Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector Bolts
Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems are commonly used to shield offshore drilling rigs, pipelines, and subsea equipment in the oil and gas industry. In underwater service conditions, water temperature, salinity and velocity play a major role in the longevity of subsea applications....
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | ECS Advances |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1149/2754-2734/acfc57 |
| _version_ | 1797655827705757696 |
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| author | Ofer Medlinsky Amir Eliezer Constantinos Hadjistassou |
| author_facet | Ofer Medlinsky Amir Eliezer Constantinos Hadjistassou |
| author_sort | Ofer Medlinsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems are commonly used to shield offshore drilling rigs, pipelines, and subsea equipment in the oil and gas industry. In underwater service conditions, water temperature, salinity and velocity play a major role in the longevity of subsea applications. Interactions between the preceding factors can induce catastrophic failure to critical systems while the underlying cause is unclear. This paper proposes an approach for elucidating the corrosion process accompanying underwater applications. The service conditions of underwater application are simulated in a multidisciplinary system that records various parameters such as water temperature, reference-electrode potential, and electric current at five-minute intervals during the 21 d of the experiment. This novel, experimental, and inexpensive ICCP system was developed on an “Arduino” microcontroller and applied to an actual ASTM A193 B7 bolt tightened on an ASTM A105 flange at different torque levels. Experimental results indicate a direct relationship between the water day-night temperature profile and the cathodic protection performance. Specifically, the ICCP performance declines with increasing temperature. When the ICCP system was activated, gas bubbles are generated on the metal surface. Presumably these bubbles could induce hydrogen embrittlement cracks which were observed in scanning electron microscope images of the bolt cross-sections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:20:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19b860fa83724a3c8943025f8acc6d52 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2754-2734 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:20:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ECS Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-19b860fa83724a3c8943025f8acc6d522023-10-19T14:02:28ZengIOP PublishingECS Advances2754-27342023-01-012404150110.1149/2754-2734/acfc57Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector BoltsOfer Medlinsky0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4033-668XAmir Eliezer1Constantinos Hadjistassou2Marine & Carbon Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Nicosia , CY-1700 Nicosia, Cyprus, GreeceCorrosion Research Center, Nano-Bio & Advanced Materials, Be’er Sheva 8410802, IsraelMarine & Carbon Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Nicosia , CY-1700 Nicosia, Cyprus, GreeceImpressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems are commonly used to shield offshore drilling rigs, pipelines, and subsea equipment in the oil and gas industry. In underwater service conditions, water temperature, salinity and velocity play a major role in the longevity of subsea applications. Interactions between the preceding factors can induce catastrophic failure to critical systems while the underlying cause is unclear. This paper proposes an approach for elucidating the corrosion process accompanying underwater applications. The service conditions of underwater application are simulated in a multidisciplinary system that records various parameters such as water temperature, reference-electrode potential, and electric current at five-minute intervals during the 21 d of the experiment. This novel, experimental, and inexpensive ICCP system was developed on an “Arduino” microcontroller and applied to an actual ASTM A193 B7 bolt tightened on an ASTM A105 flange at different torque levels. Experimental results indicate a direct relationship between the water day-night temperature profile and the cathodic protection performance. Specifically, the ICCP performance declines with increasing temperature. When the ICCP system was activated, gas bubbles are generated on the metal surface. Presumably these bubbles could induce hydrogen embrittlement cracks which were observed in scanning electron microscope images of the bolt cross-sections.https://doi.org/10.1149/2754-2734/acfc57 |
| spellingShingle | Ofer Medlinsky Amir Eliezer Constantinos Hadjistassou Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector Bolts ECS Advances |
| title | Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector Bolts |
| title_full | Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector Bolts |
| title_fullStr | Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector Bolts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector Bolts |
| title_short | Factors Governing the Failure of Subsea Critical Connector Bolts |
| title_sort | factors governing the failure of subsea critical connector bolts |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1149/2754-2734/acfc57 |
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