2. Mahoney, D. G., ed. “Large Property Damage Losses in

the Hydrocarbon-Chemical Industries,” Thirteenth Edition,
M&M Protection Consultants, New York, NY, USA, 1990.
[Handout]

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