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ML00165 - Jul.2020

SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil

Fractographic detail of the through wall cracking after opening, presenting a full integranular morphology, typical of an intergranular stress corrosion cracking.

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Fractographic detail of the after opening, presenting a full integranular morphology, typical of an .
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Material

Aluminum Bronze
  • UNS C60800
Ds

Description

The heating coil was in operation for 5 years in a crude oil cargo tank of a vessel and, during the periodic inspection, longitudinal were identified at the curved position of the coil, manufactured using bent seamless . The heating of the oil is required during offloading, using steam at 120°C to 150°C. The residual stresses and the water in the oil, probably with organic decomposition, created conditions for external and through wall stress cracks.

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Chemistry (% in weight)

Tube analysis

94.0Cu; 0.03Zn; 0.04Fe; 0.09Ni; 0.006Pb; 0.007Sn; 5.49Al; 0.02As.

Associated Images
Aspect "as received" of the seamless tube at the curved position, showing the longitudinal crack and corrosion products at the tube surface.
836
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - General View
Aspect of the external tube surface after cleaning. It is possible to see that the cracks are longitudinal to the tube and localized in positions where the surface is corroded.
132
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Surface AspectDf - External Surface
Aspect of the internal tube surface after a longitudinal cut, without cleaning. It is possible to see a clean surface inside the tube.
104
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Surface AspectDf - Internal Surface
Micrography of the tranverse section of the tube, in the center of the thickness. There are small grains and large grains, characterizing a dual grain size. The large grains size is about 100 microns, more than 10 times larger than the average size of the smaller grains size.
101
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - FeCl3+HCl+H2O Etched MicroDf - Dual grain sizes
Micrographic detail of the alpha microstructure presenting dual grain sizes. Two different types of twins are presented in the structure: annealing twins and deformation twins, suggesting that the material was probably partially recristalized after cold deformation and stress relief treatment.
87
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - FeCl3+HCl+H2O Etched MicroDf - Alpha
Micrography of a transverse section of the bent tube, external surface (OD) to the top and internal surface (ID) to the bottom of the figure. At the through wall cracking position, the external surface presented a layer of intergranular corrosion.
95
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - As polished micrographyDf - Cracking
Micrographic detail of the external side of the bent tube, as polished, showing detachement of several grains due to the intergranular corrosion layer. The corroded layer is about 200 microns thick at this position.
89
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - As polished micrographyDf - Intergranular Corrosion
Micrographic detail of the external side of the tube, showing the layer of intergranular corrosion and the through ewall integranular stress corrosion cracking.
88
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - As polished micrographyDf - Through Wall Cracking
The through wall cracking was opened and the fracture surface presents a full integranular morphology, typical of an intergranular stress corrosion cracking.
79
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Fractography by SEMDf - Stress Corrosion Cracks
Fractographic detail of the through wall cracking after opening, presenting a full integranular morphology, typical of an intergranular stress corrosion cracking.
79
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Fractography by SEMDf - Stress Corrosion Cracks
Micrography of the external side of the bent tube, showing detachement of several grains due to intergranular corrosion. The corroded layer is about 200 microns thick at this position. The differences of colours in the corroded layer suggests a dealloying effect, also known as selective leaching.
71
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - FeCl3+HCl+H2O Etched MicroDf - External Surface
Micrography close to the external surface (to the top). The layer of intergranular corrosion shows evidences of selective leaching (suggesting that the aluminum was preferentially consumed). The stress corrosion cracking starts from the intergranularly corroded layer.
113
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - FeCl3+HCl+H2O Etched MicroDf - Intergranular Cracking
Micrography of a tube transverse section, at the through wall cracking position, showing intergranular morphology of the stress corrosion cracking. In the center of the thickness, far from the external surface corroded layer, the cracks are intergranular but did not present any dealloying evidence.
49
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - FeCl3+HCl+H2O Etched MicroDf - In the Center of the Thickness
Micrographic detail of the intergranular corroded layer with evidences of selective leaching.
43
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - FeCl3+HCl+H2O Etched MicroDf - Intergranular Corrosion
Micrographic detail of the intergranular stress corrosion crack, without evidences of dealloying.
48
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - FeCl3+HCl+H2O Etched MicroDf - Stress Corrosion Cracks
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
1
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - General View
Macro view of a bent tube section showing a transverse surface crack with dark staining along the crack path on the outer bend.
0
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Surface AspectDf - General View
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
2
VIEW
ML00165 / Jul.2020
SCC of Aluminum Bronze Heating Coil
M - Aluminum BronzeP - Seamless tubeAp - Oil and GasCd - Stress Corrosion
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - Internal Surface