The application of finite element analysis as a new approach in corrosion and integrity assessment programs

Abstract

Structural integrity assessment procedures are interesting areas in many industrial plants, e.g., oil and gas, and petrochemical for ensuring the safety and economy of an operating sector. The remaining strength of components (e.g. pipelines, risers) with corrosion defects is a prevalent project in the oil and gas industry, and it has been investigated for years via using experimental, numerical and analytical methods. Obtaining the stress distribution in the vicinity of corrosion defects is a decisive phase in understanding the structural integrity of corroded components under high internal pressure. In the corrosion based management programs, finite element analysis (FEA) can provide valuable results in the integrity assessment. Also, FEA can be applied to corrosion monitoring of structures by considering different parameters such as protecting current distribution, electrochemical potential grid and coating degradation. This research discusses the application of FEA in the corrosion and integrity assessment process based on three areas including, in-service performance of corroded parts, repairing methods and corrosion monitoring techniques.