Some of the future pipelines are expected to be constructed in remote areas. The environment in these areas can impose higher longitudinal plastic deformation on the pipelines. Such environmental conditions include, but not limited to, frost heave and thaw settlement in the northern arctic region, seismic activity, slope instability, mine subsidence, upheaval buckling, etc. The overall industry experience for this type of loading is very limited. The other trend in new pipeline construction is the move towards higher internal pressure (design factor of 0.80 as opposed to the more traditional ...
Some of the future pipelines are expected to be constructed in remote areas. The environment in these areas can impose higher longitudinal plastic deformation on the pipelines. Such environmental conditions include, but not limited to, frost heave and thaw settlement in the northern arctic region, seismic activity, slope instability, mine subsidence, upheaval buckling, etc. The overall industry experience for this type of loading is very limited. The other trend in new pipeline construction is the move towards higher internal pressure (design factor of 0.80 as opposed to the more traditional 0.72 for Class 1 designs) and the use of high strength linepipes (API 5L Grade X70 and higher). The ability to operate at high international pressure enhances the economic return of the pipelines and provides additional incentive to select high strength line pipe. The focus of this report is the mechanical properties of the linepipes and their influence on pipeline performance. The alloy design of steels, plate and coil rolling practice, and pipe manufacturing process can have profound effects on the resulting mechanical properties of the linepipes. The specifications of these manufacturing parameters leading to the final mechanical properties are out of the scope of this report.