Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208

www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure analysis of a leak-off oil pipe from injection valves of

an off-shore operating diesel engine
Z. Mazur *, A. Carvajal-Martı́nez, R. Muñoz-Quezada, R. Garcı́a-Illescas
Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas, Calle Reforma 113, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Received 20 September 2005; accepted 24 October 2005

Available online 13 February 2006

Abstract

The failure analysis of a four-stroke 3000 kW off-shore operating diesel engine is presented. The failure occurred during
engine normal operation period in the leak-off oil pipe from the injection valves, which experienced a fracture through the
pipe wall and a diesel engine fire as a result. A detailed analysis of all elements which had an influence on the failure ini-
tiation was carried out, namely leak-off oil pipe vibration level, pipe stress level, presence of corrosion pits on the pipe
external surface under the zinc coating and engine components temperature distribution in the failure zone. It was found
that the crack initiation and propagation of the leak-off oil pipe from injection valves was driven by a fatigue mechanism,
which was facilitated by loose pipe supports (excessive pipe vibration) and corrosion pits on the pipe surface that acted as
stress concentrators. The contact of leak-off atomized oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot engine exhaust
muff (390 C approximately) caused local fire of the diesel engine.
 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Failure analysis; High cycle fatigue; Diesel engine failures; Oil pipe failure; Diesel engine fire

1. Introduction

The fatigue of metals is a subject of practical importance because most of the failures in engineering com-
ponents and structures are due to fatigue. In service, many components and structures are subjected to varying
loads and, although the average stresses are often low, local concentration of stresses does not reduce the static
strength but often leads to failure by fatigue. Low and medium carbon steels are widely used for making
machine parts and structural components. The causes of failures of these machine parts and components
are frequently related to dynamic loading patterns. In principle, as long as the applied stresses do not exceed
the design stresses, these components should last indefinitely, although in practice various factors cause reduc-
tions in life. Many metallurgical and operational factors can extend the actual component life beyond the
design life. Alternatively, if these factors are adverse, actual life can be reduced. The adverse factors affecting
the useful life of components are [1] as follows:

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +52 777 362 3811; fax: +52 777 362 3834.
E-mail address: mazur@iie.org.mx (Z. Mazur).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter  2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2005.10.019
 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208 197

Nomenclature

b fatigue resistance exponent

c fatigue ductility exponent
E modulus of Elasticity
f vibration frequency
K cyclic resistance coefficient
n cyclic deformation hardening exponent
Nf number of cycles to failure
p pressure
t time
ea deformation amplitude
e0f fatigue ductility coefficient
ra stress amplitude
r0f fatigue resistance coefficient
rmax maximum stress
ru ultimate tensile strength
ry tensile strength, yield at 0.2% offset
De deformation range
Dr fatigue stress range

 Unanticipated stresses (residual, system stresses)

 Operating outside design limits (excessive temperature, load cycling of baseload equipment)
 Operation and environmental effects
 Degradation of material properties in service (temper embrittlement, softening)
 Pre-existing fabrication defects

A metal component subjected to repetitive or fluctuating stresses will fail at a stress much lower than that
required for failure on a single load application. Failures occurring under cyclic loading are termed fatigue
failures. Vibrational stresses, alternating bending loads, and fluctuating thermal stresses are some examples
of cyclic loading that can occur in a life period of many equipments. In many piping systems, bending stresses
arise due to failure of supports. Also, leaks in tubes and pipes and vibration of rotating components provide
forewarnings of more large-scale and massive failures. Unanticipated environmental effects leading to corro-
sion, pitting, and stress corrosion are major factors in life reduction. Pre-existing fabrication defects may cause
crack initiation and growth of cracks during service and lead to premature failures. Inclusions, segregation
streaks, reheat cracking, slag inclusions in welds, lack of fusion, incomplete penetration and numerous other
defects such as these have been known to cause catastrophic failures [2]. In the present work, a case history of
the failure analysis of a leak-off oil pipe from injection valves of an off-shore operating diesel engine installed
in the oil platform (service platform), which was driven by fatigue mechanism, is presented.

2. Background

The diesel engine under evaluation was one of the five engine generator sets (engine generator set #2) of
the four-stroke, 16 cylinder, 3000 kW power units installed on an offshore oil platform (service platform).
The engine generator sets provide an electrical energy for propulsors, fire pumps, emergency equipment, ser-
vice equipment in the shops and habitational area, cranes and other auxiliary equipment necessary for plat-
form operation. Each diesel engine has its own fuel delivery system, which consists of a circuit of fuel
feeding to the injection equipment of each cylinder and a circuit of fuel leak-off from injection valves (return
circuit). During normal operation period, a flame in the area of cylinder No. 16 of unit #2 was detected (see
Fig. 1).
198 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208

Fig. 1. Flame location in diesel engine #2.

Fig. 2. General view of the burned diesel engine #2.

After the fire of diesel engine #2 was extinguished, it was found that some parts of the electrical cables,
electric and electronic equipment, diesel engine elements and structural elements of the machine room were
burnt. The general view of the burnt diesel engine #2 is shown in Fig. 2 and the same engine in original con-
ditions is shown in Fig. 3. The initial investigation revealed that the fire of engine #2 was originated by leakage
of fuel (diesel oil) from a fractured leak-off oil pipe from injection valves, which were in contact with the hot
exhaust muff of the engine and were consequently ignited. The location of the failed leak-off oil pipe can be
seen in Fig. 2.

3. Vibration analysis of the fuel leak-off oil pipe

In order to estimate the level of vibration generated during diesel engine operation and its possible relation
to the fuel leak-off oil pipe failure, the vibration measurements were carried out on a similar engine, #4,
because engine #2 was not available due to its burning out, as it was mentioned before.
 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208 199

Fig. 3. General view of the failed fuel leak-off oil pipe in original conditions.

The vibrations of the fuel leak-off oil pipe were measured in various points and directions, as it is shown in
Fig. 4.
It is worthwhile to mention that the vibration frequency measured on the fuel leak-off oil pipe of the engine
#4 does not necessarily correspond exactly to the vibration of engine #2 because of some common dynamic
state differences between engines. Particularly, there were probably some differences between the stiffnesses of
the analyzed pipes related to the loosening of some supports of the main fuel feeding pipe of each cylinder in
both engines (see Figs. 5 and 6) and also to the lack of some of them.
The dynamic response of the pipe depends on the rigidity of its supports. If some supports are loose or are
eliminated, the pipe vibration amplitude will increase and the mode shapes will change.
The vibrations registered at each point of the fuel leak-off oil pipe of engine #4 are shown in Table 1. The
vibration measurements were carried out simultaneously at point 7, connected to the principal fuel feeding
pipe and points 1–6 of the fuel leak-off oil pipe, considering point 7 as the reference point. As it can be seen

1 2 3

Failure zone

6
7

Fig. 4. Localization of the points of vibration measurement on the fuel leak-off oil pipe.
200 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208

Fig. 5. Location of loose supports of the principal fuel feeding pipe of engine #2.

Fig. 6. Details of the loose support of the principal fuel feeding pipe of engine #2.

in Table 1, the reference vibration at point 7 varied in time, a phenomenon that is normal for diesel engines
and is related to their mode of operation (the dynamic/exciting forces developed during each rotation of the
engine crankshaft are variable in time).
 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208 201

Table 1
Direct vibration and amplitude of spectral components of vibration measured in horizontal plane
Point Direct vibration (lm pp) Amplitude of filtrated vibration
37.50 Hz 60.00 Hz 83.30 Hz
1 340.8 101.8 244.7 55.42
7 632.0 438.8 340.2 176.4
2 428.0 145.3 319.2 47.33
7 613.8 450.3 288.0 181.0
3 562.2 229.1 384.0 107.6
7 594.6 460.4 255.0 180.7
4 505.4 164.7 329.5 132.4
7 432.5 268.7 225.1 156.4
5 513.0 214.1 314.3 203.0
7 437.0 278.0 222.8 168.9
6 506.7 204.9 258.0 260.0
7 370.7 190.0 199.8 160.4

Table 2
Normalized vibrations of the leak-off oil pipe related to the vibration of point 7
Point Filtered amplitudes
37.5 Hz 60.0 Hz 83.3 Hz
1 0.23199635 0.71928277 0.31417234
2 0.32267377 1.06578947 0.26149171
3 0.49761077 1.50588235 0.5 9546209
4 0.61295125 1.46379387 0.84654731
5 0.77014388 1.41068223 1.20189461
6 1.07842105 1.29129129 1.62094763

As it is shown in Table 1, the maximum levels of pipe vibration at point 7 were registered at a frequency of
37.5 Hz, reaching values of up to 460 lm pp. The normalized vibrations calculated with relation to the refer-
ence vibration at point 7 are shown in Table 2. It can be appreciated that the maximum normalized vibration
of point 6 is the closest to that of reference point 7, which is connected to the principal fuel feeding pipe. Going
from point 6 to point 1 of the leak-off oil pipe, these vibrations decrease gradually as the distance from the
reference point increases. The approximate mode shapes of the leak-off oil pipe at different vibration frequen-
cies during engine operation are shown in Fig. 7.

4. Metallurgical investigation of the leak-off oil pipe

The metallurgical investigation of the failed leak-off oil pipe was carried out; it included visual inspection,
metallography, SEM (scanning electronic microscopy) fractography, chemical analysis and microhardness
test. The location of the leak-off oil pipe sectioning and applied tests is shown in Fig. 8.

(a) (b) (c)

1
2
3
7 4
5

37.5 Hz 60.0 Hz 83.3 Hz

Fig. 7. Approximate modes of deformation of the leak-off oil pipe at different vibration frequencies during engine operation.
202 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208

Fig. 8. Location of the leak-off oil pipe sectioning and applied tests.

In Fig. 9, the fracture surface of the leak-off oil pipe is shown. As it can be seen, there are two opposite
zones of the fracture initiation on the external surface of the pipe, which are the result of the pipe cyclic bend-
ing; beach marks on the fracture surfaces, which are characteristic of the fatigue damage, are also seen in the
figure.
Fig. 10 shows the details of the upper part of the pipe fracture surface shown in Fig. 9, indicating the frac-
ture initiation zone and beach marks.
Using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), fracture initiation points were analyzed (Fig. 11). It was
found that the fracture initiation and propagation was transgranular (see Fig. 12), which is commonly attrib-
uted to fatigue. The typical fatigue propagation striations (sliding planes) on the fracture surface are shown in
Fig. 13.
The metallographic investigation of the oil pipe surface revealed that under the zinc coating which covers
the outer pipe surface, corrosion pits were found, as it is shown in Fig. 14. These corrosion pits could be cre-
ated during an inadequate pipe fabrication process (surface preparation, cleaning, and coating). Also, they
could be formed as a product of galvanic corrosion due to the different electrochemical potentials of the zinc
coating and pipe base metal (carbon steel). Because engine oil pipes may have contact with humid air rich in
sodium (off-shore operation), the galvanic corrosion process may be activated; this typically occurs in the
interface zone between two metals of different electrochemical potentials.

5. Stress analysis of the leak-off oil pipe

Stress analysis of the leak-off oil pipe was carried out to determine if the pipe operating stress level could
have some influence on failure initiation and propagation. The geometric characteristics of the piping are as
follows:

 External diameter, 12 mm
 Internal diameter, 10.3 mm
 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208 203

Fig. 9. General appearance of the leak-off oil pipe fracture surface.

 Pipe wall thickness, 0.85 mm

 Aspect ratio (wall thickness/internal radius), 0.16 (cylinder of thick wall)
 Pipe material, carbon steel SAE1015
 Brinell hardness, BHN = 80
 Ultimate tensile strength, ru = 414 MPa
 Yield tensile strength at 0.2% offset, ry = 228 MPa
 Modulus of elasticity, E = 207 GPa

According to the design data [3], the fuel pressure inside the leak-off pipe reaches the value of p = 0.3 MPa.
Considering this pressure, the maximum stress in the pipe was calculated as rmax = 2.26 MPa, which is
approximately ten times lower than the tensile stress yielding of the pipe material. This stress is insignificant
and cannot have an influence on the initiation of pipe failure.
Moreover, the fatigue life of the leak-off pipe was calculated using specialized software named nCode [4],
considering variation of the maximum stress mentioned before due to oil pressure fluctuation. The stress
concentration factor was included in the calculation due to the presence of corrosion pits on the pipe sur-
face (0.01–0.02 mm depth), which reduce fatigue life. The results show that pipe fatigue life is infinite
because the stress amplitude is very small and does not cause any fatigue damage. Also, the pipe crack ini-
tiation on its external surface proved that the fuel internal pressures, which produce maximum stress on the
pipe inner surface, have no relation with the failure. It was concluded that the damage of the pipe was not
related to the fuel pressure inside the pipe and most probably the leak-off pipe failure may have been related
204 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208

Fig. 10. Details of the upper part of the pipe fracture surface from Fig. 9 (fracture initiation zone and beach marks).

Fig. 11. Details of the fracture surface (fracture initiation points).

 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208 205

Fig. 12. Details of the surface of the fracture initiation point.

Fig. 13. Details of the fracture propagation surface of the leak-off oil pipe.
206 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208

Fig. 14. Details of the corrosion pits on the pipe fracture surface under the zinc coating.

to the excessive vibration of the fuel feeding pipe which in turn was due to loose pipe supports, as it was
mentioned before.
Because the pipe stresses induced by the excessive vibration were not known precisely, but the pipe oper-
ation hours to failure were known, the pipe stresses which could lead to fatigue failure were calculated by
inverse method.
Considering that the leak-off pipe fundamental vibration frequency corresponds to f = 37.5 Hz (Table 1),
and operation hours to failure were t = 53929 h [5], the number of cycles to failure Nf = 7.28 · 109 were cal-
culated from:
N f ¼ ft ½cycles ð1Þ

For this order of cycles, the proper fatigue model was computed using the Basquin criterion (stress-life
model) [4], which considers elastic stresses and deformations normally generated during mechanical
vibration. The amplitude ea = 3.045 · 104 and range of deformation De = 6.09 · 104 were calculated
from:
r0f
ea ¼ ð2N f Þb ð2Þ
E
De ¼ 2ea ð3Þ
where for pipe material SAE1015 [4]:
r0f ¼ 827 MPa
E ¼ 207; 000 MPa
The fatigue stress range Dr = 124.3 MPa was determined from Eq. (4), which correlates fatigue stress and
deformation (fatigue cycle), using the software Math CAD [6].
 1n
Dr Dr
De ¼ þ2 ; ð4Þ
E 2K
where
 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208 207

b ¼ 0:11
e0f ¼ 0:95
c ¼ 0:94
b
n ¼ ; n ¼ 0:22
c
r0
K ¼ 0 f n MPa; K ¼ 945MPa
ðef Þ

The stress amplitude ra = 62.15 MPa was calculated from:

Dr
ra ¼ ð5Þ
2
From the obtained stress analysis results, it may be concluded that the leak-off oil pipe fatigue failure was
probably caused by elastic stresses induced by the oil pipe vibration at a frequency close to 37.5 Hz, which
were within the range of ra = 62.15 MPa approximately.

6. Infrared analysis (Thermography) of the diesel engine failure zone

To determine the cause of the engine fire (ignition of the diesel oil), an infrared analysis of the similar
diesel engine during its operation was carried out. The infrared analysis of the engine temperature pro-
file was concentrated within the zone of the fire initiation, close to the leak-off oil pipe (see Figs. 2
and 3), including the electrical cables box that controls the engine’s startup and operation, lubricating
oil pipes, and hot parts of the diesel engine. It was found that the maximum temperature of
approximately 390 C was registered in the zone of the engine exhaust tubes (engine muff), as shown in
Fig. 15.
On the basis of the engine temperature findings, it may be deduced that the contact of leak-off atomized
oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot engine exhaust tubing (390 C approximately) caused
local fire of the diesel engine. This was possible because the diesel oil (engine fuel) flash point is.at least
60 C [7].

Fig. 15. Temperature profiles in the zone of engine exhaust tubes (muff).
208 Z. Mazur et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 196–208

7. Conclusions

The failure analysis of the four-stroke 3000 kW off-shore operating diesel engine was carried out.
The diesel engine vibration analysis revealed that failed leak-off oil pipe maximum vibration levels were reg-
istered at a frequency of 37.5 Hz, reaching amplitude values of up to 460 lm pp. This high vibration level of
the oil pipe was induced due to some loose supports of the principal fuel feeding pipe and the lack of some of
them. The dynamic response of the pipe depends on the stiffness of its supports. If some supports are loose or
eliminated, the pipe vibration amplitude increases.
The metallurgical investigation of the failed leak-off oil pipe indicated the presence of two opposite zones of
the fracture initiation on the external surface of the pipe, as a result of the pipe cyclic bending and presence of
beach marks on the fracture surfaces, which are characteristic of the fatigue damage. Using scanning elec-
tronic microscopy (SEM) it was found that the fracture initiation and propagation was transgranular, a type
that is commonly attributed to fatigue. Also, the typical fatigue propagation striations (sliding planes) on the
fracture surface were found. The metallographic investigation of the oil pipe surface revealed that under the
zinc coating, which covers the outer pipe surface, corrosion pits were found. These corrosion pits could have
been created during an inadequate pipe fabrication process (surface preparation, cleaning, and coating). Also,
they could be formed as a product of galvanic corrosion due to the different electrochemical potentials of the
zinc coating and pipe base metal (carbon steel). Because engine oil pipes may have contact with humid air rich
in sodium (off-shore operation), the galvanic corrosion process may have been activated; this typically occurs
in the interface zone between two metals of different electrochemical potentials.
From the stress analysis of the failed leak-off oil pipe, it was concluded that the damage of the pipe cannot
be related to the fuel pressure inside the pipe. Furthermore, it was found that pipe fatigue failure was probably
caused by elastic stresses induced by the oil pipe vibration during operation, at a frequency close to 37.5 Hz,
due to some loose supports of the principal fuel feeding pipe, and also the lack of some of them. The pipe
fatigue damage was accelerated by corrosion pits on the pipe surface that acted as stress concentration factors.
Infrared analysis (thermography) of the diesel engine failure zone revealed that the maximum temperature
of approximately 390 C was registered in the zone of the engine exhaust tubes (engine muff). From these find-
ings, it was deduced that the contact of leak-off atomized oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot
engine exhaust tubing (390 C approximately) could have caused local fire in the diesel engine. This was pos-
sible because the diesel oil (engine fuel) flash point is at least 60 C.
Finally, it was concluded that the diesel engine leak-off oil pipe failure was driven by a fatigue mechanism,
which was facilitated/accelerated by loosened pipe supports (excessive pipe vibration) and corrosion pits on
the pipe surface. The contact of atomized oil due to the pipe through wall fracture with the hot engine exhaust
muff caused local fire in the diesel engine.

References

[1] Viswanathan R. Damage mechanisms and life assessment of high-temperature components. Metals Park (OH): ASM International;
1995.
[2] Hutchings FR, Unterweiser PM. Failure analysis: the British engine technical reports. Metals Park (OH): American Society for Metals;
1981. p. 99–119.
[3] Service data – fuel system, Wärtsilä Sweden AB; 1999.
[4] Program nCode, International limited, Version 1; 2001.
[5] Gabriel Ardón, E-mail: COTEMAR S.A. de C.V.; 1.04.2004.
[6] Program MathCAD professional; Version 2001.
[7] Data and specifications – fuel Oils, Document No. 91 939 098 00E, Wärtsilä Sweden; 1992.