Ocean Engineering 148 (2018) 412–425

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Ocean Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oceaneng

Review

Pipelines, risers and umbilicals failures: A literature review

Geovana P. Drumond *, Ilson P. Pasqualino, Bianca C. Pinheiro, Segen F. Estefen
Subsea Technology Laboratory, COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The exploratory frontier of offshore oil and gas industry comes into deeper waters, with the 3000 m water depth
Equipments failures barrier hurdled in the US Gulf of Mexico in 2003. At these water depths, the extremely high external pressures,
Deepwater low temperatures, long distance tie-backs and high environmental loads due to waves, currents, and wind
Oil and gas industry combined brings the employed equipment to its operational limit. This paper presents a literature review on
failure events experienced by the industry concerning pipelines, risers, and umbilical cables, describing their
causes, consequences, and severity. From the several failure modes reported up to now, it is possible to select the
ones that are more frequent and deserves attention from academia and industry. Concerning pipelines, the main
failure modes reported are due to mechanical damage, corrosion, construction defect, natural hazards and fatigue.
Additionally, a vast review of published researches concerning the pipeline-seabed interaction is presented. With
regard to floating risers, approximately 85% of them are of flexible type. Although flexible risers may fail in
different ways, collapse due to external pressure is reported as the most frequent failure mode. For umbilical
cables, the major failure modes are found to occur under tension or compression, torsion, fatigue, wear and
sheaving.

1. Introduction geographic location where the production unit has been installed. Risers
can be classified as flexible or rigid. For flexible risers, the major failures
Oil and gas exploration and production in deepwater is associated experienced are due to fatigue, corrosion, torsion, burst, collapse and
with the use of highly sophisticated equipment and increasing innovative overbending. For rigid risers, the most common external threats are
technology. However, the failure of this equipment can cause serious impacts, internal and/or external corrosion, overstress, fatigue, structural
consequences, including material loss and environmental pollution. wear, structural instability, material degradation and fire/explosion (in
Critical accidents can even cause the loss of human lives. Based on a surface segments).
literature review, this paper aims to identify past typical failures expe- Umbilical cables are responsible to control subsea equipment like
rienced in the industry concerning pipelines, risers, and umbilicals, de- Xmas trees, manifolds, pumps, separators, etc. Bryant (1990) identifies
tailing the causes, consequences, and severity of these failures. the failure modes of umbilical cables as tension or compression, torsion,
Pipelines are the safest method to export liquid and gaseous petro- fatigue, wear and sheaving. These failures modes are discussed with
leum products or chemicals (Roche, 2007). However, like any engi- particular focus on sheaving, which is associated with the use of static
neering structure, pipelines do occasionally fail. The main failure modes sheaves, such as curved plates during umbilical installation.
experienced by pipelines during production are identified as mechanical This work is motivated by the need of extensively address studies
damage (impact or accidental damage), external and/or internal corro- about the safety of offshore operations in deepwater and ultra-deepwater
sion, construction defect, material or mechanical failure, natural hazards scenarios, like pre-salt fields in the Brazilian Santos Basin. The compiled
and fatigue. information can be used as a guide to initiate studies on structural
Risers are oil and gas transfer lines of much importance to offshore oil integrity. The possibility of contributing to the establishment of a na-
and gas production systems. They comprise the dynamic segment of an tional program of offshore safety in Brazil, with emphasis on techno-
exportation pipeline or a production flowline connecting seabed to the logical advances that aim the prevention of accidents, is also a motivation
production unit at sea level. They are affected by mechanical stress, for this research.
environmental issues and individual conditions resulting from the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: geovana@lts.coppe.ufrj.br (G.P. Drumond).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2017.11.035
Received 8 September 2016; Received in revised form 21 October 2017; Accepted 13 November 2017

0029-8018/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

G.P. Drumond et al. Ocean Engineering 148 (2018) 412–425

2. Pipeline failures worldwide indicate that corrosion, especially internal corrosion, is the
most widely reported cause of failure of offshore pipelines, followed by
According to the US Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Admin- maritime activities (anchor or trawling damage and vessel collisions),
istration (PHMSA, 2014), there were a few more than three hundred and natural forces like storms and mudslides (Hokstad et al., 2010).
offshore pipeline incidents in the U.S. in the past ten years, seventy one Corrosion reduces the pipeline's strength and capacity to endure
involving hydrocarbon releases (Aljaroudi et al., 2015). operating pressure leading to two possible failure events: leakage or
Pipeline failures are usually related to a breakdown in the system, for burst. Leakage failure occurs when corrosion fully penetrates the pipeline
example, the loss of corrosion protection, meaning a combination of wall thickness, while burst failure occurs when operating pressure ex-
ageing coating, aggressive environment, and rapid corrosion growth that ceeds the maximum allowable pressure at a defect point (Aljaroudi et al.,
may lead to a failure. This type of failure is not simply a corrosion failure, 2015). All internal and external corrosion occurrences affecting pipelines
but a corrosion control system failure. Similar observations can be drawn used in the oil & gas industry are of electrochemical nature, i.e. they need
for failures due to external interference, stress corrosion cracking, etc. the presence of water in contact with steel and oxidizing species dis-
(Cosham and Hopkins, 2002). solved in water for feeding corrosion cells (Roche, 2007). At
Based on four different databases that include only accidents that led ultra-deepwater scenarios, thickness reduction can cause collapse under
to loss of containment, De Stefani and Carr (2010) pointed out the external pressure rather than burst under internal pressure.
following as the most probable failure modes in pipelines: mechanical Cathode protection (CP) and coatings are used to protect offshore
damage (which includes impact and any external damage), external or transportation pipelines. According to Roche (2004), as long as coatings
internal corrosion, construction defect, mechanical or material failure, remain bonded to steel and cathode protection is correctly applied,
and natural hazards. Stadie-Frohb€ os and Lampe (2013) also studied monitored and maintained, no external corrosion risk exists. However,
offshore pipeline failures. Based on existing codes as DNV-RP-F116 the same author, in another paper published three years later, stated that
(2009) and historical records considering 22 offshore pipelines, the au- not even the risk of corrosion under unbonded coating is a concern to
thors concluded that beside the failure modes mentioned above, erosion, offshore pipelines integrity. This is probably due to the high conductivity
structural threats (fatigue and static overloads, particularly at free spans) and homogeneity of seawater, which makes easier the access of CP cur-
and unpredicted operation are also possible failure modes. rent underneath electrical shields (Roche, 2007).
Based on pipeline and riser loss of containment (PARLOC, 2003) and According to Roche (2007), most of the leaks due to internal corro-
data from PHMSA (2014), Stadie-Frohb€ os and Lampe (2013) concluded sion have been explained by microbiologically Induced corrosion (MIC)
that impact is the major cause of failures in offshore pipelines in opera- or by ingress of CO2 traces combined with H2S. The first parameter
tion at North Sea, representing 56% of the total failures between 1971 determining corrosion risks is the presence of water in contact with steel
and 2000. In the US, comparing all failures reported between 1995 and surfaces. This contact is obvious for injection water lines. In the case of oil
2011, 31% are caused by corrosion. These numbers and those of other pipelines, water may be in contact with steel at the bottom of the pipe,
failure causes are summarized in Fig. 1. settled by gravity, and on the flow pattern, depending on the water
The difference between the two scenarios (US and North Sea) may be content. For wet gas pipelines, water is separate also at the pipeline
explained by geographic reasons. At the shallow waters of North Sea, the bottom line, but in some cases condensation may occur if the gas is hot at
impact of a dropped object is most probably than at US deepwaters, since the top line when cooling from outside is significant enough. Several
the current action can deviate the object from the undesirable target. On types of corrosion may occur at locations where water is in contact with
the other hand, hurricanes are frequent at US, increasing the failures by steel as long as oxidizing species are present. The most frequent species
natural hazards at those fields. Anyway, corrosion is always an issue of are CO2, light organic acids, H2S and O2. Most often, corrosion pattern is
concern for both scenarios. in the form of pits, craters or more uniform wall thinning.
Review and analysis of historical causes of pipeline failures In India offshore facilities, premature leaks in subsea water injection
pipelines due to rupture were observed. Analysis of different operating
parameters and water quality indicated failure due to microbial induced
internal corrosion. According to Samant and Singh (1998), this kind of
corrosion was due to low flow velocities, insoluble corrosion products
suspended, iron oxide, iron sulfide, and bacteria present in the water
accumulated at the bottom of the pipe. Moreover, non-pigging of the
pipeline might have allowed bacteria to multiply rapidly and develop
colonies and biofilm, which provides a hiding sites for bacteria and
shielded them from effective treatment by bactericides. Due to lack of
frequent pigging and an effective microbiocidal treatment procedure, the
uncontrolled growth of bacteria occurred. Consequently, microbial ac-
tivities dominated and led to an acidic environment that ultimately
caused internal severe localized corrosion (Samant and Singh, 1998).
Another pipeline failure case was reported by Rose (1999) and was
attributed to girth weld problems. At Point Pedernales field, California, a
complete and sudden failure of a subsea pipeline caused the release of
163 barrels of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. A crack occurred at a girth
weld between pipe body and the flange bell. After investigation and
analysis of the failure, it was concluded that the crack initiated at the
heat-affected zone leading to a complete separation of the flange bell.
The examination revealed that the heat-affected zone was brittle,
possibly due to a lack of preheating prior to welding. Therefore,
numerous microcracks have developed, one of which being the failure
initiation site (Rose, 1999).
Amend (2010) attributed to welds the responsibility for more than
6% of significant pipeline failures. The author stated that pipeline girth
Fig. 1. Offshore pipeline failures (Stadie-Frohb€
os and Lampe, 2013). welds are unlikely to fail unless subjected to axial strains that far exceed

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the strains related to internal pressure alone. Girth welds containing Cheng, 2010), which causes an additional pulsating flow around the pipe,
significant workmanship flaws are likely to be resistant to failure at leading to an expansion of the scoured-bed profile.
stresses less than the pipe yield strength, unless the welds do not match A mechanism to stop the expansion of the scour hole along the pipe is
specification and/or are susceptible to brittle fracture initiation. the increased embedment of the pipe in the shoulders, which consider-
Pipe buckling and overbending can result from longitudinal ably reduces the scour below the pipe in the free span. Scour can be
compressive stresses induced by a change of temperature (Simonsen, reduced or totally avoided by installing flexible mattresses around it,
2014). If the temperature of a pipeline is increased, due to a production placed either above or beneath the pipe. The horizontal extent away from
fluid flow temperature, the pipeline can deform both circumferentially the pipe must be sufficient large, so the edge scour at the outer periphery
and axially. Circumferential expansion is usually fully unconstrained, but is sufficiently reduced to ensure the mat's stability (Fredsøe, 2016).
longitudinal expansion is often prevented by seabed friction and at- Noncohesive soil in the seabed exposed to waves may undergo
tachments, generating compressive stresses that can lead to pipe buckling liquefaction, when pipelines placed on the seabed may sink if their
and overbending. submerged density is higher than the liquefied soil density. Similarly,
A vast review of published researches on the pipeline-seabed inter- buried pipelines may float to the bed surface when their submerged
action under waves and/or currents is presented by Fredsøe (2016), density is lower than that of the surrounding liquefied soil (Fredsøe,
comprising three issues: scour, liquefaction, and lateral stability 2016). Usually, liquefaction caused by earthquake is the major cause for
of pipelines. liquefaction of soil due to its large amplitude in the oscillation and higher
The process of scour around a pipeline is dependent on seabed frequency (Fredsøe, 2016). Waves can also cause liquefaction (Jeng,
interaction, which is influenced by pipeline movement due to bending 2013; Sumer, 2014).
along the scour process (Fredsøe, 2016). When the pipe is placed on or Regarding the lateral stability of pipelines, Wagner et al. (1989)
slightly embedded a certain distance e from the seabed, piping may occur developed a model to predict the soil resistance to lateral motions of
due to its submerged weight by the seepage flow below it (Fredsøe, untrenched submarine pipelines, including loading history effects to the
2016). Such flow is caused by the pressure difference between the up- Coulomb friction model. They conducted full scale laboratory tests of
stream stagnation pressure (Point A in Fig. 2) and the lower pressure in pipe-soil interaction, including both monotonic and cyclic lateral load
the leeside wake (Point B in Fig. 2). As described by Sumer et al. (2001), tests, on five offshore soil conditions: loose silty fine sand, loose medi-
the pressure gradient from A to B (Fig. 2) is a function of the Keule- um/coarse sand, dense medium/coarse sand, soft clay and stiff clay. The
gan–Carpenter number KC for waves, defined as tests showed that any loading history that causes increased pipe pene-
tration resulted in increased lateral resistance, and this dependence is not
KC ¼ 2πa/D (1) addressed by the typical Coulomb model. A two-term empirical lateral
where a is the orbital amplitude. soil resistance model, which depends on the pipe size and weight, the soil
In steady flow, the wake pressure is primarily governed by the pres- strength, and the lateral loading history was then developed by Wagner
sure in the separation point (Point S in Fig. 2), which is slightly lower due et al. (1989):
to the small velocities in the wake compared to the outer flow. In S, the FH ¼ FF þ FR (2)
pressure is low since the outside flow is high. The scour process initiated
by piping was studied experimentally by Chiew (1990) and Sumer et al. where FH is the total lateral soil resistance, FF is the sliding resistance and
(2001). The onset of the scour beneath a pipeline strongly depends on the FR is the lateral passive soil resistance term.
initial embedment e into the seabed. An upper limit was found for the In terms of flow-pipe-soil interaction mechanism, the works of Gao
onset of scour when the pipe is embedded. No onset was observed by et al. (2002, 2007), and Teh et al. (2003) show advances in this area. Gao
Chiew (1990) when e/D exceeded 0.5, where D is the pipe diameter. The et al. (2002) adopted a hydrodynamic loading method to better under-
scour process in the onset of piping in waves is similar to that in the stand the physics of lateral stability of untrenched offshore pipelines
current-alone case, with some particularities since the flow attack is under wave loading. From the conduction of a series of experiments, the
bidirectional. authors identified three characteristic stages in the process of pipe lateral
The impact of the length of the scour hole on the pipeline deformation instability: (a) onset of sand scour; (b) pipe rocking, and (c) pipe
was studied by Leckie et al. (2015) and Draper et al. (2015). They found breakout. The authors established a linear relationship between the pipe
that for long holes, the pipe locally sags down into the hole, causing weight parameter (G) and hydrodynamic parameters (Frb) by means of an
strains along the pipe, while for shorter holes, the pipe sinks empirical formula that works as a guide for engineering practice.
more uniformly. More recently, Gao et al. (2007) compared the results previously
A scoured hole around a pipeline may further undergo sediment shown for the pipeline stability in waves with those in currents. This
backfilling, which can be caused, for instance, by the touchdown of the comparison is summarized in Fig. 3, where it can be noticed that under
pipe into the scoured hole. This backfill process was observed experi- wave loading, after the fully stable stage, a slight rocking stage of the
mentally by Sumer and Fredsøe (2002). The development of scour holes pipeline takes place. The time durations of both stages are approximately
along the pipe affects the sinking velocity of the pipe into the bed: faster the same. Finally, in the last stage, the pipeline suddenly moves back and
spreading of the holes is related to faster pipe sinking. forth with large horizontal displacements, i.e., the pipe loses lateral
When the pipe is located in a free span, it may vibrate as a result of stability (Fig. 3(a)). However, under the current loading, the pipe pushes
waves and/or current (Sumer et al., 1989; Shen et al., 2000; Zhao and the soil nearby ahead with a slight lateral displacement in the stream
direction, instead of with slight rocking, after the totally stable stage. In
the stage of the pipeline losing stability, the pipeline in the currents
moves with large displacements only in the stream direction (Fig. 3(b)).
Regarding the linear relationship between the pipe weight parameter and
hydrodynamic parameters, developed by the authors in 2002, different
relationships for pipeline lateral stability in waves and in currents were
found, indicating that the pipeline directly laid on the sandy seabed in
currents remains more stable than in waves for the same level of
flow velocity.
The influence of the flow-pipe-soil interaction in the stability process
was studied by Teh et al. (2003), which identified that, even if the
Fig. 2. Vortex system around an embedded pipeline exposed to a current Fredsøe (2016).

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G.P. Drumond et al. Ocean Engineering 148 (2018) 412–425

to dynamic loads that can lead to failures. The possible failure modes and
some real incidents for each type of riser will be thoroughly dis-
cussed next.
Due to its importance to oil and gas production, a riser structural
failure can lead to serious financial losses to operator. It results in
reduction or cessation of revenue by committing the production devel-
opment; it may also lead to spillage and pollution and may even endanger
lives (Sen, 2006).
Cook et al. (2006) based their studies on BP's deepwater floating
production facilities located in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and developed
an integrity management study for a range of riser types: top-tensioned
vertical risers, steel catenary risers and flexible pipe risers. The
following most probable external threats for risers were determined
considering the deepwater environment in the GoM: impacts, external
corrosion, overstress, fatigue, wear, material degradation and fire/-
explosion (in above-water sections). Among these external threats,
external corrosion is the most frequent. Another author, Anunobi (2012),
stated that external corrosion is responsible for 70% of reported riser
failure incidents.

3.1. Rigid risers

The most severe consequences of a riser failure are typically associ-

ated with production/export/injection risers. There are many riser con-
figurations to these functions but vertical top-tensioned rigid risers are
historically most applied for production (Nazir et al., 2008). According to
Hokstad et al. (2010), approximately 15% of risers for floating systems
worldwide are metallic risers. Inside this percentage, 75% are top
tensioned risers (TTRs), which are considered a mature technology that
has been used for production since 1975 (MCS, 2009). This type of riser
works as a conduit from the seabed to the facility and allows workover
activity when it is necessary. TTRs are subjected to fatigue loads due to
platform motions and ocean currents (Thethi et al., 2005).
In 2009, the MCS Advanced Subsea Engineering prepared an inves-
tigation into the causes and probabilities of top-tensioned riser (TTR)
failures due to workover and drilling operations. Existing single and dual
casing production risers with a surface blowout preventer were then
analyzed (MCS, 2009). For sidetrack and re-drilling operations, the most
critical riser failure modes outside of typical production hazards included
drilling-induced vibration (DIV) fatigue, and riser wear from direct
contact with the drill string. In both failure modes, reduced thickness
caused by production represents a major contributing factor for their
Fig. 3. Typical pipe displacement-time curves: (a) in waves; (b) in currents (Gao
et al., 2007).
occurrence. If not noticed at the beginning, DIV can reduce drastically
riser life or even lead to a complete failure of the riser.
A top-tensioned riser case study in the GoM is presented in the Rec-
conventional design practice uses to assume the seabed itself as stable, ommended Practice DNV-RP-F206 (2008), in which are shown examples
there is substantial field evidence that assumption may be incomplete for of possible failure mechanisms and their global failure modes. As system
erodible seabed under severe wave condition. The authors carried out a failure modes can be listed: burst, collapse, buckling with external and
series of experiments to understand the behavior of a marine pipeline on internal pressure, leakage, fracture due to fatigue and rupture due to
a mobile and liquefied seabed. Two instability mechanisms were iden- overload. As major causes of failures can be listed: excessive pressure,
tified, depending on the specific gravity of the pipelines. If the pipeline is excessive temperature, corrosion leading to critical material loss, exces-
light enough, it tends to become unstable earlier than the seabed does, sive tension, excessive bending moment, excessive fatigue loading,
while if it is heavy enough, the instability should be first reached by the physical damage by accident or during installation, and manufacturing
seabed. The results also showed that the pipeline sinking or floating defects. These failure mechanisms and failure modes are illustrated
depth in liquefied seabed depends on the pipeline specific gravity and in Table 1.
liquefied soil parameters, but not on the wave condition. Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) are composed by a single wall rigid steel
pipe and require minimal subsea equipment, which makes it cheaper
3. Riser failures than other configurations (Buberg, 2014). A SCR is a seemingly relatively
simple system where the riser is in continuity with the flowline and is
Subsea risers are a type of flowline developed for the vertical trans- made up from welding a number of steel pipe joints of standard length
portation of fluids or products from the seafloor to production and dril- (Quintin et al., 2007).
ling facilities above the water surface, as well as in the opposite way, SCRs are not widely used but they are a very attractive option for
from the facility to the seafloor for injection purposes. These conduits deepwater operations because these risers have the advantage of being
primarily transport produced hydrocarbons, but also make the trans- highly resistant to internal and external pressure. However, in terms of
portation of injection fluids, control fluids and gas lift. Risers can be fatigue failure, these risers deserve careful evaluation of the fatigue life
either rigid or flexible. During operations, these structures are susceptible since they are very sensitive to cyclic loadings (Sen, 2006). In their study,

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G.P. Drumond et al. Ocean Engineering 148 (2018) 412–425

Table 1 structures allowed production in areas where rigid pipes were not an
Examples of rigid riser failures: failure mechanism – initial cause – system failure modes economically viable choice. Approximately 85% of risers designed for
(MCS, 2009).
floating systems are flexible risers (Hokstad et al., 2010). Flexible pipes
Failure Mechanism Initial Cause Possible System Failure Modes are crucial for subsea activities worldwide and mainly for Norwegian oil
External corrosion Cathodic protection failure Burst and gas production facilities, since 1986 (Leira et al., 2015). There are
Collapse two types of flexible pipes available, bonded and unbonded. As the
Buckling with external pressure unbonded pipes are largely used by oil and gas industry, they will be the
Buckling with internal Pressure
Fracture
focus of this review.
Rupture There are more than 3500 dynamic unbonded flexible risers in
Internal corrosion Production tubing leak Burst operation worldwide. The average riser age is more than 10 years and a
Collapse great number of risers are soon reaching their original design service life
Buckling with external pressure
of 15–25 years (Muren et al., 2016).
Buckling with internal pressure
Fracture According to Dos Santos et al. (2010), the technology qualification of
Rupture flexible pipes was not capable to anticipate the variety of failure mech-
Internal cracking Sour fluid Fracture anisms that followed the first years in use. The author attributes two main
Pipe deformation Accidental impact Collapse or buckling reasons for that: the first is the high-patented environment surrounding
Excessive external pressure Collapse or buckling
Bending moment Collapse or buckling
the flexible risers technology development, where algorithms and
Fatigue Accidental impact Fracture degradation models are closed to the market, and the second is the lack of
Production tubing leak Fracture high level independent design verification. Here, high level regards the
Overload Tensioner failure Rupture or buckling completeness of the verification, with no judgment to its quality. Fig. 4
Excessive internal pressure Burst
exemplifies some of the failure modes that were described in this section,
Wear Workover or drilling Burst
Collapse summarized in Table 3.
Buckling with external pressure Due to their complex layered configuration, flexible pipes are more
Buckling with internal pressure vulnerable to damage and present high number of failure modes. More-
Fracture over, the integrity management becomes more challenging because of
Rupture
each layer is made of a different material. According to 4 Subsea (2013),
in a report for PSA-Norway, several flexible risers fail before reaching
Kimiaei et al. (2010) stated that two critical fatigue areas could be their intended lifetime, actually 25% of offshore flexible risers in Norway
highlighted in a SCR: the vessel hang-off point and the touchdown point, were replaced without meeting their design service life.
where the highest bending moment is observed. According to Sen (2008), The need to study flexible pipes is obvious due to the knowledge and
the main contributors to fatigue damage are: (i) first order vessel motion, technology gaps that need to be overcome to meet integrity re-
(ii) slow-drift, (iii) vortex induced vibration (VIV) and (iv) fatigue during quirements. In order to fill these gaps, it is essential that manufacturers,
transportation. operators and regulatory agencies cooperate with each other. In 2009, a
A case study of a steel catenary riser in West Africa is presented in the Joint Industry Project (JIP) was started by Oil and Gas UK and led by
Recommended Practice DNV-RP-F206 (2008), and the results for initial SureFlex, including oil and gas operators, a flexible pipe manufacturer
cause, mechanism and failure modes are outlined in Table 2. and a regulatory authority. The aim was to collect data about flexible
pipe usage, degradation and incidents. Recently, Norwegian Petroleum
3.2. Flexible risers Safety Authority (PSA) started to manage the Corrosion and Damage
Database (CODAM) in order to report incidents and injuries of offshore
As an alternative for conventional rigid steel pipes, flexible risers have structures and pipeline systems on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
been used over the last 30 years (Simonsen, 2014). The use of these (NCS). Through exchanged information, standards and guidelines for
safe fabrication and operation of flexible pipe systems can be improved.
Based on API RP 17B, Simonsen (2014) raised nine most probable
Table 2
Initial cause, failure mechanism &failure modes (MCS, 2009). failure modes that can occur in flexible pipes: collapse, burst, tensile
rupture, compressive rupture, overbending, torsional rupture, fatigue,
SCR Sub- Initial Failure Mechanism Possible Failure
Component Cause Modes
erosion and corrosion. These failure modes will be explained next.
(Root
Cause) 3.2.1. Collapse
Riser pipe Excessive Crack initiation, high SCF, Leakage, burst, Common failure mechanisms that could cause carcass collapse of a
internal fatigue fracture, rupture flexible riser are excessive force or pressure, fabrication anomalies,
pressure erosion, carcass corrosion, and installation damage (Simonsen, 2014).
Process Internal metal loss due to Leakage, fracture, Focusing on flexible pipes used in production activities, the main risk
fluid out corrosion, crack collapse, burst
of design
they are subject is the sand content in the produced fluids. The sand can
CP failure External corrosion, localized Burst, collapse, cause erosion on the innermost pipe layer (carcass) – and by this way, its
pitting fracture, rupture collapse resistance decreases. This situation is more likely to happen in
Marine VIV suppression device Leakage, fracture gas production pipes.
growth failure
Clevelario et al. (2010) developed a numerical model to predict
VIV Fatigue Leakage, fracture
Flexible Ozone Elastomer cracking, flexible Fracture, rupture due flexible pipe collapse resistance when subjected to curvature. The au-
joint attack on joint leakage, improper to contact/wear thors aim to assess and quantify the effects of curvature on the flexible
elastomer rotational stiffness, high between floater and pipe collapse resistance in the ultradeep water of Brazilian pre-salt. Ac-
bending moment, crack SCR cording to the authors, the flexible pipe bending configuration is amongst
initiation
Pressure Elastomer cracking, flexible Fracture, rupture due
the factors that can affect its suitability to service in extreme water depths
cycling joint leakage, improper to contact/wear (~2500 m) since it creates a dissymmetry between both the compressed
rotational stiffness, high between floater and and extended pipe areas. The carcass and pressure armour gaps in these
bending moment, crack SCR areas vary and reduce the overall pipe collapse resistance. However,
initiation
according to Clevelario et al. (2010), some simple design solutions can be

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Fig. 4. Failure modes of flexible risers: (a) carcass collapse; (b) rupture of external sheath due to blocked vent tubes; (c) torsion at riser top due to ruptured armour wires; (d) tensile armor
wire rupture due to fatigue; (e) birdcaging (Simonsen, 2014).

incorporated into flexible pipes to improve its overall collapse resistance 3.2.2. Burst
and compensate for any possible reduction caused by bending. The Burst is mainly caused by rupture of tensile and/or pressure armors
reader is encouraged to read Clevelario et al. (2010) for more informa- due to excessive internal pressure. The rupture of the external sheath can
tion about these design solutions. also causes loss of pipe integrity. Other defects and failures, as fabrication
Based on data from CODAM, collapse is the most common incident in imperfections, internal corrosion and erosion, or external abrasion, can
the NCS, being more susceptible to happen in double annulus risers. also lead to burst by pipe weakening (Simonsen, 2014).
Statoil had several incidents of such risers, with carcass collapse observed Many incidents in flexible risers due to burst are described in
in three different double annulus risers at Njord A, Visund and Snorre B CODAM. Simonsen (2014) emphasized two events where rupture of
fields (Simonsen, 2014). external sheath led to burst. The first one was a rupture in the external

Table 3
Summary of most common failure modes (Simonsen, 2014).

Failure mode Failure mechanisms Occurrence

Collapse Excessive tension Large problem, multiple reports both in CODAM and SureFlex JIP. Problem worldwide.
External pressure
Residual pressure in annulus
Fabrication, transportation
installation error
Aging of polymer (shrinking)
Ovalization
Burst Rupture of tensile armour wires Burst of the outer sheath is a common problem. Rupture of tensile wires may be a problem
Rupture of pressure armour wires for deepwater developments.
Residual pressure in annulus
Tensilefailure Excessive tensile force Not a frequent failure mode. High risk for corroded wires in deepwater developments.
Large dynamic movement
Corrosion combined with high tensile loads
Compressive failure Radial buckling Radial buckling (bird-caging) has been reported several times worldwide.
Upheaval buckling
Overbending Excessive bending force Problem at end of pipelines and TDP for risers. Several occurrences due to sloppiness in the 90's.
Installation error
Ancillary equipment
Torsional failure Large dynamic movement Not a frequent failure mode. Risers in harsh weather conditions are most vulnerable.
Large environmental forces
Rupture of tensile armour wires
Fatigue failure Rupture of tensile armour wires Fatigue alone is not the most occurring failure mode due to a very high safety factor. In
Rupture of pressure armour wires combination with erosion, corrosion and other factors the fatigue life is severely reduced.
Aging of polymer layers
Cracking of carcass or armour wires
Erosion Internal erosion of carcass No reported failures. Risk when sand bore fluids contain sand, especially in high velocity gas pipelines
Corrosion Rupture of tensile armour wires Large problem linked to the frequent damage of outer sheath.
Rupture of pressure armour wires
Corrosion of internal carcass

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sheath caused by a leak, which promoted an increase in internal pressure compression force causing radial buckling or unlocking of the armour
inside the annulus and ended in burst of the external sheath. In the other wires. Thereby, torsional rupture is a flexible riser failure mode to be
case, the rupture of the external sheath occurred because the annulus aware of because it can lead to other failures modes, like structure
vent system was not working correctly. In this case, diffused gases built collapse. However, it is not reported as the main cause of incidents. Risers
up the pressure until it became larger than the burst resistance of the operating in hard environmental situations (wind, waves and current) are
external sheath. This is a well-known problem and according to Simonsen more vulnerable to torsional failure.
(2014), past years studies were developed in order to guarantee
well-functioning of the vent system and gas monitoring in flexible pipes. 3.2.7. Fatigue
Flexible pipes experience fatigue failure due to cumulated cyclic
3.2.3. Tensile rupture stresses in different layers. The fatigue challenges for deepwater risers
Considering that tensile armor wires are already designed to support are mainly concentrated at top due to bending combined with high
loads higher than normal service loads, tensile forces should be a prob- tension, and at seabed touch down area due to bending combined with
lem only when they are excessive and act together with any factor that high pressure loads. This is also driven by the fact that almost all deep-
reduces the wire resistance, as corrosion or anomalies. According to water risers are in a free standing configuration (Nielsen et al., 2008).
CODAM and SureFlex incident reports (Simonsen, 2014), tensile rupture The Norwegian offshore sector in the North Sea has done a research
is not a common occurrence, just representing a low percentage of about fatigue failure in flexible pipes and it was observed that, in
observed failures. Simonsen (2014) concluded that tensile failure is a average, flexible risers were in service just 50% of its intended lifetime
threat to pipe integrity just when it is combined with corrosion, abrasion, (Muren, 2007).
or any other factor that changes the resistance of the flexible pipe. De Lemos et al. (2005) stated the most important failure modes of
unbonded flexible risers associated to fatigue as:
3.2.4. Compressive rupture
Ribeiro et al. (2003) used a three-dimensional finite element model to  Fatigue associated with the wear of the tensile armors;
predict the local mechanical behavior of flexible risers under compres-  Pure fatigue of the tensile armors;
sion. The authors concluded that the axial compression stiffness is much  Fatigue associated with the wear of the pressure armors;
lower than the tension one; the tensile armours and the plastic sheaths  Corrosion fatigue;
are responsible for this behavior; the wires of the tensile armours not only  Fatigue of the polymeric layer; and
move radially, but also laterally resulting in high bending stresses in  Fatigue in the armors at the end fittings.
these wires, and finally, that compression in flexible risers also generate
gaps between layers. In deep water environments, the fatigue failure of tension wires near
A failure mechanism called radial buckling or bird-caging can happen the end connection is an occurrence to be aware of (Simonsen, 2014).
when a flexible pipe experiences large compressive loads, causing wire There is a significant change in stiffness between the riser and the
disordering. This mechanism is usually avoided when the outer sheath is connector in the region close to the end fitting. This structural disconti-
“intact” and buckling resistance is high. It is no longer a common phe- nuity strongly influences the fatigue processes in the tensile axial wires at
nomenon because new pipes use to have a high strength Kevlar® tape and embedded in the connector. Progressive fatigue failure, possible
preventing bird-caging. This failure mode is more likely to happen in accelerated by corrosion, can occur (McCarthy and Buttle, 2012).
static flowlines. For a properly designed flexible riser, with or without an The majority of the reported cases of damage to flexible risers
intact outer sheath, it should not be an issue (Muren, 2007). However, a describe damage located in the top section of the riser, close to the bend.
later study done by SureFlex (Simonsen, 2014), stated that in 2010, 5% of These include external sheath damage, corrosion and/or fatigue induced
flexible pipes incidents around the world were classified as bird-caging, damage to the tensile armors, and torsional instability associated to
which indicates that this failure mode should also be addressed. tensile armor rupture (Elman and Alvim, 2008). Damage to the outer
sheath, which may lead to flooded annulus and, consequently, corrosion
3.2.5. Overbending of the tensile and pressure armor wires, degradation of the polymer
According to Simonsen (2014), the overbending failure mode in risers layers, increase of fatigue damage and decrease of the service life of a
is more likely to happen at the touch-down point (TPD). pipe. Experimental tests and numerical models have been done in order
Overbending can affect almost all the layers of a flexible pipe. to allow a better prediction of fatigue life of armor wires.
Simonsen (2014) stated that loads induced by overbending can affect the Authors like Corrignan et al. (2009) and Kershaw et al. (2014), agree
pipe in different ways: collapse due to compression forces may occur at that the flexible riser external sheath has a higher risk of damage between
the carcass and internal pressure sheath; rupture of internal or external the wave zone and the topsides hang-off, potentially resulting in tensile
pressure sheath due to tension forces induced by overbending; cracking armor corrosion or corrosion-fatigue. Nielsen et al. (2008) attribute to
of the outer sheath, and unlocking of carcass and pressure armor layers vessel motion and wave loading as the riser fatigue drivers. Saunders and
due to pipe strength reduction if the bending stress is excessive. O'Sullivan (2007) pointed out that external sheath damage is the major
Although overbending affects many layers of a flexible pipe, only one cause of flexible risers failures, representing around 37% of the damage
incident concerning this failure mode was reported in the Norwegian population in 2007, as can be seen in Fig. 5.
sector. In this case, the failure happened during installation. This failure In their work, Nielsen et al. (2008) stated that corrosion-fatigue
mode used to be a current UK problem in the 90's, but it is not frequent properties are highly reduced in connection with sour service. The ar-
anymore (Simonsen, 2014). mour wires can be subjected to a corrosive environment in case of partly
or entirely water filled annulus, that changes significantly along its
3.2.6. Torsional rupture length due to the hydrostatic pressure head. Consequently, the fatigue
As the tensile armour wires are configured in a helical pattern they assessment may require that different S-N curves be applied along riser
are subjected to tension or compression as the riser is twisted. Excessive sections reflecting the different partial pressures of the permeated con-
tension loads due to twisting may lead to rupture of one or several wires. stituents (Nielsen et al., 2008).
According to Simonsen (2014), torsional force in either direction on the Clements et al. (2006) concentrates their studies on the processes of
flexible pipe may pose problems. If the force is in the same direction as understanding the materials under corrosion fatigue conditions and the
the helical pattern of the wires, they will tighten and the collapse of the development of material design curves. According to the authors,
carcass and/or internal pressure sheath may occur. If the torsional force although fatigue and corrosion fatigue testing of flexible pipe armour
acts in the other direction, the wires may be subjected to excessive wires has been well documented over the years, little has been published

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Fig. 5. Chart showing the most significant causes of flexible pipe damage in 2002 and 2007 (Saunders and O'Sullivan, 2007).

to describe the effect of different test protocols and test set-ups. The ar- for estimating erosion damage caused by solid particle impact. Arabnejad
mour wire fatigue capacity based upon representative S-N curves and the et al. (2015) proposed a semi-mechanistic model for the erosion of
Palmgren-Miner linear damage hypothesis is normally applied when different target materials due to solid particles. These models can be used
accumulated fatigue damage (Nielsen et al., 2008) is calculated. Clem- to predict erosion wear caused by sand production in oil-and-gas
ents et al. (2006) reported the resulting S-N curves from different test components.
protocols and how these increase or reduce conservatism in service
life analysis. 3.2.9. Corrosion
According to Simonsen (2014), due to intense efforts in researches In the same work of Simonsen (2014), the author stated that corrosion
and technologies, the number of incidents due to fatigue failures in alone is not a typical cause of failure in flexible pipes. However, when in
flexible pipes is decreasing. In Norway for example, there is no register of combination with high static or fatigue loads, it can cause loss of pipe
fatigue failure of tensile wires for latest years. However, when operations integrity. The contact of the seawater saturated with oxygen with the
occur in sour environment, like Brazil and West Africa, fatigue failures in steel layers induces oxidation and it is a common reason for corrosion.
tensile armors are still occurring. Although it is a complicated failure The author concluded that corrosion happens mostly when seawater and
mode, considering that it affects all different layers of a flexible pipe, its oxygen can flow into the annulus due to a breach in the outer sheath.
occurrence can be avoided with a high safety factor, assuming that its Breach normally occurs during transportation and installation of a flex-
mechanisms are not influenced by any other factor that could decrease ible pipe, when damage used to be neglected. This problem is highly
the fatigue strength, like corrosion. appearing in statistics and needs to be studied.

3.2.8. Erosion 3.2.10. Other failure modes

According to Simonsen (2014), erosion alone is not a potential cause Besides the nine failure modes previously described (based on the API
of loss of pipe integrity. However, happening concomitantly with RP 17B), seven other different failure modes were studied by SeaFlex and
corrosion, thinning of the carcass may cause rupture or collapse of a pipe. were reported by Muren (2007). These failure modes include: hydrogen
In this case, erosion “destroys” the corrosion protecting layer turning the embrittlement, impacts, pigging accidents, ageing, wear, vibrations in
carcass more susceptible to fail. Erosion can happen due to the presence gas pipes and annulus threat environment. However, facing that flexible
of particles in produced fluids and also by the development of hydrates. pipe is a current and common topic of many early and recent studies,
The particles collide with the internal wall of the carcass reducing the these additional failure modes will not be deeply covered in this report.
thickness of the steel layer. The erosion is more likely to happen in gas For more data about failure in flexible pipes, some studies can be sug-
production pipes, where the solid fragments flow with higher velocity. It gested. Hokstad et al. (2010) performed a wide study about subsea
is noticed that there is no report exposing failures in flexible pipes equipment with focus on common failures experienced by each layer of a
exclusively caused by erosion. flexible pipe. Braga et al. (2011)addressed the use of continuous vibra-
According to Helgaker et al. (2017), erosion in smooth pipes can be tion measurements to detect rupture of wires in the tensile armor layers
determined with industry-standard erosion-prediction methodologies. of flexible risers. Leira et al. (2015), proposed integrity assessment and
However, these models are usually valid for smooth pipes only, with qualification of lifetime extension based on a specific case study, and also
limited information available on erosion in flexible pipes. The work of repair solutions for outer sheath damage, facing the fact that it is one of
Parsi et al. (2014) describes key factors influencing erosion and reviews the most common failures in flexible pipes. Shen and Jukes (2015) dis-
available erosion equations. The authors discuss solid-particle erosion cussed key factors impacting on the stress and fatigue damage of
modelling for oil and gas wells and pipelines. These models are used to unbonded flexible risers and the potential failure modes at a HPHT
limit the maximum production flow rates and avoid excessive deepwater environment.4 Subsea (2013) reported a study about
erosion damage. unbonded flexible pipes where some incidents observed by PSA from
Oka et al. (2005) and Oka and Yoshida (2005) developed an equation CODAM database were analyzed considering their causes, possible

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solutions and mitigation actions. is necessary to provide fillers, which ensure the most symmetrical
Some works about vibration in gas pipes can be also emphasized. configuration as possible. According to Bryant (1990), the braid of a
Swindell and Belfroid (2007) addressed the technical issues associated hydraulic hose is sensitive to fretting damage since it is semi-mobile. The
with high amplitude pressure pulsations generated by gas flow through hose manufacturer must ensure that the amount of yarn on the braid
flexible risers. Zheng et al. (2012) showed that the influence of chaotic layer is sufficient to withstand the loads generated by internal pressure
response on the resulting fatigue damage can be as significant as that of and, at the same time, such amount of yarns does not result in tightly
higher harmonic components. Finally, Belfroid et al. (2009) studied the packed yarn, which is susceptible to fretting damage.
flow induced pressure pulsations (FIP) from shackle-type carcass. Ac- Fig. 6 illustrates the cross-section of a braid, showing the difference
cording to them, when gas passes through the flexible riser, vortex between a low packing and a high packing braid. The braid presented a
shedding occurs at each of the internal corrugations, generating pressure less acute angle to the liner in case 2 than in case 1, and besides lowering
pulsations, which induce vibration forces and excite mechanical natural its efficiency and capacity of load resistance, it can also induce
frequencies, leading to pipe fatigue. compressive failure in the braid fibers.
Sheaving damage can be described as damage resulting from pulling
4. Umbilical cable failures of an umbilical around a sheave (Bryant, 1990), generating a very rapid
change of curvature close to the sheave. If an umbilical is bent with
In general, subsea umbilicals consist of an arrangement of high constant curvature along the length, the core will be somewhere on the
collapse resistance (HCR) hoses to chemical injection, thermoplastic convex (tensile) side and somewhere on the concave (compression) side
hoses to hydraulic control of valves, electrical cables (signal, control or of the umbilical. The core components will of course tend to move from
power supply), tensile armors and a polymer layers. When a subsea the compression to the tensile part of the core. If the umbilical is also
component fail, operators have two options: to perform an underwater axially loaded, there will be a pressure and a friction force between the
repair or bring equipment up to the surface to repair it. In the case of different components (Waloen et al., 1993).
umbilical cables, depending on the damage extension, it is often neces- Benjaminsen et al. (1992) tried to determine the stresses and fatigue
sary to stop production, remove the whole umbilical, and replace it, life of an axially loaded electrical umbilical running back and forth over a
resulting in high costs to the company. The failure in umbilical cables can sheave. The authors did cyclic bending fatigue tests to investigate the
occur during manufacture, installation and service. Bryant (1990) de- influence of factors affecting fatigue life (lubrication, sheave diameter,
scribes the most common failure mechanisms for such equipment. The axial load, conductor type etc); bend stiffness tests to measure the force
author divides umbilical cable failures according to their driving mech- required to bend umbilical samples over a range of sheaves, in order to
anisms: tension or compression, torsion, fatigue, wear and sheaving. In evaluate its bend stiffness; core movement tests to study relative sliding
general, tension and compression loads are within the umbilical working of core components during bending over a sheave; and deflection tests, to
limits of and are predominantly supported by armor and other system study the effect of differential contraction and elongation of internal el-
reinforcements. The failures caused by tension or compression can be ements as the umbilical goes on and off a sheave. Those experimental
avoided by preventing the umbilical minimum bend radius and tests were important to gather physical data for the development of an
remaining it within the manufacturers recommendations for tensile analytical procedure to calculate internal stresses in an umbilical being
loading, both when the umbilical is straight and bent. bent over a sheave, which was reported in Benjaminsen et al. (1992).
As a rule, umbilical cables have low torsional stiffness and therefore Ricketts and Kipling (1995) focused their studies in fatigue tests of an
are susceptible to damage resulting from excessive application of electrohydraulic umbilical passing through a sheave aiming to establish
torsional loads. According to Bryant (1990), the risk of torsion damage is the effect of axial load, hose pressure, sheave diameter and wrap angle on
higher during umbilical installation. Such damage may occur at the point the measured life. Among the results obtained, the effects of sheave
immediately below the final sheave on a laying vessel as the vessel makes diameter and wrap angle can be highlighted. Even though the electrical
a turn. The mechanism involves the contribution of umbilical weight unit was central, and hence close to the neutral axis, for a bending
forcing the twist, induced by the vessel maneuver, in relation to the point diameter reduction of 33%, the measured reduction in the electrical
where friction prevents umbilical rotation, i.e., as it leaves the sheave. conductor fatigue life was 96%. The effect of wrap angle was also
The result of torsion damage will be either 'bird-caging' or 'necking' of marked, with a reduction from 180 to 90 leading to a life increase su-
amour wires and/or helical components. Many of the problems associ- perior to 100%.
ated with laying umbilicals are related to torsion effects as looping. These According to Bryant (1990), the majority of umbilical damage is
effects can be minimized by always keeping umbilicals under tension and associated with the use of static sheaves such as curved plates. High
with the aid of torque balanced armor (Bryant, 1990). sheaving loads can result in removal of protective jackets and, conse-
Another very common damage in umbilicals is fretting damage quently, in corrosion problems. In addition, sheaving under high loads
because of continuous bending and load cycling. To avoid such damage, can also result in high stress concentration in internal components of the
it is recommended the use of high abrasion resistance jackets to cover the umbilical, leading to failure. A particular interesting failure mechanism
most sensitive materials, such as Kevlar®. In addition, to ensure that its can be observed in hydraulic hoses, related to sheaving under ten-
internal components are maintained in relative position to each other, it sile loads.

Fig. 6. Comparison between low and high packing in aramid braid (Bryant, 1990).

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Fig. 7. Hydraulic hose failure by sheaving (Bryant, 1990).

As represented in Fig. 7, the stages of sheaving failure in hydraulic

hoses comprise a transition between a perfect circular hose (1), an oval
Fig. 9. Tensioner Length versus water depth and umbilical weight (Dieumegard and
hose (2), and a point (3) at which the lower surface turns in on itself. At
Fellows, 2003).
this point, the inwardly pointing material will be 'chased' along the axis
of the umbilical as it is pulled along over the sheave. In some cases, this
the load being transferred, the lower dynamic friction coefficient be-
type of damage is recoverable by re-inflating the hose, but the material
tween the external coating and tensioner shoe structure, the length of the
life will certainly be reduced. In other cases, the heart-shaped geometry is
tensioner and the number of tensioners which will be effectively
so pronounced that it resists inflation and subsequent bursts will occur
employed. The maximum radial compression specified (design crushing
due to the separation of the braid from the liner.
load) is dependent on the active traction, because this could end up
Rabelo (2013) suggested that to avoid damage in hydraulic hoses, it is
stretching the wires of the armour and inducing the effect of crushing
necessary to keep the hoses pressurized by hydraulic fluid when the
(squeeze) in the inner layers. Dieumegard and Fellows (2003) describe
umbilical passes through pulleys and tensioners during installation.
the design and installation of a deepwater metallic tube umbilical and
Umbilical cables are installed by launching vessels (pipe laying support
give reference to the total length of tensioner required to install it under
vessels, PLSVs). Fig. 8 illustrates a PLSV used for the installation of um-
several water depths and umbilical weights. As shown on Fig. 9, the total
bilical cables. These vessels receive reeled umbilical cables and release
length of tensioner required to install an umbilical in ultra deepwater can
them through tensioners. The minimum radial compression on the ten-
be significant.
sioners is that required to maintain the set suspended when it is released.
Umbilical sections are submitted to radial compression when passing
This minimum grip should be ensured by the tensioner throughout the
through tensioners and launching wheel and these loadings can cause
operation of release, and for that, a nominal value is set (required
significant bending in the internal components of the umbilical. In
crushing load). The maximum value (maximum crushing load) is twice
addition, the tensile armor submits the functional elements to mechan-
the difference between the nominal radial compression and minimum
ical pressure, inducing ovalizations in the umbilical hoses. Rabelo (2013)
radial compression. According to Batrony et al. (2012), it is important
concludes that it is essential to launch the umbilical cable with the hy-
that these crush load limits are defined realistically and derived using
draulic hoses completely full of hydraulic fluid to avoid hose failure.
verifiably accurate methods. This requires fundamental understanding of
Rabelo (2013) describes a study of Petrobras about the main causes of
the internal components failure modes subject to crush loading and
failures in umbilicals installed in production wells. This study compiled
analysis tools, which are calibrated against actual test data. Batrony et al.
installation and inspection reports of the company, publications of other
(2012) presented a preliminary study comparing experimental results
operators, and consultation to umbilicals manufacturers in order to cat-
with FEA simulations on a sample steel tube umbilical under
alog the major non-compliances that occurred in this equipment. Major
crush loading.
cataloged failures include:
The minimum radial compression required in tensioners is function of

(a) Cracks in the outer jacket: nucleation and propagation of cracks

in high density polyethylene (HDPE);
(b) Ripples: loss of functionality of internal components due to non-
uniform stress distribution during the passage through PLSV
tensioners;
(c) Kinks: umbilical twist generating balancing loss;
(d) Offset of the external sheath in HDPE: offset of the outer jacket
allowing exposure of the tensile armour;
(e) Tensile armour wire break: break of the wire in the welding
region.

These failures illustrated in Fig. 10 occurred because of

manufacturing defects, handling or design fitness to supplier
manufacturing facilities. According to Rabelo (2013), the problems
Fig. 8. Pipe laying support vessel (PLSV) and its tensioner (Rabelo, 2013).

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Fig. 10. Umbilical failures: (a) cracks in the outer jacket; (b) ripples; (c) kinks; (d) offset of the external sheath in HDPE, and (e) tensile armour wire break (Rabelo, 2013).

caused by handling, installation and operation are closely linked to hy- to 200 psi), it was established as prerequisite and design premise that the
draulic hoses failures. These hoses have low resistance to collapse, and umbilical installation in any depth must be made under internally pres-
this failure mode appears as the main cause of umbilical failures expe- surized hoses and no air inside. The presence of air (or other compress-
rienced. The collapse is manifested by gradual increase of ovalization in ible fluid) allows the development of creases and deformation (ovality)
hose section. After some loading cycles, such crease leads the hose to that result in hose failure.
burst. Fig. 11 illustrates the failure of a hydraulic hose. Rabelo (2013) reported a true case of umbilical cable hydraulic hose
Due to the hydraulic hoses limitation to external pressure (from 150 failure. It corresponds to a GTX-443 injection well, in water depths of

Fig. 11. Hydraulic hose failed in operation (Rabelo, 2013).

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G.P. Drumond et al. Ocean Engineering 148 (2018) 412–425

Fig. 12. Burst failure aspect: (a) hose cross-section showing a crease; (b) aramid layer rupture; and (c) liner burst in the crease region (Rabelo, 2013).

1181 m, connecting the platform P-93 by a five functions 11) and a fluorinated elastomer, Viton®. To compare the mechanical
electro-hydraulic umbilical, containing five hydraulic hoses of 3/8''. The behavior of both materials, uniaxial tensile tests as well as nonlinear FE
leakage of the hydraulic fluid driven in four of the five hoses was iden- simulations were performed. The numerical results obtained showed that
tified after valve control loss. One of these hoses was dissected and the both Polyamide 11 and Viton® did not fail under external pressure.
combination of external and internal pressure was identified as the most However, Polyamide 11 concentrates high plastic deformations after
probable failure reason. According to Rabelo (2013), the main findings collapse, which can lead to localized hose rupture under internal pres-
about the hoses failure were: rupture of the polyurethane outer jacket; sure. For Viton®, it was found that the material concentrates de-
burst aspect in the aramid layer; extensive crease along sample length; formations during collapse but they are recovered when internal pressure
Nylon 11 liner showing yellow coloration. Fig. 12 shows a dissected hose is applied. To propose the replacement of Polyamide 11 by Viton®, it was
and illustrates the failure aspect by burst. showed that the latter has chemical compatible with the hydraulic fluid.
Almeida et al. (2013) also conducted a study on hydraulic hoses Then, ageing tests under temperature were conducted to check if the
failure due to pressure loads. The authors proposed a new arrange to polymer loose mass, swell and preserve its mechanical properties (Dru-
umbilical internal components aiming to reduce the applied tensile load mond et al., 2016) after ageing. It was found that the changes in me-
on hoses. To this end, numerical FE analyses as well experimental tests chanical properties were not severe, as well as the swelling and mass
were conducted. According to this study, due to the helical configuration loss effects.
of the tensile armour, part of the applied load is transferred as pressure on A previous work (Legallais et al., 1993) reported another failure mode
the intermediate layers, which can lead to the crushing of the internal on umbilicals hydraulic hoses: the ability of some fluids and gases to
components of the umbilical (electrical cables, hydraulic hoses etc.). permeate the hose layers. Despite of being small, permeation rate at large
From the numerical results, the authors realized that the hoses were distances leads to loss of significant fluid volume. Legallais et al. (1993)
the components with higher tension levels during dynamic tests. They based their research on a fluid commonly injected in wells, the methanol.
suggested modifications of the umbilical cross-section to reduce tensile A new material based on cross-linked polyethylene was developed in
levels, by changing the mobility of internal components (hydraulic hoses order to replace Polyamide 11 or thermoplastic polyester inner layer of
and electrical cables). The simulation of the new cross-section arrange hydraulic hoses. For these materials, methanol permeation rates vary
demonstrated that it behaves inversely to the older one, in which the with temperature from 150 to 5 g/m2 (mm.dia) for Polyester, and from
electrical cables were free to move before they come in contact with the 190 to 13 g m2/(mm.dia) for Polyamide 11. Legallais et al. (1993) have
inner sheath. With the new cross-section arrange, the hoses were made developed a specific degree of cross-linked high density polyethylene,
free to move, which caused a reduction of about 53% in the maximum named Ducoflex®. Such material is applicable to methanol injection (or
stress. Additionally, the stresses became better distributed and symmet- other fluids) and can replace Polyamide 11 or thermoplastic polyester at
ric, in contrast to the older arrange, where some regions of stress con- temperatures up to 90  C.
centration were observed.
Recently, Drumond et al. (2016) studied the failure of umbilicals 5. Conclusions
hydraulic hoses due to pressure loads and proposed an alternative ma-
terial for the manufacture of the hose inner layer. The authors based their This paper aims at reporting a literature review on failure events
work on the comparison between the material currently used (Polyamide experienced by the oil and gas industry concerning pipelines, risers, and

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umbilical cables. occurred in umbilical cables, such as cracks in the outer jacket, ripples,
Pipelines are structures widely used in oil and gas production facil- kinks, offset of the external sheath, and tensile armour wire break. These
ities and occasionally may fail leading to hydrocarbons releases. In the failure modes are widely covered by the industry, with a lot of studies and
past ten years, three hundred offshore pipeline incidents happened, and projects aiming to mitigate or solve the related problems.
seventy one of them involved hydrocarbon releases (Aljaroudi et al., Although the readers may be concerned about the failure mechanisms
2015). These numbers are relevant and pointed out the need of deeper of the reported structures, it is not possible to explore them in a single
studies about the causes of these structural failures. The main failure article. Here the aim is to bring a general view of the documented fail-
modes experienced by pipelines during production are identified as ures, so that the reader can go in deep from the mentioned references.
mechanical damage (impact or accidental damage), external and/or in- From the analyzed structures, some key factors should be highlighted in
ternal corrosion, construction defect, material or mechanical failure, view of the reported failures, i.e. water depth, structure complexity and
natural hazards and fatigue. Taking into account the failure events re- environmental conditions.
ported, impact is indicated as the most frequent cause of failure modes, The increasing water depth potentially makes the installation and
representing 56% of the incidents in the North Sea. Another relevant operation of such structures more dangerous, since the involved loads are
failure mode is associated with internal corrosion, which represents 31% higher, i.e. axial tension, external pressure, bending and torsion. Most of
of the incidents in the US. Internal corrosion is mostly explained by the reported failures are directly related to conditions of extreme loads or
microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) or by ingress of CO2 traces combinations of them.
combined with H2S. Facing these statistics, further studies and analysis Structural complexity also increases the mechanical response modes
addressing impact and corrosion failures in pipelines are strongly rec- and so far, the failure possibilities. It is clear that the multi-layered pipes
ommended for future studies. and cables present much more failure mechanisms than single wall
Additionally, pipe buckling and overbending can result from longi- structures. Certainly, there are hundreds of publications addressing these
tudinal compressive stresses caused by an increase of temperature com- different failure mechanisms and the readers are encouraged to ac-
bined with the presence of soil friction or constrained ends (Simonsen, cess them.
2014). Concerning the pipeline-seabed interaction under waves and/or Finally, the environmental conditions are always harmful for such
currents, a vast review of published researches is presented by Fredsøe engineering structures. They can be corrosive (chemically aggressive),
(2016), including three issues: scour, liquefaction, and lateral stability of dynamical (causing fatigue) and sometimes extreme within severe
pipelines. The process of scour around a pipeline is dependent on the weather conditions. Because of this, the design, installation and opera-
pipeline-seabed interaction, which is influenced by the movement of the tion of pipelines, risers and umbilicals will be always a challenging task.
pipeline due to bending along the scour process. When the pipe is located
in a free span, it may vibrate as a result of waves and/or current (Sumer Acknowledgments
et al., 1989; Shen et al., 2000; Zhao and Cheng, 2010), which causes an
additional pulsating flow around the pipe, leading to an expansion of the The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from
scoured-bed profile. Noncohesive soil in the seabed exposed to waves QPI Brasil Petr
oleo Ltda (ANP R&D Program) during research activities
may undergo liquefaction, when pipelines placed on the seabed may sink carried out at the Subsea Technology Laboratory – COPPE, Federal
if their submerged density is higher than the liquefied soil density. University of Rio de Janeiro, under the research project “Safety of Subsea
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