Acoustic Emission Monitoring of Wet H2S Cracking of Linepipe Steels: Application to Hydrogen-Induced Cracking and Stress-Oriented Hydrogen-Induced Cracking

Abstract

Abstract Acoustic emission (AE) was used for monitoring steel cracking during exposure to wet hydrogen sulfide (H2S) environments. A method for filtering AE data related to hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) was presented and applied for several case studies. In a series of tests on unstressed sweet service steels, evolution of AE indicated three successive HIC phases. An initial incubation period corresponded to hydrogen entry in the steel, during which no cracking occurred. Then two cracking phases were detected. The first was associated with decohesion of weak steel interphases. The second was identified as crack propagation under high internal hydrogen pressure. Crack propagation decreased and eventually ceased over time. Analysis of AE data was then used to evaluate the extent of HIC after sour exposure. Correlation was found when appropriate data filtering was applied. AE analysis was also applied to sour service steels under an applied load. The first steel exhibited HIC AE signals. Its fracture surfa...