Laboratory Examination Methodology for Internal Pipeline Crack

Defects and anomalies routinely occur during the manufacturing, construction, and operation of oil and gas pipelines. For critical defects, identifying and repairing them is mandated by the regulatory agencies to ensure pipeline integrity. In this case study, an effective methodology for metallurgical examination of an internal anomaly is demonstrated on a Grade X52 pipe sample using industry-accepted laboratory techniques such as wet fluorescent magnetic particle inspection, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. The anomaly was confirmed to be a pre-existing defect that had been weld repaired around the time of installation.