Finite element simulation of natural gas pipelines in service welding repair

Yuwei Zhou; Yongxin Lu; Xiaoyong Zhang; Pengjun Wen; Ronghao Li; Shiqing Wang; Yan Xu; Zhikang Shen

doi:10.1515/mt-2025-0026

Article

Finite element simulation of natural gas pipelines in service welding repair

Yuwei Zhou
Yuwei Zhou, born in 1999, graduated from School of Computer and Information Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University in 2022. Then, she studied for a master’s degree at Xi’an Shiyou University. At present, she is a third-grade graduate student. Her main research direction is B-type sleeve repair welding in service.
, Yongxin Lu
Yongxin Lu, worked in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, China. Currently, he is an associate professor, and his main research areas are control and simulation of welding deformation and friction stir welding.
, Xiaoyong Zhang
Xiaoyong Zhang, worked in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, China. Currently, he is engaged in the teaching and research of microstructure and performance control, welding, corrosion and protection of petroleum engineering materials.
, Pengjun Wen
Pengjun Wen, born in 1996, graduated from the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Pujiang College, Nanjing University of Technology, with abachelor’sdegree in2022. He is a graduate student at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University. His research interest covers the finite element analysis of in-service pipeline repair and friction stir welding.
, Ronghao Li , Shiqing Wang , Yan Xu
Yan Xu, worked in CNPC Tubular Goods Research Institute, China. Currently, he has published more than ten papers on hot processing of bend pipe and in-service welding.
and Zhikang Shen

Published/Copyright: April 9, 2025

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Submit Manuscript Author Information

From the journal Materials Testing Volume 67 Issue 6

Abstract

This paper mainly studies the welding of annular fillet weld using carbon dioxide gas shielded welding and interrupted pulsed arc welding (IPAW) method, using ABAQUS finite element technology to simulate the in-service welding process of X80 pipeline, and comparatively analyze the carbon dioxide gas shielded welding and IPAW of the priming layer, the overall weld temperature field and the distribution of stress field. The distribution patterns of the priming layer, overall welding temperature field and stress field of carbon dioxide gas shielded welding and IPAW were comparatively analyzed. The results indicate that, in addition to the conventional carbon dioxide gas shielded welding method, improved pulse arc welding (IPAW) is also suitable for welding repair. IPAW can significantly mitigate the adverse effects on the base material during welding. It demonstrates superior performance in controlling thermal effects and stress concentration within the weld zone, resulting in a smaller heat-affected zone compared to that produced by carbon dioxide gas shielded welding, thereby effectively reducing overall residual stress. Through finite element simulation, it is possible to replicate in-service welding conditions, optimize welding process parameters, control heat input, monitor welding residual stress, and provide data-driven support for actual repair welding, ultimately enhancing repair quality.

Keywords: B-type sleeve; carbon dioxide gas shielded welding; repaired on working; interrupted pulsed arc welding; welding simulation

Corresponding author: Yongxin Lu, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China; and Xi’an Key Laboratory of High Performance Oil and Gas Field Materials, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China, E-mail: luyongxin618@163.com

About the authors

Yuwei Zhou

Yuwei Zhou, born in 1999, graduated from School of Computer and Information Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University in 2022. Then, she studied for a master’s degree at Xi’an Shiyou University. At present, she is a third-grade graduate student. Her main research direction is B-type sleeve repair welding in service.

Yongxin Lu

Yongxin Lu, worked in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, China. Currently, he is an associate professor, and his main research areas are control and simulation of welding deformation and friction stir welding.

Xiaoyong Zhang

Xiaoyong Zhang, worked in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, China. Currently, he is engaged in the teaching and research of microstructure and performance control, welding, corrosion and protection of petroleum engineering materials.

Pengjun Wen

Pengjun Wen, born in 1996, graduated from the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Pujiang College, Nanjing University of Technology, with abachelor’sdegree in2022. He is a graduate student at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University. His research interest covers the finite element analysis of in-service pipeline repair and friction stir welding.

Yan Xu

Yan Xu, worked in CNPC Tubular Goods Research Institute, China. Currently, he has published more than ten papers on hot processing of bend pipe and in-service welding.

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Author contributions: Y. Z: Software, Methodology, Investigation, Conceptualization, Writing -original draft, Data Curation, Formal analysis. Y. L: Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing-review and editing, Methodology, Conceptualization. X. Z: Supervision, Resources, P. W: Resources, Investigation. R. L: Resources, Investigation. Shiqing Wang: Writing-review & editing. Y. X: Validation, Supervision. Z. S: Writing-review & editing. The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: The authors thank the financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.52475401).
Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

References

[1] H. B. Zhang, Y. Lu, and F. Yang, “Effect of local heat treatment on residual stresses in an in-service repair welded pipeline,” Mater. Test., vol. 64, no. 9, pp. 1255–1262, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2022-0034.Search in Google Scholar

[2] Y. D. Han, H. Y. Jing, and L. Y. Xu, “Welding heat input effect on the hydrogen permeation in the X80 steel welded joints,” Mater. Chem. Phys., vol. 132, no. 1, pp. 216–222, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2011.11.036.Search in Google Scholar

[3] C. W. Du, X. G. Li, P. Liang, Z. Y. Liu, G. F. Jia, and Y. F. Cheng, “Effects of microstructure on corrosion of X70 pipe steel in an alkaline soil,” J. Mater. Eng. Perform., vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 216–220, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-008-9280-y.Search in Google Scholar

[4] Y. X. Lu, H. Y. Jing, Y. D. Han, and L. Y. Xu, “Effect of welding heat input on the corrosion resistance of carbon steel weld metal,” J. Mater. Eng. Perform., vol. 25, no. 12, pp. 565–576, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-015-1815-4.Search in Google Scholar

[5] Y. X. Lu, X. Xu, and B. Zhang, “Microstructural analysis and mechanical behavior of TC4 titanium alloy and 304 stainless steel by friction stir lap welding,” Weld. World, vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 1915–1930, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-021-01133-z.Search in Google Scholar

[6] L. Guo, M. Wu, and Y. Xu, “Influence of heat input on temperature and stress field of X80 steel pipeline cirumferential weld using type-B sleeve repairing,” Mater. Test., vol. 65, no. 12, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2023-0274.Search in Google Scholar

[7] L. Guo, M. Wu, and Y. Xu, “Influence of heat input and heat exchange coefficient on temperature and stress field of a X80 steel pipeline repair-weld root pass of a type-B sleeve,” Mater. Test., vol. 67, no. 3, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2024-0360.Search in Google Scholar

[8] Y. Shuai, X. Wang, J. Wang, H. G. Yin, and Y. F. Cheng, “Modeling of mechanical behavior of corroded X80 steel pipeline reinforced with type-B repair sleeve,” Thin-Walled Struct., vol. 163, no. 6, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2021.107708.Search in Google Scholar

[9] L. Liu, “Effect of welding sequence on residual stresses in welded joints of stainless steel pipes,” Weld. Technol., vol. 52, no. 9, pp. 40–43, 2023, https://doi.org/10.13846/j.cnki.cn12-1070/tg.2023.09.024.Search in Google Scholar

[10] Z. Huang, H. Tang, Y. Ding, Q. Wei, and G. Xia, “Numerical Simulations of temperature for the in-service welding of gas pipeline,” J. Mater. Process. Technol., vol. 248, no. 10, pp. 72–78, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2017.05.008.Search in Google Scholar

[11] H. Zhang, X. Li, Z. Wei, and L. Xu, “Numerical simulation study on improvement of residual stresses in straight welds of pipelines by post-weld heat treatment,” Welded Pipe, vol. 46, no. 9, pp. 14–20, 2023, https://doi.org/10.19291/j.cnki.1001-3938.2023.09.003.Search in Google Scholar

[12] G. U. O. Kuan-liang, Computational Heat Transfer [M], Hefei, University of Science and Technology of China Press, 1989.Search in Google Scholar

[13] W. Zhu, “Influence of operating conditions on welding temperature field of X80 natural gas pipeline in service,” Oil and Gas Storage and Transp., vol. 41, no. 8, pp. 953–961, 2022.Search in Google Scholar

[14] G. Guo, Research on the Judgment of Weld Burn-Through of X70 Steel High Pressure Gas Pipeline in Service, Qingdao, China University of Petroleum(East China), 2014.Search in Google Scholar

[15] Y. Lu, X. Xu, and B. Zhang, “Effects of laser and GMA hybrid welding parameters on shape, residual stress and deformation of HSLA steel welds,” Mater. Test., vol. 63, no. 8, pp. 736–741, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2020-0004.Search in Google Scholar

[16] A. Deb, P. R. Panda, K. Viswanathan, and P. Dutta, “Numerical and experimental studies on transport processes in laser-based direct energy deposition,” J. Mater. Sci., vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 1561–1573, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-10461-6.Search in Google Scholar

[17] C. Yu, T. Kawabata, S. Kyouno, X. Li, S. Uranaka, and D. Maeda, “Influence of welding methods on the microstructure of nickel-based weld metal for liquid hydrogen tanks,” J. Mater. Sci., vol. 59, no. 48, pp. 22310–22326, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-10505-x.Search in Google Scholar

[18] X. Jiang, J. Wang, Y. Tao, S. Chen, L. Wang, and Y. Liu, “Numerical simulation of the stationary shoulder friction stir welding of Ti-6Al-4V,” J. Mater. Sci., vol. 57, no. 14, pp. 7367–7383, 2022, 7367-7383, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07116-9.Search in Google Scholar

[19] Y. Chi, Z. Liu, Z. Gang, H. Jiao, C. Li, and G. Qin, “Numerical analysis of residual stress of X70 pipeline steel thick plate multi-layer multi-pass welding,” Welding, no. 8, pp. 9–15+61, 2020.Search in Google Scholar

[20] Y. Ji, C. Guo, W. Shang, C. Li, G. Liang, and S. Liu, “Numerical simulation of Effect of non-fusion on residual stress of thick plate multi-pass welding,” Welding, no. 10, pp. 14–21, 2020.Search in Google Scholar

[21] H. Ge, H. Huan, Y. Jiang, S. Zhang, Y. Cao, and W. Si, “Numerical Simulation of Residual Stress in X80 Pipeline Ring Joint Welding,” Welding, no. 12, pp. 17–23+64, 2011.Search in Google Scholar

[22] B. Sun, X. Hu, J. He, and X. Li, “Analysis of full penetration welding process of Q690 high strength steel medium thick plate,” Weld. Pipe, vol. 11, no. 12, pp. 59–62, 2011. https://doi.org/10.19291/j.cnki.1001-3938.2015.01.013.Search in Google Scholar

[23] R. Bian, W. Cui, Z. Wan, L. Li, and M. Wang, “Quantitative study on effect of welding residual Stress on fatigue life,” Ship Mech., vol. 15, no. 07, pp. 776–783, 2011.Search in Google Scholar

[24] L. Zhang, Y. Guo, and L. Qi, “Influence of bead filling Method on numerical simulation of residual Stress in girth weld of X65 pipeline Steel,” Weld. Technol., vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 5–8, 2020, https://doi.org/10.13846/j.cnki.cn12-1070/tg.2020.06.002.Search in Google Scholar

[25] Y. Qin, C. Ma, and L. Mei, “Prediction of residual stresses in welded structures based on neural network: a review,” J. Mater. Sci., vol. 59, no. 36, pp. 16815–16835, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-10178-6.Search in Google Scholar

[26] M. Hashemzadeh, B. Q. Chen, and C. G. Soares, “Evaluation of multi-pass welding-induced residual stress using numerical and experimental approaches,” Ships and Offshore Struct., vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 847–856, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/17445302.2018.1470453.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2025-04-09

Published in Print: 2025-06-26

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2025-0026

Keywords for this article

B-type sleeve; carbon dioxide gas shielded welding; repaired on working; interrupted pulsed arc welding; welding simulation