Properties, weldability and corrosion behavior of supermartensitic stainless steels for on- and offshore applications

Stimulated material-environment interactions inside and around flowlines of deep or ultra deep wells during oil and gas exploration, and fabrication economy of pipelines have been the major challenges facing the oil and gas industries. Presumably, an extensive focus on high integrity, performance and material economy of flowlines have realistically made supermartensitic stainless steels (SMSS) efficient and effective material choices for fabricating onshore and offshore pipelines. Supermartensitic stainless steels exhibit high strength, good low temperature toughness, sufficient corrosion resistance in sweet and mildly sour environments, and good quality weldability with both conventional welding processes and modern welding methods such as laser beam welding, electron beam welding and hybrid welding approaches. In terms of economy, supermartensitic stainless steels are cheaper and they are major replacements for more expensive duplex stainless steels required for tubing applications in the oil and gas industry. However, weld areas of SMSS pipes are exposed to sulphide stress cracking (SSC), so intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) or stress corrosion cracking can occur. In order to circumvent this risk of cracking, a post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) for 5 minutes at about 650 degrees C is recommended. This paper provides detailed literature perusal on supermartensitic stainless steels, their weldability and corrosion behaviors. It also highlights a major research area that has not been thoroughly expounded in literature; fatigue loading behaviors of welded SMSS under different corrosive environments have not been thoroughly detailed in literature.