Session: CT-04-01 Assembly of Bolted Joints - 1

Paper Number: 106923

106923 - The Effects of Fluid Working Conditions on Flange Face Corrosion 

The second most common cause of hydrocarbon leakage is corrosion in offshore platforms. In seawater and hydrocarbon services, bolted flange joints can be susceptible to corrosion at their flange face. The current work considers corrosion of bolted flanged gasketed joints using the COQT fixture (COrrosion Quantification Test) to evaluate crevice corrosion in flange faces. According to the literature, both crevice corrosion and galvanic corrosion widely occur in bolted flanged gasketed connections, which create paths to leakage of the pressurized fluid. Leakage failure in bolted flanged gasketed joints can cause hazards to the environment and human safety. Corrosion in bolted gasketed joints was investigated in the literature. However, these studies do not consider the influence of the operating parameters such as fluid flow, pressure, pH, conductivity, temperature, and gasket contact pressure.

With the developed COQT fixture, which was introduced in the previous paper, different electrochemical techniques can be applied to measure flange corrosion under controlled test conditions. The polarization technique will be used to measure and compare the corrosion rate of flange at different flow rates, temperatures, and contact stresses. The flange sample material is ASTM A105, and the gasket material is Teflon. Electrochemical tests are conducted with a solution of 3.5% NaCl. Optical and confocal microscopy are used to visualize the morphology of the damaged zones on the surface, and localize and quantify the crevices volume caused by corrosion, respectively. Comparing the results of the electrochemical tests and the microscopic studies will identify the most influent factors on crevice corrosion of flange faces.

Presenting Author: Hakim A. Bouzid École de technologie supérieure

Presenting Author Biography: Abdel-Hakim Bouzid is a professor and the director of the Static and Dynamic Sealing Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ecole de Technology Superieure, Montreal, Quebec. He graduated from The University of Nottingham with Honors in 1980 and holds an M.Sc. degree (1981) in Tribology from The University of Leeds. He worked as an engineer in the petroleum and nuclear industries for 10 years before embracing a career in academia. Dr. Bouzid is internationally recognized for his technical contributions in testing and modeling piping joints and developing new gasket testing procedures for PVRC and ASTM. He has provided vital leadership to the ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Division serving as Division Chair, Conference Chair and as Associate Editor for ASME Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology. He is an active member of ASME Code Special Working Group on Bolted Flanged Joints. Dr. Bouzid has made significant contributions to both research and education. He has published over 200 papers and advised many graduated students.

Authors:

Soroosh Hakimian École de technologie supérieure
Hakim A. Bouzid École de technologie supérieure
Lucas Hof École de technologie supérieure