Probabilistic assessments of running ductile fractures in dense-phase and supercritical CO2 pipelines

Abstract

Running ductile fracture (RDF) is a severe failure mode of high-pressure pipelines. Dense-phase and supercritical CO2 pipelines are particularly susceptible to RDF due to the unique characteristics of the depressurization process resulting from a fracture of the pipeline. The present study carries out probabilistic analyses of RDF in dense-phase and supercritical CO2 pipelines. The well-known Battelle two-curve method is employed to establish the limit state function for RDF by comparing the arrest pressure with the saturation pressure. The arrest pressure is computed using the Battelle through-wall crack model with the adjustment recently proposed in the literature. The saturation pressure is computed based on the one-dimensional isentropic decompression assumption and a rigorous equation of state. The first-order reliability method is employed to evaluate the probabilities of RDF in hypothetical CO2 pipelines designed per DVN-RP-F104 with representative pipe attributes and initial operating conditions by considering uncertainties in the relevant pipe geometric and material properties. The analysis results indicate that the probability of RDF can vary by several orders of magnitude depending on the pipe attributes and initial operating conditions. Furthermore, the results shed light on the key uncertainties associated with the pipe geometric and material properties that influence the probability of RDF.