Failure of 6061-T6 pipes

FAILURE OF Al 6061-T6 PIPES

A company dedicated to production and distribution of gases, has facilities in which, by

controlling pressure, gases are liquefied for storage and distribution.

One of such facilities has been finished for the production of liquid Argon at cryogenic
Temperatures. A sampling line (pipe) is used to get Argon for analysis.

Sampling line is made of Al 6061-T6 alloy, 1.5 inch in diameter, which is introduced into a
pipe of the same material but 1 in diameter. There is no pre-heating of the tubes and
welding is done by TIG (GTAW).

After welding, a pressure tight testing is made using 100 psi of N2 gas. Dye liquids are also
used to detect cracks.
Failure is detected during the start-up procedure, as follows:
1. Vacuum is applied to extract any water vapor from the system. This results in a
temperature drop from room temperature to about 10C.
2. Further vacuum is applied and temperature drops to 2C.
3. Alumina (Al2O3) in the form of perlite (small spheres about 2 mm in diameter) is detected
in the reactor, indicating a failure.
4. During inspection, fracture of the sampling line is detected.

Your team has been asked to explain possible causes for this failure and give advice as to
how to avoid more failures in the future.
Failure of 6061-T6 pipes

Chemical Composition

A sample of the failed tube, at about 0.5m away from the welding, was analyzed by ICP
giving the following results in weight percent (analysis was made for the elements shown
only; balance: Al):

Element %w.t.
Si 0.592
Fe 0.235
Cu 0.201
Mg 0.963
Cr 0.053
Ti 0.012
Failure of 6061-T6 pipes

Microstrucures

Metallographic analysis of the failed tube were carried out using standard metallographic
procedures: grinding from 100 grit to 1200 grit using SiC abrasive paper, followed by
ultrasonic cleaning of samples and polishing from 5 micrometers down to 0.1 micrometers
using alumina particles. Samples were etched using Keller's reactive.

Figure 1. Cross section at the fracture

Figure 2. Cross section away from the welding (see the scale at the left side = 10
micrometers).
Failure of 6061-T6 pipes

Hardness measurements

A cross section of the tube was metallographically prepared and microhardness

measurements were carried out. Measurement 1 was located 0.2 mm below the outer
surface of the tube whereas Measurement 10 was located 0.2 mm below the inner surface
of the tube. A Microindentator was used for hardness measurements in Vickers with a load
value of 10 gr).

Measurement Hardness
(Vickers - 10 grf)
1 93
2 82
3 70
4 78
5 33
6 40
7 50
8 93
9 45
10 52