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ASM E 1998
IPC1998-2033
Glen R. Stevick
Principal Mechanical Engineer
Berkeley Engineering And Research, Inc.
James D. Hart
Principal
SSD, Inc.
Bill Flanders
Senior Engineer
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company
ABSTRACT This paper describes the design and decision S-N relationships
that were developed during the Thompson Pass investigation to
During the summer o f 1996, the TransAlaska Pipeline System (TAPS) estimate fatigue damage. These curves are a combination of the AWS
experienced vibrations near Thompson Pass, about 25 miles north of A fatigue curve and an adjusted version o f the ASME Section VIII,
Valdez, Alaska. The vibrations could, on occasion, be detected by Division 2 design fatigue curve. These curves were used together
residents living near the pipeline at the bottom of the pass. Close to with a multi-axial fatigue model to compute fatigue damage due to
the source of the phenomena, small bushes could be seen moving in pipe stresses caused by pressure pulse cycling as well as that due to
response to the seismic shocks and a noise similar to a mortar firing operational startup and shutdown cycles.
in the distance could be heard. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company
initiated an extensive investigation and quickly determined that the INTRODUCTION
seismic shocks were a result of pressure pulses originating near the
slackline-packline interface. This only occurred when the slackline- The calculation of fatigue damage is an inexact science and, for new
packline interface was positioned near a terraced portion of the designs conservative assumptions are made in order to ensure that the
pipeline topography on the downstream side o f the pass. This probability of a crack initiating in a component during its service life
knowledge allowed Alyeska Pipeline to control the pulsations by back is extremely small. This is done, among other things, by using design
pressuring the pipeline to move the slackline-packline interface well S-N curves that incorporate a conservative margin of safety. Our
above the terrace location. concern for assessing the state of the pipe at Thompson Pass was
whether there was a significant probability that a crack had or would
One key aspect of the project was an extensive analytical investigation initiate, not whether there was a minute probability. The purpose of
of a dented and ovalled section of the pipeline near the origin of the the assessment was to guide the decision making process regarding
pressure pulses. The main concern at this location was that, as each short and long term actions needed to ensure the integrity of the
pressure pulse passes, the ovalled and dented pipe section tends to pipeline. If the cumulative fatigue damage at a dent location equals the
reround causing the pipe wall to flex a small amount. Since the damage that would be allowed for a new design (typically a
pulses occurred frequently under certain flow conditions, there was a cumulative damage of 1.0, based on a design S-N curve), this does
concern for possible fatigue damage to the pipe steel. The locations of not mean that the pipeline is on the verge o f failure, or even on the
maximum stress range were estimated to be near the 6:00 position on verge of crack initiation. For this reason, fatigue damage calculations
the outside surface of the pipe at the periphery of the dents in the X65 were made using two different S-N curves, namely a design curve
base metal (Stations 40959+28 and 40959+40 in Alyeska and a decision curve. The differences between these curves can be
terminology). explained as follows.
With the TP design fatigue curve defined, fatigue damage was It should be noted that the maximum cyclic stresses associated with a
calculated using Miners Rule. This rule states that the cumulative constrained pipe dent subjected to a positive pressure transient are
damage is equal to the sum o f the number of cycles at each stress level bending stresses (positive on the outer surface) and they are located at
divided by die number of cycles to cause failure at the same stress the periphery of the dent The resulting fatigue damage just below the
level. The equation is: outer pipe surface is significantly less than at the surface. Thus, zero
remaining fatigue life as defined using the above method indicates
crack initiation at the surface, not a through wall crack or leak.
Using the design level S-N curve, cumulative fatigue damage fractions REFERENCES
exceeding 1.0 were calculated only for the cases with the most
conservative assumptions o f pressure transient history and soil ASME, 1969, Criteria o f the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel
stiffness. For what were considered reasonable assumptions, the Code for Design by Analysis in Section III and Section VIII, Div. 2.
cumulative fatigue damage fraction never exceeded a value of 0.6 for ASME, 1995, Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII,
the design level S-N curve. Many variations of transient pressure Division 2 - Alternative Rules.
levels and soil stiffness were considered to determine their Baskurt, U. J., Bradshaw, P. M., and Hart, J. D., 1998, Slackline
significance on the fatigue life o f the pipe. Testing of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System at Thompson Pass,
International Pipeline Conference, Calgary, Alberta Canada.
For the decision level S-N curve, the calculated damage values were Cooper, W. E., 1992, The Initial Scope and Intent o f the Section
approximately one fifth of those for the design S-N curve. The III Fatigue Design Procedures, PVRC Workshop on Cyclic Life and
calculated damage factions were no more than 0.21 for any of the Environmental Effects in Nuclear Power Plants, Clearwater, Florida.
cases considered reasonable in terms of assumptions. D l.1-1996 Structural Welding Code - Steel, American Welding
Society, 550 NW LeJeune Road Miami, FL 33126.
A similar fatigue analysis was performed for the girth weld (Station Hart, J. D., Powell, G. H., Maple, J. A., Stevick, G. R., Norton,
40959+34) between the two relatively large dents at Thompson Pass. D., 1998, Fatigue Damage Calculations For a Dented and Ovalled
Fatigue design and decision level curves were assembled in a similar Section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System at Thompson Pass,
manner based on the AWS X-Curve (same as the AWS Cl curve) International Pipeline Conference, Calgary, Alberta Canada.
which is recommended for as-welded, full penetration butt splices and Ives, K. D., Kooistra, L. F., Tucker, J. T., 1966, Equibiaxial
groove welds. Based on the proximity to the slackline interface (i.e., Low-Cycle Fatigue Properties of Typical Pressure-Vessel Steels,
near the origin o f the pressure pulses) this weld is the most likely to be Journal of Basic Engineering.
subjected to a relatively high level of stress cycling from the pulses. It Juvinall, R. C., 1967, Engineering Considerations o f Stress,
is postulated that, with all other factors being equal, if this weld has Strain and Strength, McGraw-Hill.
little or no fatigue damage or crack growth, then welds further NCHRP, 1982, Evaluation of Fatigue Tests and Design Criteria
downstream would have sustained little or no fatigue damage or crack on Welded Details, National Cooperative Highway Research
growth. The calculated cumulative damage fraction for the girth weld Program Report 286, Project 12-15(5).
never exceeded 0.22, thus the dents govern the fatigue life of the pipe Rahka, K., 1992, Design Limits for Low Cycle Fatigue of
at Thompson Pass. Notched Components Baltica II, International Symposium on Life
and Performance of High Temperature Materials and Structures,
With an estimated fatigue damage fraction no greater than 0.6, the Tallinn, Estonia.
static strength of the pipe is essentially unimpaired. This means that if Rahka, K., 1993, Review of Strain State Effects on Low Cycle
the pressure pulses were stopped, as was accomplished in early 1997, Fatigue of Notched Components PVP, Vol 263, High Pressure -
the pipe at the critical dent locations is essentially undamaged for Codes Analysis and Applications, ASME.
future operating conditions. Shigley, J.E., and Mitchell, L.D., 1983, "Mechanical
Engineering Design ", 4th Edition, McGraw Hill Book Company.
This information was used to make recommendations to Alyeska,
namely that there did not appear to be any reason, based on technical
grounds, for excavating and repairing the pipe, since there is nothing
to repair.
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