A Guide to Failure Analysis for the

Oil and Gas Industry

Alber Sadek, Senior Engineer
EWI

Failure analysis is a mechanical, material, physical involves damage assessments, life predictions, and
and chemical engineering approach to determining simulations. This approach is heavily dependent
how and why a component or system has failed. To on the cracking susceptibility of the component,
understand exactly what is involved, two questions the performance criteria, damage accumulation
must be answered: mechanisms, and the magnitude of external
• What constitutes a failure? stressors. Understanding the nature of the external
stressors allows mitigation of their effects through
• What is involved in a failure analysis? design, inspection, residual life assessment,
maintenance, and life cycle management. The
What Constitutes a Failure? following active stressors can directly or indirectly
Generally, a part or system has failed when it cause a failure:
no longer complies with its design intent. This
may include leaking hydraulic seals, decreased
component stiffness, an increased rate of corrosive • Mechanical: Applied stresses, residual
decay, a decreased part or system lifetime, stresses, pressures, impacts, and fretting
increased operating and maintenance costs, or movement
unacceptable aesthetics. Failures are not limited to • Environmental: Exposure to aggressive
service as they can also occur during development, environments and material-compatibility
production, assembly, or transportation. Failure issues
types may include fractures, component or system • Electrochemical: Exposure to corrosive
malfunctions, and/or unexpected behavior resulting environments
in customer dissatisfaction. Failure analysis can
determine the root-cause or causes, the chain of • Thermal Exposure: Elevated temperatures
events leading to the failure, fitness for service, leading to material degradation
options for repair, and recommended steps to • Radiation: Ultraviolet light, sunlight, and
prevent future failures. ionizing radiation

What is Involved in a Failure Analysis?

The Importance of Failure Analysis
Failure analysis and prevention is often a complex
Understanding the true root-cause of a failure
multidisciplinary activity requiring broad knowledge
is essential in making well-informed choices
in areas of design, manufacturing, materials,
regarding repair strategies and the mitigation of
mechanics, and testing. In the oil and gas industry,
future failures. A successful failure analysis can
failure modes include corrosion, fracture, cracking,
uncover deficiencies in a component or system
fretting, distortion, and thermal damage. Failure
design, assembly errors, and fabrication defects.
analysis activities are conducted as part of the
Issues related to improper material processing or
life-cycle management of a system, structure, or
material imperfections can be revealed, as can
component.
service abnormalities or maintenance problems.
Unintended or inadvertent factors can be detected
There are two approaches to failure analysis. A
as well. Generally speaking, the benefits of a failure
diagnostic investigation seeks to determine the root
analysis extend well into the future as lessons
cause, while the goal of a prognostic investigation
learned typically lead to increased quality in
is to identify, predict, and minimize structural
subsequently designed and produced components.
deterioration that could threaten safety. The latter
A Guide to Failure Analysis for the Oil and Gas Industry

Types of Major Failures in the Oil and Gas however, it can be minimized or controlled by
Industry choosing the appropriate design, materials, and
The oil and gas industry has established an coatings, or by changing the service environment.
impressive safety record over many decades; Identification of the metal or metals used, the
however, failures do occur. The most common root material surface layer, the service environment,
causes of these failures are as follows: and any foreign matter present is be beneficial in
determining the source of the failure.
Corrosion Failures: Corrosion is a common cause
of failure in the oil and gas industry due to the Corrosion Failure Case Study 1: Figure 1 shows
nature of the service environment. Corrosion failure a severe reduction in the thickness of a 20-in.
is defined as the degradation of a material due to a diameter carbon-steel spool with an original wall
chemical reaction with the environment leading to thickness of 20 mm. This specimen was removed
the deterioration of the physical, mechanical, and from a natural-gas production facility after 9 months
metallurgical properties of the material. This can of operation. The 65% reduction in wall-thickness
result in weakening of the component due to a loss occurred in the bottom section of the pipe as shown
of cross-sectional area, fracture due to hydrogen in Figure 1, resulting in a final wall thickness of
embrittlement, or cracking due to the formation of just 7mm. All operating parameters and pertinent
nonmetallic compounds. Multiple factors should be service information were collected and a complete
considered during the analysis of a corrosion failure metallurgical analysis was carried out.1
including the corrosion type, the corrosion rate, the
extent of the corrosion, and the interaction between
corrosion and other failure mechanisms.
The various corrosion types include:
• Uniform Corrosion
• Galvanic Corrosion
• Crevice Corrosion
• Concentration Cell Corrosion
• Pitting Corrosion
• Filiform Corrosion Figure 1: 65% thickness reduction of a 20-in. diameter
carbon-steel pip after nine months of operation.
• Exfoliation Corrosion
• Intergranular Corrosion Test results indicated that the rapid reduction
• Corrosion Fatigue in thickness could be attributed to three
simultaneously occurring mechanisms. First,
• Fretting Corrosion erosion was caused by hard particles in the natural
• Erosion Corrosion gas under the working flow rate and pressure.
• Hydrogen Damage Second, corrosion contributed to the failure as
a result of: (1) the presence of a large 6mm
• Microbial Corrosion misalignment between the two pipe sections,
• Stress Corrosion Cracking (2) the pipe’s horizontal service orientation and
• Dealloying its location within the overall piping system, and
(3) the presence of H2S in the natural gas (13
PPM), which may have been increased at the
In the case of oil and gas operation, the natural
condensate, forming dilute sulfuric acid and
process of corrosion cannot be prevented entirely;
A Guide to Failure Analysis for the Oil and Gas Industry

resulting in corrosion. Third, material softening

(cementite dissolving) occurred due to the applied
forces during manufacturing of the spool. This can
be seen in the measured hardness values. The
hardness of the inner surface was 66% of the outer
surface, resulting in lower wear/erosion resistance.

Corrosion Failure Case Study 2: An example of

a wear failure in natural gas field equipment is
provided in Figures 2 and 3. This lean-solution
pump was opened to investigate a vibration issue,
revealing a number of problems. An excessive
clearance of 2.2 mm due to wear was measured
between the balance drum and the throttling push. Figure 3: Evidence of the direction of flow on the
The required clearance in this area is specified eroded impeller surface.
as 0.33 mm to 0.41 mm. Further, unexpected
pitting and wear was present in all impellers, contaminants collected from the upstream filter,
intake, shrouds and blades. Erosion wear was also the damage was attributed to three causes2. First,
observed in the pump casing at the mating faces of the erosion of the impeller surface was caused by
the upper and lower halves as shown in Figures 2 hard particles in the solution, with vanadium oxide
and 3. acting as the key oxide-breaching mechanism.
Second, elemental mercury in contact with the
stainless-steel material induced rapid corrosion.
When mercury is present in its elemental form, it
can cause catastrophic damage in stainless steel
through an adsorption mechanism, especially if the
chromium content is significantly higher than the
nickel content, as was the case in this example.
Third, cavitation erosion was responsible for the
relatively high wastage rates and the development
of pitting and craters during service (Figure 4).

Figure 2: Erosion wear, pitting, and cracking in the

pump casing of a lean-solution pump.

The failure analysis included a complete

examination of the fracture surface using a
stereoscope, optical and scanning electron
microscopes, energy dispersive spectroscopy,
chemical analyses, and microstructural evaluations.
Based on the investigation carried out on the
provided pump components, gas analysis data, and
Figure 4: Pitting and craters on the damaged surface.
A Guide to Failure Analysis for the Oil and Gas Industry

Corrosion Failure Case Study 3: Figure 5 shows granular in appearance due to the sudden failure
two images from a circumferential failure of a girth- of the remaining cross-section of material. A fatigue
welded gas pipeline, with corrosion resulting from fracture surface may also feature beach-marks
imperfections at the weld root. This API X52 pipe and striations. Striations are thought to be steps
was joined using the shielded metal arc welding in crack propagation, where the distance between
(SMAW) process. A failure investigation concluded striations depends on the stress range.
that undercut and excess root penetration due
to high heat input were the primary causes of Fatigue Failure Case Study: Figures 5 and 6 show
localized turbulent flow conditions at the weld root. a drive shaft fracture which occurred after 245,000
These conditions led to accelerated corrosion revolutions with the fracture surface containing
failure at the heterogeneous grain structure, typical fatigue fracture zones. Two cracking
thermally stressed heat affected zone (HAZ), and initiation zones are present, characterized by a
fusion line.3 striation pattern. A step-patterned propagation
zone can be seen in Figure 5, as can the overload
fracture zone. Finally, a zone with a ground and
smoothed surface is present opposite to the crack
initiation side, resulting from a severe friction force
at the rotating fracture faying surface after failure,
indicating that one end of the drive shaft had
stopped rotating.

Figure 5: Corrosion of gas pipeline welds due to

welding imperfections.

Fatigue Failures: Fatigue occurs when a material

is subject to alternating stresses below its static
yield strength over time, and cracks initiate and Figure 6: General view of the failed drive shaft after
then propagate in regions where the strain is most approximately 245,000 revolutions.
severe. Such failures can be identified by the
presence of two distinct regions on the fracture
face: (1) a section where the surface has been
smoothed or burnished by the two faces rubbing
together, and (2) a section where the surface is
A Guide to Failure Analysis for the Oil and Gas Industry

Ductile and Brittle Metal Failures: Ductile

metals experience observable plastic deformation
while brittle metals experience little or no plastic
deformation prior to rapid failure via fracture. Metals
with a body centered cubic (BCC) structure such
as low-carbon steel exhibit this behavior, becoming
brittle at low temperature or at sufficiently high
strain rates. Metals with a face centered cubic
(FCC) structure such as aluminum and austenitic
stainless steels generally remain ductile at low
temperatures. Some metals experience a ductile-
to-brittle transition.

The Steps of a Root-cause Analysis

Figure 7: Step pattern fracture zones in the
A root-cause analysis determines the origin of a
failed upper drive shaft. failure by plotting a path from the final failure back
to the root cause or causes. This process begins
by collecting information related to the function
Structural engineering materials often contain of the failed component or system, as well as its
discontinuities at which fatigue cracks can initiate operational and maintenance history. Available
under cyclic stresses. The main cause of this failure drawings, photographs, reports, service deviations,
was related to the presence of a large number of and testimonies from operating personnel may also
nonmetallic inclusions in the steel shaft, as shown be valuable.
in Figure 7. Potential root causes included the
discontinuities themselves, the component design,
or lack of proper maintenance. While the last was Next, the failure must be examined, as must the
determined to be the root cause in this case, it was condition of entire region surrounding the failure, to
concluded that the non-metallic inclusions acted as document base material uniformity, discoloration,
crack-initiation sites. This behavior was particularly forms of contamination, corrosion products,
prevalent when the inclusions were located on the and grinding marks. This examination offers the
highly stressed surface. opportunity to examine the weld progression,
observe other structures in the region which may
have contributed to the failure, and macroscopically
classify the failure.

A metallurgical examination using a scanning

electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive
x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), optical microscopy, and
mechanical testing may then be required. Additional
steps may include chemical analysis of the base
materials, contamination, and corrosion products,
as well as calculation and/or measurement of
residual stresses using X-Ray diffraction and
Figure 8: Observed nonmetallic inclusions. strain-gauge methods. Simulation tests may also
be required to understand the cause of the failure
using finite element analysis (FEA) or stress
analysis.
A Guide to Failure Analysis for the Oil and Gas Industry

Determining the root cause, the time of failure, characterization. EWI has significant experience
the best methods of detecting the failure, and the performing failure analyses and developing
available tools of failure analysis can be complex. effective mitigation strategies for the oil and gas
This requires a diverse team with expertise in industry. Our experts can also help manufacturers
material science, mechanical engineering, chemical and operators in the field of oil and gas select non-
engineering, and physics. By working together, destructive testing methods to ensure joint quality
a strong team is not only able to identify the root and monitor performance during operation.
cause or causes of a failure, but also to establish a
plan to mitigate the occurrence of similar failures in
the future.
References
1 - A. A. Sadek, “Failure Analysis Of 20 inch Carbon
How EWI Can Help
Steel Spool”, International Conference on Failure
EWI’s expertise in material characterization, Analysis and Repair welding, ICFARW, Cairo,
stress analysis, structural integrity assessment, Egypt, 16-19 Nov. 2009.
mechanical testing, and welding engineering
covers a wide range of ferrous and nonferrous 2 - A.A. Sadek, ”Failure and Root Cause Analysis;
alloys. With extensive in-house capabilities, EWI Investigating Material and Component Failure
can perform accurate and reliable failure analyses in Petroleum and Petrochemical Industries”,
using analytical, experimental, and simulation 1st Egyptian-Fracture seminar on Mechanical
methods. Our full suite of software and extensive Properties and Failure Analysis of Engineering
testing capabilities allow us to predict and improve Materials,, Alexandria, 4 April, 2012
weld joint performance through structural modeling, 3 - H. Abdel-Aleem, K. Hafez and A. A. Sadek,
recommend welding electrodes for improved “Significance of Welding Defects in Corrosion of
performance, select proper welding techniques, Gas Pipelines Weld”, The 27th Annual Conference,
and perform microstructural analysis and Corrosion Problems in Industry, 25-27 November
2008

Alber Sadek is an senior engineer in EWI’s Materials group. His current work involves the selection of metals and
alloys as they are applied in different industrial sectors, covering their physical properties, material characterization,
weldability (similar/dissimilar alloys), corrosion, wear, fatigue, and creep properties. He investigates the effect of welding
parameters, welding processes and shielding gas composition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of
different alloy weldments.

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