Failure in a pipe due to defective maintenance

Abstract

Proper maintenance of energy transport pipelines is a part of energy efficiency since energy losses during transport are reduced with good maintenance practices as well as the mechanical integrity can be known. Moreover, it reduces the risk of accidents or environmental damage. This work is an example of the experiences that must be taken into account for optimal pipeline maintenance and consisted of a failure analysis performed on a 20-inch diameter "T" connection, which plays an important role in the energy transportation process and it was found to be partially buried with exposure to rainwater. Preventive maintenance consists of visual inspection, cleaning, and coating with paint. The results indicated that the failure begun due to fatigue with origin in weld defects and the fracture grew up due to an overload, which caused the crack to grow following the region of the material with loss of thickness induced by corrosion pitting.