IBP2126_17

COMPOSITE REPAIR FOR STEEL PIPES WITH

GL/DNV CERTIFICATION
Patricia S. Waldmann1, Celio R. Ruiz 2

Copyright 2017, Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute - IBP

This Technical Paper was prepared for presentation at the Rio Pipeline Conference & Exhibition 2017, held between October, 24-
26, 2017, in Rio de Janeiro. This Technical Paper was selected for presentation by the Technical Committee of the event. The
material as it is presented, does not necessarily represent Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute’ opinion or that of its
Members or Representatives. Authors consent to the publication of this Technical Paper in the Rio Pipeline Conference &
Exhibition 2017.

Abstract
Steel pipelines are present everywhere, they can cross a country carrying, water, gas, oil and slurries or can be found
within industrial plants, carrying all sort of chemicals. Since steel is subjected to corrosion, the combined effect of
chemical attack, mechanical stress and climate, lead operators often to deal with cracks, holes and leaks. Replacement
of corroded steel pipe section is costly itself, besides it may implicate in even higher downtime costs and supply
interruptions. A safe solution for repairing of the pipes without interrupting the lines, and extending their operation time
up to 20 years, was developed and is described in this article. The repair system includes the repair products: corrosion
inhibitor, wrapping glass-carbon fiber impregnated with two-parts epoxy resin and a sprayable sealer made with
ceramic filled epoxy resin for corrosion and abrasion resistance. It also includes a software tool that uses a range of
different operational parameters to calculate exactly how the repair must be executed. To guarantee safety companies
and technicians interested in working with the repair system must be trained by the provider, which is also included in
the new repair system. Finally, the repair system has been extensively tested according to ISO 24817 and the repair,
applied by certificate operators and calculated with provided software is certified by Germanischer Lloyd / DNV to
support plant managers’ decision on choosing it.

1. Introduction
Every day we drink water, fill our vehicle tanks and take a warm shower using water, fuel and gas that are
being transported by pipelines. The interruption of a pipeline will certainly cause problems to consumers and specially
to the provider of interrupted service. Engineering has been progressively improving methods to monitor pipeline
physical integrity to detect and prevent any accidents. However, when a pipeline wall gets to a critical state due to either
internal or external corrosion, if interruption is required for section replacement, costs can get very high for the
operator, either due to pipe section and welding costs or to service interruption downtime (1).
Methods for repairing a pipeline without interrupting its function have been developed along the years. The use of a
welded or clamped metallic sleeves around damaged zone is the most traditional way to extend the life of a pipeline, but
they are also costly, require use of heavy machinery or heat, many times at confined spaces, require skilled operators for
complex welding and are limited for use in straight pipes (2).
In the last years, the use of composite materials for pipe repair has been developed as an alternative to metallic sleeves.
The composite sleeves offer the advantage of restoring full strength in damaged pipes, increase stiffness of repaired
area, stop crack propagation and promote failure mode by leaking before rupture. Composite also functions as a coating,
preventing external corrosion (3). Finally, composite repair offers lower costs and more flexibility since they can be
designed for complex geometries, especially in systems where reinforcement elements are impregnated with matrix
resin on the field.
Composite systems for pipe repair consists in 3 main materials categories working together:
1. High strength fiber reinforced sleeves for carrying mechanical load. Common materials are glass
fiber, carbon fiber or polyaramids impregnated with a thermoset resin like epoxy, polyurethane,
phenolic or polyester resins (4);
2. Adhesives with fast curing and excellent adhesion in metallic and composite substrates;
3. Gap filling materials with high compression strength.
Other components can be present in a composite repair system, like primers for metallic surface pre-treatment
and a top coat resin added over the reinforcement sleeves.
______________________________
1
Master, Materials Engineer - HENKEL
2
Mechanical Engineer – HENKEL
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Figure 1 shows an example of composite repair applied to a tee.

Figure 1. Composite Repair Applied to a T-part

Besides the materials themselves, a composite system must contain a robust calculation tool to properly
dimension and design the repair and trained applicators to properly prepare pipe surface and execute the repair.
The main disadvantage of composite repairs is the reliability on long term properties. While steel alloys have
been in the industry for decades and have well known fatigue properties and S-N curves, long term behavior of
composites is still subject of study. A composite repair success will be highly dependent on installation and long term
properties must be determined case by case (5).
The implementation of numerous composite repair systems in the last few years has leaded to the development
of standard methods to properly guide the industry in designing, dimensioning, installing and controlling the overall
process of repair using composite materials (6). The standard ASME PCC-2 provides methods for repair of equipment
and piping. Both traditional methods using metallic sleeves and alternative techniques with composite materials are
covered. Part 4 of this standard is specifically dedicated to composite repairs. Standard ISO 24817, launched in 2006
and revised in 2015 is fully dedicated to composite repairs. The document will cover all aspects related to the repair as
follows:
• Qualification: Defines repair class, repair type A (external/internal defects) and B (through the wall
defects), lifetime and states what original pipe/equipment data, maintenance history and operation
parameters are required to properly design a repair. It also states composite materials properties which
must be provided by supplier.
• Design: Provides guidance on environmental compatibility and maximum temperature allowance.
Describes equations for repair calculations based on substrate allowable stress, repair allowable strain or
repair allowable stress determined in long term testing. Also, provides calculation for through pipe repairs
and for repair for other components. Determines calculation for the axial extent of repair.
• Installation: Describes repair materials, storage conditions, installation method, installer qualification and
environmental considerations.
• Installation: Describes allowable defects, repair methods, maintenance and replacement strategy.
• Testing: The standard also contains annexes which provide details on short and long term pressure tests
for composite repair. The long-term test results can be used to adopt the repair calculation based on repair
allowable stress, which leads to an optimized safety coefficient and overall repair cost.

2. New GL/DNV Certified Pipe Repair System

A new composite repair system was developed and extensively tested in accordance to ISO 24817 under
GL/DNV supervision. The new composite repair was tested and certified for both type A and type B defects and not
only for straight pipes, but also for t-pieces, reductions, bends and flanges. The system comprises the repair materials,
calculation tool, application training and certification, as well as GL/DNV certification for 2, 10 and 20 years of
durability.

2.1. Repair System Materials

The system comprises a complete set of repair materials based on filled epoxy resins and carbon-glass fiber
reinforcement tape. The epoxy resins are largely used as protective coatings in pipe systems (7), especially in the
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petroleum industry, and are known for their chemical and thermal resistance, as well as for their ability to bond to
metals. The presence of ceramic fillers within the epoxy resin contributes to superior abrasion resistance of the repair
system. The use of composite tapes based on carbon-glass fiber is as well established in the piping industry for highly
demanding applications like in offshore risers (8). The use of composite structures based on carbon fiber and epoxy
resin has been adopted as a complete replacement for steel pipes in some onshore gathering lines (9). A detailed
description of the repair materials is provided below:
• Corrosion inhibitor: the first step in the repair procedure is to clean and sandblast the affected surfaces.
Since blasted metal surfaces are extremely susceptible to flash rust, corrosion inhibitor is provided to
prompt protect the repair area. The inhibitor is a water based liquid which can protect the blasted area for
up to 48 hours.
• Gap filler: Two parts ferro-silicon filled epoxy resin which is extremely resistant to compression,
corrosion, chemical attack and abrasion. It restores parts worn by mechanical and/or corrosion impact
when the defect is not through the wall (type A). The gap filler material is not used to repair through the
wall defects (type B) to ensure that failure mode for the repair in such cases will be by leakage in the
reinforcement material ends. The chemistry of the gap filling resin, epoxy, is highly adherent to metallic
surfaces and is compatible to the adhesive used to bond reinforcement tape on repaired part.
• Reinforcement textile: Composed by a combination of carbon fiber and glass fiber. The reinforcement
tape is responsible to withstand internal pressure and reestablish repaired part mechanical strength. The
materials are flexible enough to adjust to complex geometries like tees, reductions, curves and flanges.
• Adhesive: two component epoxy resin suitable for impregnation of glass, carbon, or hybrid fibers. The
epoxy resin has excellent adhesion to metallic surfaces and its properties make it suitable for wetting the
fibers in the reinforcement and ensuring the complete adhesion between layers and to the metallic surface
on the repaired part.
• Topcoat: solvent-free ceramic filled two-part epoxy coating. Forms a smooth, wear-resistant, low-friction
surface which provides additional protection to the part and to the repair system.
Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of system components.

Figure 2. Schematic Representation of System Components

2.2. Calculation Tool

A calculation tool was developed in alignment with ISO/TS 24817 to determine the number of repair
reinforcement layers and configuration for a determined defect. The tool will provide a tailored solution considering the
geometry of the part, defect type, extension, deepness, internal and external environment and user’s target repair
durability. The calculation is executed by the repair system manufacturer and applicators will receive detailed
instructions on how the repair must be executed.

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2.3. Application Training and Certification
The repair of substrates using composite repair systems differs considerably from other repair techniques, and
the quality of the installation is highly dependent upon applicator skills. Therefore, ISO/TS 24817 states that the
application of a composite repair system to pipes or parts must be executed by two people, an installer who will execute
the service and a supervisor who will monitor the execution and record all parameters related to service execution, from
substrate preparation upon topcoat application. The new repair system also includes a training module and certification
to both installer and supervisor which is provided by the system manufacturer and certified by GL/DNV.

2.4. Certified System

The complete repair package which is executed by a certified installer, in accordance with system
manufacturer calculations and using the specified materials for each repair layer will be certified by GL/DNV in
accordance to ISO 24817. User must determine repair life requirements and design and number of reinforcement layer
will be calculated to either 2, 10 or 20 years. Details on testing and certification process are described in section 3.

3. System Certification Process

ISO 24817 determine what tests must be carried on a composite repair for both repair components and
complete system. Table 1 lists all mandatory and optional tests described on ISO 24817.

Table 1. ISO 24817 Required Tests

ISO 24817 / ASME PCC-2 test methods* Chapter (ISO/ ASME)

Ply / Layer thickness of laminate Annex B/ Appendix II

Composite Elongation Annex B/ Appendix II
Composite tensile strength Annex B/ Appendix II
Young's modulus Annex B/ Appendix II
(axialratio
Poisson's and(load
circumferential direction)
direction circumferential) Annex B/ Appendix II
Thermal expansion coefficient Annex B/ Appendix II
(axial andmodulus,
Shear circumferential direction)
shear strength Annex B/ Appendix II
Glass transition temperature Tg or HDT of matrix Annex B/ Appendix II
Barcol or Shore hardness Annex B/ Appendix II
Lap shear (laminate to substrate) Annex B/ Appendix II
Environmental compatibility Annex B/ Appendix II
Short-term pipe spool survival test Annex C/ Appendix III
Energy release rate Annex D/ Appendix IV
Long-term strain / strength of composite Annex E/ Appendix V
Measurement of impact performance Annex F + D / Appendix VI+ IV
Fire performance 7.5.9.4 / 3.4.10.3
Cathodic disbondment 7.5.9.5 / 3.4.10.6
Electrical conductivity 3.4.10.4
Environmental compatibility 7.5.2 / 3.4.10.5
Cyclic loading ASME Table 1
Compressive Modulus of Filler material ASME Table 1

The new composite repair system was submitted to all above tests under certification authority audience. Key
tests are described with further details in the following sub-sections.

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3.1. Composite Materials Properties Measurement
Determination of mechanical properties of composite materials under standardized conditions is a key aspect
since the properties are used to dimension the repair through the equations provided in ISO 24817. Samples were
prepared according to field lamination process and Young´s Modulus, tensile strength (hoop/axial direction) were
measured following ISO 24817 annex B instructions. Poison’s ratio was measured adopting a video extensometer.
Shear strength and modulus were evaluated adopting a 3D video system. Picture 3 and 4 shows test specimens and
measurement equipment.

Figure 3. Tensile Strength Test Specimens and Equipment

3.2. Static Pipe Pressure Test

A steel pipe, alloy P235GH, DN200, with external diameter of 219mm and original wall thickness of 12,5mm
had a type A defect machined along its wall leaving a remaining thickness of 2,5mm. Repair was applied with 20 mm
thickness. Pipe was tested according to ISO 24817 annex C and survived a test pressure of 314 bar. Picture 5 and 6
shows test specimen before and repair execution.

Figure 4. Pipe Sample with Defect Type A before and after Repair Installation

3.3. Burst Pressure Test at High Temperature

Organic materials are sensitive to temperature; ISO 24817 establishes upper temperature limits and safety
coefficients for composite repair systems based on its matrix resins glass transition temperature. Pipes with 101,6 mm
inner diameter and wall thickness of 6,3mm had through the wall defects (Type B) machined as circles with different
diameters: 10 mm, 15 mm and 25 mm. The repair system was applied at minimum repair thickness with only two layers
of reinforcement tape. Test specimens were successfully submitted to burst tests under internal and external temperature
of 70°C, executed in accordance to ISO 24817 Annex D. Pictures 7 and 8 show one specimen before repair application
and the tree specimens during the test.

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Figure 5. Pipe Sample with Defect Type B before Repair Installation and During High Temperature Burst Test

3.4. Cathodic Disbondment Test

Pipes which are buried or operate under water usually will have cathodic protection. Cathodic protection has a
potential on weakening adhesion between the composite repair and the metallic surface of the pipe. Especially
thermoplastic materials are very sensitive to failure when used in cathodic protected pipes. ISO 21809-1 describes a
method for assessing an organic adhered material ability to resist to cathodic disbondment. A sample of repair material
applied to a metallic surface is prepared according to field application. A 6 mm hole is drilled on it, passing through the
repair and then cuts are made around the hole. Specimens were submitted to a 3% NaCl solution for 28 days at 20°C
and under 1500 mV voltage. By the end of the test the disbondment length was only 1 mm while standard passing
criteria is < 6 mm.

3.5. Long Term Burst Test at High Temperature

Along the time, pipe repair materials are exposed to several external factors which will influence their
behavior. Mechanical factors surrounding a composite repair are stress, strain, creep and fatigue. Environmental factors
will be temperature exposure, thermal stress, permeation of water, oxygen and chemicals present within the pipe and
around it, as well as UV radiation for unburied pipes.
To access long term durability of the certified composite system, four pipes, with internal diameter of 101,6 mm and
original wall thickness of 6,3 mm had a “Type A” defect machined on their outside wall, leaving a remaining thickness
of 1,04 mm. The repair was applied at its minimum thickness, with only 2 reinforcement tape layers. The pipes were
submitted to 200 bar pressure under internal and external temperature of 80°C, for 1000 hours. Tests were carried out in
accordance to ISO 24817 annex E and all specimens passed. Pictures 9 and 10 shows the pipes before repair execution
and during the test.

Figure 6. Pipe Sample with Defect Type A before Repair Installation and During High Temperature Long Term Test

3.6. Chemical Resistance Assessment

The composite repair materials were exposed to a range of aggressive chemicals and evaluated through weight
and dimensional variation, as well as adhesion strength and visual inspection. Table 2 lists the chemicals adopted in the
exposure tests and test conditions. Long term immersions (5000 hours) were carried out for the most representative
chemicals and short term or intermittent immersions were carried out to validate compatibility with other similar fluids.
All tests were carried under 25°C, except when other temperatures are described. Composite repair materials were
considered compatible with all listed fluids.

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Table 2. Chemical Compatibility Assessment

Chemical Test Description

10 % hydrochloric acid Continuous long term immersion
36 % hydrochloric acid Short term or intermittent immersion
10 % sulphuric acid Short term or intermittent immersion
10 % nitric acid Continuous long term immersion
5 % phosphoric acid Short term or intermittent immersion
40 % sodium hydroxide Continuous long term immersion
25 % ammonium hydroxide Continuous long term immersion
36 % ammonium sulphate Continuous long term immersion
30 % hydrogen peroxide Spill, splash with immediate cleanup
Deionized Water Continuous long term immersion
10% Salt Water Continuous long term immersion
Methanol Short term or intermittent immersion
Methylethylketone (MEK) Spill, splash with immediate cleanup
Xylene Short term or intermittent immersion
ATF - Maxol Gear Oil 80W90 @120°C Continuous long term immersion
Mineral Oil - Fortech Mineral -Engine Oil - 150°C Continuous long term immersion
Motor Oil Synthetic - Shell Hel. Ult. 5W30 -120°C Continuous long term immersion
Motor Oil Synthetic - Shell Hel. Ult. 5W30 -150°C Continuous long term immersion

4. Conclusion
Pipelines are key components in industrial sites. Also, they are the current most establish way to provide water,
gas, fuel and sewage disposal to consumers. Thousands of kilometers of pipes are surrounding our cities and making
our lives comfortable. All those pipes are exposed to corrosion and erosion degradation factors and will demand repair
during their projected life. Composite repair systems have proven in the last few years to be a flexible and effective
mean to restore pipeline damaged section, without interrupting its functioning and specially when the damaged section
is a non-straight segment like a reduction, a curve, a tee or a connection, where specially erosion factors are usually
present. Since composites application is relatively new in the industry, their long-term behavior is still subjected to
study and their effectiveness dependence on correct installation is a concern to pipeline operators. The new composite
repair system was developed considering all key operator concern factors, from materials selection and testing to
installation training and certification. The qualification of the system under ISO 24817 requirements has been
conducted under certification authority audience. Finally, the complete repair package which is executed by a certified
installer, in accordance with system manufacturer calculations and using the specified materials for each repair layer
will be certified by GL/DNV in accordance to ISO 24817, providing pipe operators the confidence needed to choose a
composite repair.

5. Acknowledgements
The authors thank Thomas Buckley and Jens Schoene, both application engineers working at Henkel, for
sharing information and clarifying doubts about the new composite repair system.

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8. References
(1) TAHIR, S. N. F. M. M. YAHAYA, N. NOOR, N. M. LIM, K. S. and RAHMAN, A. A. Underground corrosion
model of steel pipelines using in situ parameters of soil.
J. Pressure Vessel Technol 137(5), 051701, Oct 2015
(2) LIM, K. S. AZRAAI, S. N. A. NOOR, N. M. YAHAYA, N. An Overview of Corroded Pipe Repair Techniques
Using Composite Materials.
International Journal of Chemical, Molecular, Nuclear, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Vol:10, No:1,
2016
(3) BATISSE, R. A Review of Various Repair Techniques for Pipelines: Advantages, Limitations and Development
International Gas Union Research Conference, Paris, 2008
(4) ALEXANDER, C. Developing standards for composite repair systems
Pipeline and Gas Technology, Oct. 2009
(5) COSTA, L. B. – Evaluation of Industrial Repairs Made with Composite Materials
(6) SCHOENE J. - Testing of Composite Repairs according to ISO & ASME standards and beyond
(7) LAUER, R. S. – The Use of High Performance Polymeric Coatings to Mitigate Corrosion and Deposit Formation in
Pipeline Applications
The NACE International Corrosion Conference, Houston, 2007
(8) ALEXANDER, C. R. Development of a Composite Repair System for Reinforcing Offshore Risers
Texas A&M University, 2007
(9) OLIVEIRA, E. O. Development of Composite Polymeric Pipes with Polyurethane External Coating
UFRN Materials Engineering and Cience Pos-graduation program, Nov. 2010