A review was performed of the currently known in-service performance, integrity concerns, and methods of assessing the integrity of vintage pipelines containing girth welds made by the shielded metal arc welding process. The scope of work included both a literature review and surveys of pipeline operators and subject matter experts. The literature review focused on several areas influencing girth weld integrity, including the evolution of pipeline construction and welding practices, welding consumables, weld inspection, testing, and quality assurance, typical attributes of vintage girth welds ...
A review was performed of the currently known in-service performance, integrity concerns, and methods of assessing the integrity of vintage pipelines containing girth welds made by the shielded metal arc welding process. The scope of work included both a literature review and surveys of pipeline operators and subject matter experts. The literature review focused on several areas influencing girth weld integrity, including the evolution of pipeline construction and welding practices, welding consumables, weld inspection, testing, and quality assurance, typical attributes of vintage girth welds including mechanical properties and flaw characteristics, the performance of girth welds in service (i.e., their history of performance and rate of failure), and finally, methods of assessing the integrity of vintage girth welds.