Corrosion represents a common form of damage in tubing, with pitting corrosion often leading to unexpected failures due to its concealed and random nature. In order to clarify the effect of randomly distributed pitting defects on tubing burst strength, a three-dimensional numerical model of inner-wall pits was established using nonlinear finite element analysis, based on characteristic pitting parameters. The reliability of the model was verified against full-scale burst test data of corroded pipes. Two random corrosion patterns, including uniform pits and combined pits, were considered to systematically study the influence of pit distribution, relative corrosion depth, spacing, and density on burst strength. An empirical formula for predicting the burst strength of randomly pitted tubing was subsequently developed through multiple regression analysis. The results show that, compared with tubing containing regularly arranged pits, randomly pitted tubing exhibits a more significant reduction in burst strength, by approximately 12.5%. A threshold effect of defect parameters was observed, where burst strength decreases rapidly when the corrosion density falls below 0.04. Under multi-pit random corrosion conditions, both uniform and combined pits affect burst strength in a similar manner, which is primarily controlled by the size of the largest pit. The proposed prediction formula shows good agreement with finite element results, with an average relative error of 2.4%. It is concluded that the correlation between pitting defect parameters and burst strength under random distribution conditions has been quantitatively established, which provides a theoretical basis and practical guidance for the integrity assessment and residual strength prediction of corroded tubing.
WANG Jie-li, LAI Xuan-ang, DONG Xue-lin, GAO De-li, AI Lei, HAO Rui-fen.
Effect of Random Corrosion Defects on Burst Strength of Tubing[J].
Science Technology and Engineering, 2026, 26(29): 12567-12575 DOI:10.12404/j.issn.1671-1815.2600391
API 579中的第6部分[18]提供了8种不同等级的点蚀图表。可以观察到,点蚀在有限区域内呈随机分布,凹坑之间存在最小间距。等级2表征了腐蚀坑在等级1条件下的大小、数量和间距的变化,更高等级的演变是类似的。因此,在点腐蚀随机分布条件下,可以利用3个参数:凹坑半径d、凹坑数Np和最小间距Ld来描述点蚀的腐蚀状态。
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