Collaboration solves long standing corrosion problem
M. Brameld A D , S. Thomas B C and G. S. Malab B CA Woodside Energy Limited, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
B Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.
C Woodside Innovation Centre, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia
D Corresponding author: Michael.Brameld@woodside.com.au
The APPEA Journal 60(2) 598-601 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ19212
Accepted: 19 February 2020 Published: 15 May 2020
Abstract
External pitting corrosion has been a long standing issue for stainless steel pressure equipment systems on Woodside offshore facilities. Experience has shown that this pitting cannot be effectively managed by inspection and, as a result, the current policy is that piping replacement should be planned once the presence of significant pitting corrosion has been identified. All Woodside offshore facilities have 316-grade stainless steel pressure equipment which is experiencing active external corrosion pitting to varying degrees. This represents the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars in piping replacement across the company. STOPAQ is an established product for the mitigation of external corrosion in carbon steel equipment however, it has not previously been used at Woodside on stainless steel equipment to address pitting corrosion. Through collaboration with the Woodside Future Laboratory at Monash University, Materials and Corrosion Engineering, Woodside Energy Limited has challenged the old established theory regarding the mechanism of pitting in stainless steel and a test program has been devised to validate the new way of thinking, which postulates that elimination of moisture and oxygen from the pits, by the application of an impervious layer like STOPAQ, will stifle the corrosion reaction and arrest the pitting. A recently completed test program at Monash which utilised computed tomography (CT) scanning, to very accurately determine the volume of corrosion pits, has confirmed that the application of STOPAQ to pitted stainless steel is very effective at mitigating this type of corrosion.
Keywords: pitting, corrosion, coatings, atmospheric corrosion, stainless steel.
Mike Brameld graduated from Curtin University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Metallurgy and worked for the past 41 years in the field of Materials Engineering, initially within the foundry and materials testing industry and later in the oil and gas sector. Mike commenced with Woodside Energy Ltd in 1996 and currently hold the position of Chief Materials and Inspection Engineer. Mike is an Adjunct Professor in the Curtin University School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. Mike works closely with the Woodside Future Laboratories at Monash and Curtin Universities to identify, research and solve materials and corrosion challenges at Woodside |
Sebastian Thomas is a Lecturer at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University. He is one of the researchers working in the Woodside Innovation Centre at Monash University, specialising in the area of Materials Durability. |
Guilherme Sander Malab is a PhD candidate at Monash University and studies the corrosion of 3D printed stainless steels. In addition, Guilherme is experience in additive manufacturing of metals and polymers, engineering design, software development and materials chemistry. Guilherme’s PhD is focused on the printing parameter optimisation of different stainless steels and the correlation of these parameters to the materials properties in corrosive environments. Guilherme is passionate about materials durability and experienced in many areas of corrosion engineering. |
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