Glass-Reinforced Epoxy Pipes Subjected to Short-term High-Temperature High-Pressure Loading Conditions

Abstract

Analysis of failure in oil and gas transmission pipes has been carried out in Oman oil and gas industry for the last 10 years. It has been noticed carbon steel pipelines have shown a quite high event of failure rate. A great fraction of failure incidents were classified as pipe corrosion failure caused by adverse and corrosive environments (e.g., presence of Hydrogen Sulfide). Obstacles of introducing composite pipes into oil and gas transmission line have been primarily related to inadequate testing data to maintain materials' extended performance and integrity. Customized testing facility has been designed and fabricated to substantiate design of GRE pipes under controlled service conditions. Manufactured GRE pipes shall be qualified to be introduced and used in oil and gas pipelines in Oman. The testing procedure was conducted based on reported ASTM and ISO Standards. A pipe filled with crude oil was placed in thermal and pressure enclosure at a temperature of 65oC and an internal pressure of 130 bars. Mechanical and material tests were conducted to investigate performance and relevant pipes design specifications under such conditions.

 Keywords: Composite; Pressure; Temperature; Testing; Performance; Pipe; Failure; Corrosion