Curved-Wide Plate Testing of X100 Girth Welds

Abstract

Curved-wide plate (CWP) tests are frequently used for assessing the quality of pipeline girth welds. Despite a large number of CWP tests having been conducted at great expense over many decades, an industry consensus standard remains unavailable. Considerable effort at several research institutions is focused on the standardization of test protocols. It is widely recognized that comparing results from CWP tests from different institutions is difficult without accounting for all the possible parametric differences. This paper presents the procedural details recently used in testing X100 girth welds. The protocols cover (1) specimen design and dimensions, (2) instrumentation plan and data acquisition, (3) specimen fabrication and preparation, (4) preparing and executing the tests, (5) processing of raw test data and (6) post-test metallurgical examination. The evaluation of specimen deformation, flaw growth, and comparison of test data with model predictions will be presented in a future paper. Selected CWP test data from this program were evaluated and compared to tensile strain models of the girth welded pipe in a recent paper [1].

Toughness of X80 Grade Pipe Steel Girth Welds by Curved Wide Plate Testing

“…1. Detailed discussions of the CWP sample geometry could be found in other articles [11,12]. A surface-breaking flaw on the inside surface of the pipe, with a dimension of 4.5mm deep and 45mm length, has been introduced in the center of the joint weld.…”