5/26/2015

CarbonSteelDegradationinHighTemperatureHydrogenService

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Carbon Steel Degradation in High Temperature Hydrogen Service

Thepurposeofthisalertistoinformyouthattherehavebeenseveralreportsofcrackingrelatedissueswithcarbonsteelpipingandequipmentinhightemperature,high
pressurehydroprocessingserviceatoperatingconditionswherecarbonsteelwaspreviouslythoughttoberesistanttohightemperaturehydrogenattack(HTHA).One
publishedreportofsuchincidentscanbefoundinthepaperPVP201025455,Proceedingsofthe2010ASMEPressureVesselsandPipingConference,July1822,
2010,Bellevue,WA.
APIRP941,SteelsforHydrogenServiceatElevatedTemperaturesandPressuresinPetroleumRefineriesandPetrochemicalPlants,7thEdition,2008,Figure1,shows
theoperatinglimitsforsteelsinhydrogenservicetoavoiddecarburizationandfissuringfromHTHA.Onecurveonthatgraphisforcarbonsteel.Attemperaturesand
hydrogenpartialpressuresbelowthecurve,HTHAisnotexpectedtooccurincarbonsteel.
Priortotheserecentreports,theonlyreportedfailuresofcarbonsteelbelowtheAPIRP941,Figure1curvewereincasesofexceptionallyhighstress,asdiscussedin
Sections5.2and5.3ofAPIRP941.AllofthenewreportsofHTHAinvolvecarbonsteelequipmentthatwasnotpostweldheattreated.PastresearchsummarizedinAPI
TR941,TheTechnicalBasisDocumentforAPIRP941,statesthatnonpostweldheattreatedweldsnotonlyretainhighresidualweldingstressesbutalsohavelower
carbidestabilityintheweldheataffectedzonethatfurtherincreasesHTHAsusceptibility.TheAPIRP941TaskGroupoftheAPISubcommitteeonCorrosionand
Materialsisnowintheearlystagesofcollectingandverifyingdataandinformationtodetermineiftherecommendedpracticemightneedtobealteredasaresultofthis
newinformation.
APIisnotifyingallrefiningoperatingcompaniesofthisnewissueshouldowneroperatorsdecidetoaltertheirinspectionplansorriskassessmentsforcarbonsteelpiping
andequipment,especiallyifnotpostweldheattreatedand/orhighlystressed,andparticularlyinhydroprocessingservices.Section6ofAPIRP941provides
recommendedpracticesforinspectionofequipmentthatmaybesusceptibletoHTHA.
IfanyofyouroperatingsiteshaveexperiencedunexpectedcrackingissuesassociatedwithcarbonsteelequipmentthatmaybeduetoHTHA,pleasebringthosetothe
attentionofAPIbyparticipatingintheCorrosionandMaterialsSubcommitteeandtheRP941TaskGroup.TheformfoundinAnnexFofAPIRP941,Datasheetfor
ReportingHighTemperatureHydrogenAttack(HTHA)ofCarbonandLowalloySteels,providesarecommendedformatforinternalcompanydatacollection.
ForinformationonAPI'sRefiningStandardsandtheAPIRP941TaskGroup,pleasecontactSteveCrimaudo,Manager,DownstreamStandards,atcrimaudos@api.org

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CarbonSteelDegradationinHighTemperatureHydrogenService

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