Oil&Gas,PublishedPapers

Hydrogeninducedstresscrackingofduplexstainlesssteelsubsea
components
AmirBahramiandPaulWoollin
TWILtd
Cambridge,UK
Paperpresentedat29thInternationalConferenceonOffshoreMechanicsandArcticEngineering(OMAE2010),Shanghai,China,6
11June2010.

Abstract
Asmallnumberofduplexandsuperduplexstainlesssteelcomponentshavefailedinsubseaserviceduetohydrogeninducedstress
cracking(HISC).ThesignificanceofthesefailureshasledtoresearchtodefinecriticalloadingconditionsforHISC,toallow
confidentdesignofcomponentsinfuture.DatarelatingtotheFoinavensuperduplexhubfailureswerepublishedatOTCin1999and
NACECorrosionconferencein2001anddatafromTWIGroupSponsoredProjectswerepublishedatOMAEin2004.DNVRPF112
hasbeenbasedontheseandotherdata,toprovideaconservativeapproachtodesign.
ThereareanumberofgapsinthepublishedliteratureandinthedataavailablewhenDNVRPF112wasprepared,relatedto
differencesbetweensmallscalespecimenstestedattypicalseabedtemperatureandactualcomponentsinoperation,iethe
operatingtemperatureandpressure,anddatafromfullscaletestsonpipematerialwithfineaustenitespacingandhencegood
resistancetoHISC.
Thepaperpresentsnewdataontheseissuesandindicateswheretechnologygapsremain.

Introduction
Asmallnumberofduplexandsuperduplexstainlesssteelcomponentshavefailedinsubseaserviceduetohydrogeninducedstress
cracking(HISC).ThesignificanceofthesefailureshasledtoresearchaimedatdefiningcriticalconditionsforHISC,toallow
confidentdesignofcomponentsinfuture.DatarelatingtotheFoinavensuperduplexhubfailureswerepublishedatOTCin1999[1]
andtheNACEcorrosionconferencein2001[2]anddatafromothertwiinvestigationswerepublishedatOMAEin2004.[3]
ThesusceptibilitytoHISCshowsastrongcorrelationwithaustenitespacingandtestsperformedonsmoothsampleshaveshown
thatcoarsegrainedmicrostructuresaremoresusceptibletoHISC.[3]Smallscaleconstantloadtestsinseawaterwithcathodic
protection(CP)aregenerallyusedtocharacterisetheHISCsusceptibilityofduplexandsuperduplexmaterials.[2]Constantload,
tensileHISCtestsonhubmaterialsfromtheFoinavenfield,at1100mVSCEshowedthatifthesuperduplexmaterialwasloadedto
aninitialstrainof0.5%,creepandcrackinitiationwouldensueveryquicklyandfailurewouldeventuallyoccuratasubstantially
highertotalstrain,asaconsequenceoflowtemperaturecreep.[1]Testsonfullscalehubshavebeenreported,[1,2]whichindicated
thatoncecrackshadinitiated,theycouldpropagatethroughthicknessinabout10dayswithoutfurtherincreaseinappliedload.
HenceitwasconcludedthatinitiationofHISCmustbeavoidediffailureistobeprevented,andtheassessmentcriterionshouldbe
relatedtothethresholdinitialstressorstrainforinitiationofHISC.[1]
DNVRPF112[4,5]hasbeenbasedontheseandotherdata,toprovideaconservativeapproachtodesign.Howeverdataare
availabletoshowthatsomeproductformsincludingpipesaresubstantiallymoreresistanttoHISCthancoarsegrainedforgings,
duetofineraustenitespacing.RPF112doesnotallowadvantageofthisfinerspacingtobetakenreliably,asitisbasedona
measurementofaustenitespacing,whichisnotthesubjectofarecognisedstandardwithanecdotalevidencefromindustrythatitis
notreproducibleandhenceopentomisinterpretation.Therewerealsoanumberofothergapsintheavailabledataavailablewhen
DNVRPF112wasprepared,relatedto(i)differencesbetweensmallscalespecimenstestedattypicalseabedtemperatureand
ambientpressureandactualcomponentsinoperation,ieatelevatedoperatingtemperatureandpressure,and(ii)fullscaletestsfor
finegrainedpipematerial.Thispaperpresentsdataontheseissuesandindicateswheretechnologygapsremain.

Experimentalprocedure
Introduction
SmallscaleHISCtestswereperformedontensilespecimenstakenfromasfairlycoarsegrainedsuperduplexstainlesssteel.Tests
wereof30daydurationandperformedatapotentialof1100mVSCE.Comparativetestswereperformedat20and80C(1bara),
and1and100bara(20C).
LargescalefourpointbendHISCtestingwascarriedoutonfinegrainedgirthweldedandfilletweldedseamlesspipesfora
maximumdurationexceedingsixmonths.Residualstressmeasurementsweretakenpriortotesting.Testingwasperformedin
seawaterundercathodicprotectionat1100mVandstrainwasrecordedduringtestingatdifferentlocationsontheweldedpipe.
Visualinspection,dyepenetrantexamination,metallographicandfractographicstudieswereperformed.

Materials
ThemicrostructuralcharacteristicsofthefivematerialsaresummarisedinTable1.MaterialAhadafairlycoarsealignedaustenite
structure,withfairlyconsistentausteniteislandsize.MaterialBhada'primary'coarse,alignedaustenitestructureandfiner,random

equiaxed'secondary'austeniteislandsinbetweenthecoarseunits.Themeasurementsofaustenitespacingweremadeinthis
material(i)includingallaustenite,and(ii)toreflectonlythecoarseprimaryaustenitespacing,ieignoringthefinesecondary
austenite.
Table1Materialsexamined
Materialtype

Averageaustenitespacing(m)
Ferrite(%) Hardness(HV5) Thirdphases
20(transverse)
555
261
None
39(longitudinal)
Transverse:8(11ignoringfineaustenite)
B:22%Cr(UNSS32205)pipe
565
244
None
Longitudinal:11(43)
A:25%Cr(UNSS32760)bar

EffectoftemperatureandpressureonsmallscaleHISCtests
TwoseriesofconstantloadtensileHISCtestswereperformedonmaterialA(25%Crsuperduplexbar)withspecimensmachinedin
thelongitudinaldirectionprechargingandtestingwereat1100mVSCEand1barapressureat20and80C,innaturalseawater.A
saltbridgewasused,sothattheAg/AgClreferenceelectrodecouldbekeptcool.
AdditionalconstantloadHISCtestswereperformedat1100mVSCE,20CinnaturalseawateronmaterialA(specimensmachined
longitudinally)withprechargingandtestingat100bara.Theautoclavewaspressurisedwithnitrogen.AnAg/AgClreference
electrodewasused.Specimenswerestressedtoaroundthethresholdstressesforcrackpropagationandinitiationin30days,as
establishedatroomtemperatureandpressure(749and553MParespectively).Allowancefortheinternalautoclavepressurewas
madetothemeasuredappliedstressonthespecimens,asdescribedinEFC17.[6]
Aftertestthespecimenhydrogencontentsweremeasuredbyvacuumhotextractionandcracknumbersanddepthsweremeasured
onmetallographicsectionsthroughspecimensthathadnotfailedattheendoftest.

Fullscaleweldedpipetests
PipesamplesinmaterialB(22%Crduplex),whichwere4mlong,with15mmwallthicknessand168mmouterdiameterwereused
forfullscaletestinginapurposebuilt,fourpointbendloadframe.Twospecimenweldgeometrieswereexamined:
(i)apipewithagirthweldatmidlength.
(ii)apipewithafilletweldtoacircularpatchatmidlength,simulatingananodeattachmentpad.Thegirthweldedpipes,
designatedGW1andGW2,wereweldedbymechanisedTIG(withthepipehorizontalandrotated)employingaZeron100X
superduplexfillerwire.Thefilletweldedpipe,designatedFW1,wasweldedbymanualTIG,employingsimilarwire.
Residualstressesweremeasuredpriortotestingusingthecentreholedrillingtechniqueintheweldtoe/HAZareas.Thelocations
werechosentominimiseimpactonsubsequenttest.Theweldedpipesweretestedwithacellmountedaroundtheweldarea,
containingnatural,flowingseawateratatemperatureof10Cwithapotentialof1100mVSCEappliedbypotentiostat.Thepipes
wereprecharged,withoutloadapplied,forsevendays,priortotest.TheloadappliedtopipeGW1andFW1wasthenincreased
incrementallytoidentifythethresholdloadformacroscopiccrackdevelopment.Eachloadingstepwasmaintainedforsevendays
andthepipewasexaminedfortheonsetofcrackingemployingabinocularmicroscope.Aftersevendaysexposuretheappliedload
wasincreasedandtheprocedurerepeateduntilcrackinginitiated.Inordertorecordthestrainduringtesting,thepipeswerestrain
gauged.Followingdeterminationofanapproximatethresholdloadfromthefirsttwotests,thegirthweldedpipeGW2wastested
withloadingtogive0.5%totalstrain,asmeasuredonstraingaugesawayfromtheweldandheldforaperiodof6months.The
weldedpipeswereexaminedbydyepenetrantinspection(DPI)attheendofthetesttoidentifyanyfinecrackingattheweldand
sectionsweretakenthroughrelevantareasidentifiedbyDPI.
Stressconcentrationfactors(SCFs)fortheweldtoeswereestimatedbaseduponcomparisonoftheweldgeometriesandprevious
finiteelementanalysisperformedatTWI.[7]ThetwoweldgeometriesexaminedhadthefollowingestimatedSCFs:
(i)girthweldedpipes.TheSCFwasabout2.60.2.Theerrorsquotedallowforthevariabilityofgeometryinrealweldscompared
withFEmodels.ThemainvariablesdeterminingtheSCFatthetoeofabuttweldaretheangleattheweldtoeandtheoverall
profileoftheweld.Forthegirthwelds,thetoeanglewasmeasuredtobeabout45degreesandtheweldoverfillwasconsideredto
beintheformofacirculararc.
(ii)filletweldedpipe.TheSCFwasestimatedas2.80.2.Themainvariablesherearethetoeangleandtheratiobetweentheweld
leglengthandplate(pipe)thickness.Thetoeanglewas2025andtheleglengthandplate(pipe)thicknesseswere8mmand
15mm,respectively.

Results
Effectsoftemperatureandpressure
HISCtestingat20and80CFigure1presentstheresultsoftensileHISCtestingof25%CrsuperduplexmaterialAat20and
80C,1barapressureand1100mVSCE.Intermsofappliedstress,thethresholdforspecimenfailurein30dayswaslowerat80C
thanat20Cbyaround3%butnoreductioninthestressforcrackinitiation(ieformationofsmallcracksthatdidnotpropagate
throughthickness)in30dayswasfound,Figure1a.TheequivalentdataareplottedintermsofstraininFigure1b,whichshowsa
similarsmallreductioninstrainforcrackingat80C.However,the0.2%proofstressofmaterialEwasaround13%lowerat80C
than20C(530and608MParespectively),indicatingthattheHISCcrackinitiationandpropagationthresholdsat20Cwerelower
thanat80C,whenconsideredintermsofnormalisedstress,ieappliedstressdividedby0.2%proofstress.

Fig.1.ResultsofsmallscaletensileHISCtests
at20and80C(allat1barapressure)Fig.1a)
Plottedintermsofappliedstress

Fig.1b)Plottedintermsofmeasuredstrain

HISCtestingat1and100baraFigure2presenttheresultsofsmallscaletensileHISCtestingof25%CrsuperduplexmaterialA
at1and100bara,20C,and1100mVSCEinseawater.Areductioninthestressthresholdforcrackpropagation,byabout4%,was
notedat100barabutnoreductioninthresholdstressforcrackinitiationwasnoted.However,itshouldbenotedthatfewertests
wereperformedat100bara,suchthatthethresholdvalueswerelesspreciselydeterminedthanat1bara.Hence,itispossiblethata
smallshiftincrackinitiationthresholdexistsbutitcouldbenomorethan5%.

Fig.2.ResultsofsmallscaleHISCtestsat1and
100bar,20CFig.2a)Plottedintermsof
normalisedappliedstress,ieappliedstress/0.2%
proofstress

Fig.2b)Plottedintermsofmeasuredstrain

PosttestcharacterisationSubstantiallyhigherhydrogenpickupwasobservedat80Ccomparedto20C,byafactorof5to8,
whilstmeasurementsindicatedanapproximatefactoroftwoincreaseinhydrogenpickupat100baracomparedto1bara(bothat
20C).Itwasnotedthatthereweremanymorecracksformedat80Cthanat20Cbutincreasingtemperatureto80Cseemedto
havereducedcrackdepth.Raisingpressureincreasedcrackdepthforagivenstrain.

FullscaleHISCtestsonweldedpipes
ResidualstressAmaximumtensileresidualstressof453MPawasmeasuredintheHAZofgirthweldedpipeGW1about2mmfrom
thefusionline.Maximumcircumferentialandaxialtensileresidualstressesof447MPaand309MPawereobservedintheHAZofpipe
GW1.Amaximumtensileresidualstressof392MPawasmeasuredintheHAZofpipeGW2andmaximumcircumferentialandaxial
tensileresidualstresseswere389MPaand279MPa.ForthefilletweldedFW1pipeamaximumtensileresidualstressof404MPawas
measuredintheHAZabout1.5mmfromthefusionline.
ThresholdstressandstrainforHISCFigure3showsthe'crack'and'nocrack'appliedstresslevelsfromgirthweldedpipeGW1,
ascalculatedfromthelongitudinalstrainmeasurementsawayfromtheweldandthestressstraincurveforthe22%Crparent
materialB,indicatingtheapproximatethresholdload.Theglobalstrain,ieawayfromstressconcentrations,duringtestingwas
constantandnostrainingduetolowtemperaturecreepwasobservedatthegauges.

Fig.3.'Crack'and'nocrack'stresslevelsinthe
fullscalegirthweldedpipeGW1

Nocrackingwasobservedaftersevendaysat0.63%strain,correspondingtoanominallongitudinalstressof584MPa.The
equivalentnormalisedstress(withrespecttothe0.2%proofstress)was1.05.Crackingoccurredafterlessthan12hoursatastrain
levelof0.85%(measuredfarfromtheweldtoe)correspondingtoanominalstressof601MPa(normalisedstress=1.08).Failurein
pipeGW1occurredattheweldtoeandpropagatedthroughtheHAZ(Figure4)intotheparentmaterial.

Fig.4.Crackattheweldtoeinthe
girthweldedpipeGW1

TheappliedloadforthepipeGW2,testedatoneloadforsixmonthswithoutcracking,isindicatedbythedashedline(measured
125mmfromweldcaptoegauge6).Themaximumtotalstrainmeasuredfarfromtheweldtoewasalittleover0.5%,
correspondingtoastressof571MPaandanormalisedstressof1.03.

Fig.5.Fracturesurfaceofthecrack
ingirthweldedpipeGW1

Discussion
Operatingconditions
Increasingtemperatureto80Candincreasingpressureto100barabothtendedtoreducethethresholdstressforspecimenfailure
in30daysbutlittleornoeffectonsmallcrackinitiationwasfound.Whenthereductionofproofstressat80Cistakeninto
account,crackingbehaviourisimprovedintermsofnormalisedstressbutitisconcludedthatsensitivitytoHISCisnotsubstantially
changedat80C.Themechanismoftheeffectofpressureonhydrogenpickupisnotimmediatelyapparent,althoughoneeffect
mightbetoinhibitrecombinationofHatoms.Itappearsthatconditionsthatacttoincreasehydrogenpickuptendtoenhance
specimenfailure,iecrackpropagation,buthavelittleeffectoncrackinitiation,atleastforthedurationsstudied.Thefactthat
increasedsurfacehydrogencontentdidnotsignificantlyaffectHISCinitiation,suggeststhatthesurfacehydrogenlevelisalready
adequatelyhighforeasycrackinitiationat20Cand1bara.However,agreaterbutstillquitesmall,effectofpressureoncrack
propagationwasnoted.Thisisconsistentwithanincreasedhydrogenlevelsubsurface,arisingfromahighersurfaceconcentration
(thehydrogendiffusioncoefficientbeingunchanged).
Theeffectofincreasingtemperatureisnotasimpleone.Thesurfacehydrogenconcentrationat80Cisexpectedtobemuchhigher
thanat20C,ashigherchargingcurrentdensitiesarefoundathighertemperatures,[8]andthismightaccountforthegreater
numberofsurfacecracksat80Ccomparedto20C.Hydrogendiffusionisalsofasterat80C,leadingtohighersubsurface
hydrogencontents.However,thisdidnotleadtogreatercrackdepthsat80C.Onepotentialexplanationofthiscouldbethat
propagationiscontrolled,atleastinpart,bytheaustenitestructureratherthantherateofhydrogenpenetrationaheadofthecrack
alone.

Fullscalepipebehaviour
Theworkshowedthatfullscaleweldedduplexstainlesssteelpipes,withfineaustenitespacing,cathodicallyprotectedat
1100mVSCEcantolerateaglobalstressof1.03timesthe0.2%proofstress,equivalenttoatotalstrainof0.5%,bothmeasured
wellawayfromanystressconcentratorpriortotheonsetofHISCataweldwithandSCFof2.62.8.Onlysmalldifferenceswere
observedbetweenfilletweldedandgirthweldedpipes.Thepipetestfailureloadsaresubstantiallygreaterthanforcoarsegrained
superduplexforgings,whichfailedunderanappliedstrainofonly0.25%atastressconcentrator.[2]Theinitiationandsubsequent

propagationofHISCapparentlyoccurredatverysimilarstressinthelargescalesamples.Thestressandstrainattheweldtoeare
notknown,asthereisnosimplerelationshipbetweentheSCFandthelocalconditionsattheweldtoe,whichwillbeaffectedby
locallowtemperaturecreep.Whentheworkwasoriginallyundertaken,therewasnoopportunityorstrongneedtoanalysethe
resultsfurtherbutthereisnowanopportunitytomodelthestressandstrainattheweldtoeandtocomparewiththeRPF112
allowableloading.

Remainingissues:materialswithimprovedhiscresistanceandsubsurfaceflaws
RPF112representsabigstepforwardindesigntoavoidHISC.However,itmaybemoreconservativethannecessaryforsome
productforms,e.gfinegrainedwroughtpipe,partlybecauseitisprimarilyvalidatedagainstdataforverycoarsegrained
superduplexforgingmaterialandpartlybecauseitmakesconservativeassumptionsregardingtheeffectofresidualstress.Thishas
ledtoreportsfromindustrythatsomecomponentsarebeingoverdesigned,leadingtoproductionofcomponentsthatarethicker,
heavierandmoreexpensivethannecessary.However,someproductforms,includingpipes,aresubstantiallymoreresistantto
HISCthancoarsegrainedforgings,atleastpartlyduetofineraustenitespacing.WhilstRPF112allowsadvantageofthisenhanced
HISCresistancetobetakenformaterialwithaustenitespacing<30m,thequalificationprocessisnotrobust,asitisbasedona
microstructuralmeasurementofaustenitespacing,whichisnotthesubjectofarecognisedstandard,andotherfactorssuchasthe
alignmentandaspectratiooftheaustenitearenotconsidered.Thereisevidencethattheaustenitespacingmeasurementprocedure
describedinRPF112isnotreproducibleandhenceopentomisinterpretation,eginrelationtothetreatmentof'fineequiaxed
austenite'clusters.DevelopmentofarobustqualificationtestformaterialswithimprovedHISCresistancewouldbebeneficial.
RPF112recommendsthatweldsinnewdesigns,areasofuncertaintyand'critical'itemsmustbefreeofflaws.Unfortunatelymany
itemsfallintothesecategoriesandthenecessaryinspectionistypicallydifficulttoundertakeandtheneedtoeliminateflawsmay
forceunnecessaryrepairs.Theconcernisthatsuchcomponentscouldpasshydrotestandearlyserviceloading,egiftheyare
locatedoutsideoftheinitiallyshallowhydrogencharged,stressedzone,particularlyforcomponentswhicharemainlysubjectto
hydrogeningressfromtheexternalsurface.Howeverthereisariskoffailureinthemediumtolongtermifsuchflawsbecomefully
orpartiallyencapsulatedinahydrogencharged,stressed,zonenear.Ashydrogendiffusesfurtherintoamaterialwithtime,therisk
offailurefromsuchembeddedflawswillincrease.
RPF112takesaconservativeapproachtodealingwithflaws,asthereisanabsenceofreliabledataonthefracturetoughness
applicabletoburiedflawsinduplexstainlesssteelashydrogendiffusestothemoveralongperiodoftime.
Slowstrainratefracturetoughnesstestsonduplex/superduplexweldsexposedtocharginginseawaterwithCPgiveCTODvaluesas
lowas0.05mm.However,thefactthatnoHISCfailuresfromburiedflawshavebeenreportedindicatesthatthesevaluesarenot
appropriateandthatfurtherstudiesarerequiredtoquantifythefracturetoughnessrelevanttosuchflaws.Contributingfactors
includethehydrogenconcentrationataburiedflaw,lowtemperaturecreepandcracktipacuity.

Conclusionsandrecommendations
1. SusceptibilityofsuperduplexstainlesssteeltoHISCisbroadlysimilarat20and80C,despitesubstantiallyhigherhydrogen
pickupat80C,whichisabout5to8timeshigherthanat20C.
2. Increasingpressureto100baragaveamodestdecreaseinthresholdstressforHISCcrackpropagationbuthadnoeffecton
crackinitiation.Hydrogenpickupwasabouttwiceashighat100baracomparedto1bara,at20C.
3. ThethresholdstressforHISCoflargescalewelded22%Crpipes,withfineaustenitespacing,was1.03timesthe0.2%proof
stress,measuredawayfromtheweld,equivalenttoastrainof0.5%.Thereisanopportunitytoreanalysethesedatato
comparewithRPF112allowableloads.Comparisonwithpreviousfullscaletestsoncoarsegrainedsuperduplexforgings
wouldassistfurtherunderstandingoftheeffectsofmicrostructure.
4. ThereisaneedforareliableandreproduciblemethodofqualifyingamaterialwithimprovedHISCresistance,associated
withaustenitespacing<30m.
5. Ifaflawissufficientlyclosetotheoutsidesurfacesuchthathydrogencandiffusetooneofitstipsovertime,then
theoreticallythismayleadtoHISC.However,nofailuresfromsuchfeatureshavebeenreported,suggestingadiscrepancy
betweentestingandtheservicesituation.Thelikelihoodoffailureinthefuturefromsuchflawsthereforeneedstobe
quantifiedandassessed.

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