Stress Corrosion Cracking of Pipe Steels: Effect of Environment Composition and Inhibition Possibilities

The paper investigates stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of X70-grade pipe steel under conditions simulating the underground service of main gas pipelines. Corrosion-mechanical tests were performed on specimens cut from pipes by cyclic four-point bending (maximum stresses were close to the yield strength) in electrolytes with different capacities to promote hydrogen uptake. NS4 solution, simulating the electrolyte beneath a disbonded coating, and a citrate buffer at pH 5.5 were used as model near-neutral media. The degree of hydrogen charging was increased by adding a hydrogen-uptake promoter (thiourea) and by varying the potential. It is shown that microcracks initiate at the bottom of stress concentrators (pits) and then emerge on the specimen surface, forming narrow cracks with a high aspect ratio. The corrosive medium shortens the incubation period of crack formation by approximately a factor of two compared with air, while the time to crack initiation is determined by the size and shape of the concentrator: natural pits with diameters on the order of hundreds of micrometres promote crack formation within 24 – 28 days, whereas artificially produced holes 0.6– 1 mm in diameter initiate cracks within 5 – 7 days. Based on hydrogen permeability measurements (electrochemical desorption), ranges of hydrogen concentration in the near-surface layer were estimated in which the effect of hydrogen on SCC initiation becomes noticeable. Under moderate hydrogen charging, crack initiation is hardly accelerated, whereas at elevated hydrogen concentrations in the steel the crack-initiation incubation period decreases sharply. The possibilities of inhibiting SCC by organosilicon (organosilane) films formed on the surface of pipe steel during its modification with solutions of organosilane-based compositions (vinyl- and aminosilanes) and with solutions of mixtures of organosilane + organic corrosion inhibitor (benzotriazole (BTA), Catamine AB) were also studied. The greatest increase in the time to crack initiation (incubation period), together with a decrease in crack growth rate, was achieved using the most effective composition, vinylsilane + benzotriazole. For unprotected steel, a crack emanating from a 1 mm hole appeared after 5 days, whereas in the presence of the surface layer [VS + BTA] it appeared after 36 days; in addition, the crack growth rate at the initial stage of crack development was reduced. The results may be useful for improving the reliability of underground pipelines and for advancing above-ground methods of corrosion diagnostics for underground structures.

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