Failure investigation of a fractured vent line

•The paper investigates the cause of a fracture in a vent line of a main gas process line.•The failure investigation details the methodology , research and analysis used.•The fractographic features observed have been explained.•FEA was used to identify the position of the maximum stress intensity.•I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Engineering failure analysis 2021-06, Vol.124, p.105331, Article 105331
Main Authors: Brewitt, N.P., Spowage, A.C., Mustapha, K.B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Failure Analysis
Failure Investigation
Fatigue
Gate Valve
Vent line
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Summary:•The paper investigates the cause of a fracture in a vent line of a main gas process line.•The failure investigation details the methodology , research and analysis used.•The fractographic features observed have been explained.•FEA was used to identify the position of the maximum stress intensity.•It was concluded that the vent line failed due to a fatigue cracking mode. During a routine inspection, the sound of venting gas was heard in the area of the compression module on board a five-year-old natural gas platform in the South China Sea. The sound was traced to a fractured 25 mm vent line pipe on a main process gas line. Analysis of the failure showed that a fracture occurred due to a fatigue failure mode. The fracture was initiated under high stress concentration at the weld toe influenced by a small amount of undercut typically found in such welds. This paper provides a summary of the investigation, methods used, key results and analysis which led to the identification of the root cause of failure.
ISSN:1350-6307
1873-1961
DOI:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2021.105331