Failure analysis of a natural gas transmission X60 steel pipeline

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the reason for natural gas leakage from transmission pipelines between Linyi and Shouguang in China during sealing tests, explore the failure mechanism and provide a reference for taking reasonable measures to prevent such accidents. Design/methodology/approach Failure analysis for the steel pipe has been addressed with different methods, such as microstructure analysis, inclusion analysis, corrosion product analysis, macro- and micro-morphology analyses and bacterially catalyzed experiments. Findings Several bulges were observed, especially at the bottom of the steel pipe sample, with the distribution and positioning not related to the weld. The inner surface of the steel pipe was severely corroded, and the oxide scale was flaking in many places. The greatest corrosion area was identified at the bottom of the steel pipe near the gas leakage point. Severe pitting and perforation corrosion in the pipeline were observed, and the main corrosion reaction products were Fe3O4, FeO and FeS. The grain orientation distribution near the crack (coarse grains <101> and fine grains <111> at the microcrack tip) indicates that fine grains may be beneficial in hindering crack propagation. Originality/value The principal mechanism for the corrosion failure is supposed to be due to the interaction of chloride ions with the sulfate-reducing microorganisms present and the stress corrosion cracking by chloride and sulfide formed by the sulfate-reducing microorganisms.