ALLOY 718 FOR THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Juri Kolts

Conoco Inc.
P. 0. Box 1267
Ponca City, OK 74603

Abstract

This paper examines some of the properties of Alloy 718 required by

the oil and gas industry for the completion of corrosive wells. The
properties of interest include strength, toughness, pitting and general
corrosion resistance, hydrogen embrittlement resistance, and stress cor-
rosion cracking resistance. The effects of heat treatment on some of these
properties are discussed.

Heat treatment temperatures can affect each property differently.

Thus high aging temperatures may improve hydrogen embrittlement resistance
while low aging temperatures may improve toughness and corrosion resis-
tance. The stress corrosion cracking performance determines the limits for
use in the most aggress environments containing elemental sulfur.

Superalloy 718-Metallurgy and Applications

Edited by E.A. Loria
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, 1989

329
 Introduction

Alloy 718 is used as a corrosion-resistant alloy in the oil and gas

industry because of its combination of high-strength, corrosion resistance,
and ability to be heat treated to various strength levels. While Alloy 718
was developed for high-temperature use, it's properties have been modified
for the oil industry through processing and heat treatment. The properties
of most interest to the oil and gas industry are corrosion resistance,
strength, toughness, hydrogen embrittlement resistance, and stress cor-
rosion cracking resistance. Since Alloy 718 can be heat treated to the
required strength levels, it finds use as thick sections and complicated
shapes for downhole and surface components. This paper will discuss some
of the oil industry uses of Alloy 718, the corresponding mechanical proper-
ties and heat treatments, the corrosion resistance in typical oil field
environments.

Applications of Alloy 718 in the Oil and Gas Industry

Alloy 718 is used where high strength and corrosion resistance are
required. While a number of alloys can provide high strength a.nd corrosion
resistance, many are strengthened only by cold work and, therefore, are not
suitable for thick sections or complicated shapes. Other alloys, such as
carbon and low-alloy steels, do not have sufficient corrosion resistance,
although they may have the desired mechanical properties. Thus, for thick
sections or complicated shapes, an alloy must be heat treated rather than
cold worked to the desired mechanical properties. An additional advantage
of heat-treatable alloys is inventory reduction since one inventory can
supply materials for applications requiring different strength levels. In
thick sections, heat-treatable alloys such as Alloy 718 provide more
uniform mechanical properties through the cross section as compared to
cold-worked materials. The cold-worked material-s in thick sections often
possess high residua.1 stresses, thus increasing difficulty in maintaining
tolerances during machining. For these reasons, heat-treatable alloys are
often selected for downhole and surface equipment which is machined to
final dimensions.

A frequent application of Alloy 718 is in valve stems. These stems

are often used in service which is slightly corrosive. L,ow corrosion rates
are needed for low torque to open and close valves, thus, Alloy 718 valve
stems are used in combination with noncorrosion resistant alloys. Figure 1
shows a cutout of a valve with parts typically manufactured from Alloy 718.
A common use is in gates and seats for corrosion-resistant applications.
Alloy 718 valve stems, gates, seats, set screws, and other fasteners
requiring high strength have been used for a number of years. Other common
applications include springs and components in downhole safety valves which
require high tolerances, for example, flappers and seals for downhole
safety valves. Alloy 718 components for side-pocket mandrels (chemical
injection valves) have been used. These applications constitute the
bread-and-butter usage of Alloy 718 in the petroleum industry.

Newer applications of Alloy 718 are found in extremely corrosive wells

using only corrosion-resistant alloy equipment. These wells have very high
downhole temperatures, high pressures, and high concentrations of both
carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. While tubular products in corrosion-
resistant alloy completions are cold worked nickel-based alloys, Duplex
stainless steels, or 13-chrome stainless steels, these completions require
increased use of Alloy 718. Alloy 718 has been used as tubing hangers,
bodies for safety valves, downhole polished bore receptacles, chemical
injection valves, downhole packers, landing nipples, and extension seals

330
Figure 1. Schematic drawing of a valve showing common Alloy 718 components
used in corrosive service.

(1). A large number of these safety valves has been manufactured to date.
These constitute the larger equipment constructed from Alloy 718.

Mechanical Properties

The yield strength of precipitation-hardened, corrosion-resistant

alloys required for the oil and gas industry ranges from 65,000 to
160,000 psi (450-1100 MPa). The range for Alloy 718 is usually from
110,000 psi (758 MPa) to approximately 150,000 psi (1100 MPa). The NACE
specification MR0175 (specification to control hydrogen embrittlenent)
limits the maximum hardness of Alloy 718 to HRC 40. Thus, the very high-
strength levels used in the aviation and aerospace industry are not re-
quired nor permitted in oil and gas applications. Therefore, the heat
treatments are different from those for high-temperature applications.
Consequently, the double-aging treatments used to maximize the strength and
creep resistance of Alloy 718 are not used; rather, single-aging treatments
are preferred.

In addition to the strength requirement, alloy toughness is extremely

important. A Charpy v-notch toughness of 20 to 40 foot-pounds for
corrosion-resistant alloys is often specified. This also limits the
maximum strength of Alloy 718. Thus, the processing and heal: treatment of
Alloy 718 should provide the necessary strength and good toughness. In
addition, Alloy 718 is heat treated to provide adequate hydrogen embrittle-

331
ment resistance and stress corrosion cracking resistance. These will be
discussed in later sections.

Single-step aging treatments are used to develop the mechanical

properties in oil and gas applications. The annealing temperatures are
usually in the range 1850 to 1950 F (1210 to 1265 C) followed by a one-step
age at 1200 to 1450 F (648 to 988 C). This achieves yield strengths of
130,000 to 140,000 psi (896 to 965 MPa). Figure 2 displays the yield
strength and toughness of Alloy 718 and Alloy PH3 after solution annealing
and aging between 1200 and 1400 F (648 to 760 C). The strength can be
achieved either by underaging near 1275 F (690 C) or overaging near 1400 F
(760 C). Depending on the requirements, either of these heat treatments
are used for a given yield strength. The toughness (2,3) decreases with
increasing aging temperature, although the yield strength reaches a peak
between 1200 and 1400 F (648 to 760 C). Thus, for best toughness, under-
aging may be preferable. There are other considerations for developing
toughness in Alloy 718. For example, grain boundary precipitation may
affect toughness, as is indicated by either the ductile (4) or inter-
granular nature of fracture surfaces obtained in toughness tests (5).
These factors will not be considered in detail.

The political metallurgical requirement of NACE Specification MR0175

permits the use of Alloy 718 to maximum hardness of HRC 40. It is neces-
sary , for some applications, to obtain the highest yield strength achiev-
able with the imposed maximum HRC 40 hardness. Table 1 shows that under
these restrictions, a minimum yield strength of 140,000 psi (965 MPa) can
be attained. Alloy 718 as shown in Table 1 has been supplied and installed
in oil field applications for corrosive environments. The use at these
very high strength levels is contrary to the justification for the recent
changes made in NACE Specification MR0175. The increase in the Rockwell
hardness to HRC 40 in MR0175 was justified by easier manufacturing of
Alloy 718 to the 120,000 minimum yield strength (827 MPa).

(“F)
. 1200 1250 I300 1350 14ccl
I -1 I I / I 110
150 -
KU-
130-
-Ix)-

- PH3 - 50
--a-- 718

I I&, I I I I
IO
As - @3J 675 700 725 750

AGING TEMPERATURE (“c) x 20 h

Figure 2. Comparison of aging behavior of PH3, 718,

332
 TABLE 1
ALLOY 718 WITH
SPECIFIED MAXIMUM HARDNESS HRC 40

Charpy
Yield Strength Tensile Strength RA V-Notch Hardness
ksi MPa ksi MPa -% foot-lbs HRC

148 (1020) 21 79/80/80 39

151 (1041) 69172174

148 (1020) 188 (1296) 44 68169177 39

This paper has not addressed the use of multiple heat treatments which
may be detrimental in providing the mechanical properties necessary for the
oil field. However, the user should be aware that most of Alloy 718s
applied to the market are destined for high-temperature use. These are
heat treated to the "standard" two step aging treatments. Reheat treating
of these alloys may not provide the required properties for oil and gas
applications since the heat treatment history (not only to the last heat
treatment) has an effect on the microstructure. For example, grain bound-
ary precipitates or second phases can remain in the grain boundaries to
subsequently coarsen in future heat treatments. Therefore, the oil and gas
industry should take into consideration heat treatment history. Further
study is necessary in this area.

Corrosion Resistance of Alloy 718

Alloy 718 is used for oil and gas applications because of its good
corrosion resistance. Since downhole environments are totally deaerated,
the likelihood of either general corrosion or pitting corrosion in produc-
tion environments is low (6). Alloy 718 has been found to be highly
resistant to carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and acetic acid containing
environments as shown in Table 2. Corrosion rates of less than 1 mil per
year (.025 mm/y) are encountered to high temperatures. Only with acid,
oxygen, or elemental sulfur does corrosion of Alloy 718 become significant.
Therefore, the pitting corrosion resistance is considered only in the most
severe environments encountered in the industry. Figure 3 shows the
pitting potentials of alloys used in the industry. These alloys are
considered to be corrosion resistant in most production environments.
Alloy 718 has pitting corrosion resistance equivalent to duplex stainless
steels. Alloys such as 410 stainless steel, nine-chrome one-moly,
304 stainless steel, CAGNM, FGNM, and 17-4 PH stainless steel are limited
in use because of their corrosion resistance. Alloy 718 applications are
generally not limited by corrosion resistance.

333
 TABLE 2
CORROSION RESISTANCE OF ALLOY 718
IN SIMULATED PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTS

Corrosion Rate
Environment Temperature Gas mw (mm/y>

3% NaCl 400 F (204 C) 1% H s + 50% CO2 +

492 CH4, 1000 psi 0.1 (.0025)

Seawater 240 F (115 C) co2, 250 psi 0.2 (.0050>

400

0 MP35N

300
I
a625 C-2760
200-
2

O-
f
PY31. .Ferralium
s:
2 0825
-lOO- .2OCB3 .1925HMo
0718 0 1925LC
l Nitronic 50
0706
.Discalby
-200 .X-750 .
OAF22 oWaspaloy

-300

-4001 ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 IO II 12 13 I4
MOLYBDENUM (%I

Figure 3. Pitting breakdown potentials of alloys used in the oil and gas
industry. Eleven percent NaCl, 250 F, 500 psi CO2 (after
Paul J. Kovach, Vetco Gray).

334
 Both the general corrosion resistance and the pitting corrosion resis-
tance of Alloy 718 are affected by heat treatment. Table 3 shows the
influence of aging temperature on the pitting corrosion resistance in the
"Yellow Death Solution." In this test, increasing pitting temperatures
reflect improved corrosion resistance. The reproducibility of this test is
within 5 C. Heat treatments to 1350 F (732 C) do not have a detrimental
effect on the pitting temperature in the "Yellow Death Solution." How-
ever, heat treatment at 1450 F (788 C) affects the pitting corrosion resis-
tance. The reduction in pitting corrosion resistance can be attributed to
both the precipitation of carbides and to the segregation of alloying
elements during the precipitation hardening treatments. The trend shows
that higher annealing temperatures are detrimental to pitting corrosion
resistance of Alloy 718. However, except in the most severe cases, pitting
corrosion resistance is not a limiting property, even in the 1450 F heat-
treated conditions shown in Table 3. Table 4 shows a corresponding de-
crease in the general corrosion resistance of Alloy 718 with increasing
temperature of heat treatment. This corrosion is associated with the
chromium depletion in localized regions due to heat treatment. Thus, both
the localized corrosion and generalized corrosion resistance decrease with
increasing temperature aging treatments.

TABLE 3
ALLOY 718

Pitting Temperature in "Yellow Death Solution"

4% NaCl + 0.1% Fe2(S04)3 + O.OlM HC~
24-Hour Test

Temperature Where

-Conditions Pitting Was Observed C

Mill Annealed 45
8 Hr/1250 F (677 C) 45
8 Hr/1350 F (718 C) 45
8 Hr/1450 F (788 C) 40
168 Hr/1450 F (788 C) 30

TABLE 4
CORROSION RESISTANCE OF ALLOY 718

Boiling 50% H SO4 +

Boiling 5% H2S04 2.5% Fe2(S04!?3
Conditions
mpy (mm/y) mpy (mm/y>

Mill Annealed 81 (2.1) 14 (.36)

8 Hr/1250 F (677 C) 77 (1.8) 58 (1.5)
8 Hr/1325 F (718 C) 62 (1.6) 200 (5.1)
8 Hr/1450 F (788 C) 56 (1.4) 280 (7.1)
168 Hr/1450 F (788 C) 77 (2.0) 3600 (9.1)

335
 Alloy 718 possesses sufficient resistance to corrosion in acidizing
environments. Table 5 shows relative corrosion rates of alloys in 10 per-
cent boiling hydrochloric acid. This acid is uninhibited and shows maximum
corrosion rates expected for short-term exposures. Alloy 718 corrodes at
4 mils (0.10 mm) per day, even in the uninhibited acid. The corrosion
resistance is comparable to Alloys 825, SM2550, or G3, which are a likely
combination with Alloy 718 in the most severe completions. From a prac-
tical standpoint, the corrosion resistance of Alloy 718 in oil field
acidizing environments is adequate, especially since these environments
will contain corrosion inhibitors to reduce the corrosion rates even
further. The effect of heat treatment on corrosion resistance of Alloy 718
in hydrochloric acid has not been examined. The effects of H2S on acidiz-
ing have also not been examined.

TABLE 5
CORROSION RESISTANCE OF ALLOYS

Uninhibited 10% HCl Acidizing Solution

Boiling Test, 24-Hours

Alloy Corrosion Rate

mm (mm/y)

304 Stainless Steel >20,000 (>500)

Duplex Stainless Steel (2205) >20,000 (>500)

Alloy 718 1,500 (38)

Alloy SM 2550 1,150 (29)

Alloy G-3 1,050 (27)

Alloy 825 1,000 (25)

Alloy C-276 230 (5.8)

Hydrogen Embrittlement Resistance of Alloy 718

Alloy 718 is susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement (7,8), especially in

the high strength heat-treated conditions. However, most of the investi-
gations of hydrogen embrittlement have been performed with high strength
(170,000 psi (1172 MPa) yield) materials. Thus, the results from work with
these high strength materials for the aerospace industry may not be rele-
vant in predicting the likelihood of failure in oil field applications
(9310). However, the effects of heat treatment or other environmental
parameters may still be relevant to oil industry use. High temperature
aging treatments (11) near 1400 F (760 C) improve the hydrogen embrittle-
ment resistance of Alloy 718. Table 6 shows the effect of heat treatment
on the hydrogen embrittlement resistance in high-pressure hydrogen at room
temperature (12). As shown, Heat Treatment No. 1 provides the highest
resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. Other work has shown that grain
boundary precipitation (13) is detrimental to hydrogen embrittlement

336
 TABLE 6
EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON
HYDROGENEMBRITTLEMENT RESISTANCE OF
ALLOY 718, 1,000 PSI PRESSURE OF GAS

Strength Ratio
H2/He in
Heat Treatment Tensile Tests

1900 F/20 min/AC/1400 F/l1 hrl1200 F/9 hr .91

1800 F/l hr/AC/1325 F/8 hr/1180 F/12 hr .66

1950 F/l hr/AC/1350 F/9 hr/1200 F/11 hr .51

resistance. Fine grained structures are more resistant to embrittlement

(14). The hot-worked plus direct-aged condition has better hydrogen
embrittlement resistance than hot-rolled + solution-annealed + aged condi-
tion. This may be interpreted as an effect of grain boundary precipitation
(15) on the hydrogen embrittlement resistance of Alloy 718.

The resistance to sustained crack growth is relatively independent of

temperature between ambient and minus 100 F. There is some evidence that
the gamma double prime precipitate is more resistant to hydrogen embrittle-
ment than the gamma prime precipitate in nickel-based alloys. Also
solution-annealed + cold-worked condition is more susceptible to hydrogen
embrittlement (16) than precipitation-hardened Alloy 718. This suscepti-
bility to embrittlement is especially enhanced after well-aging (17)
treatments at 400 to 600 F (204 to 315 C).

In spite of the proven susceptibility of Alloy 718 to hydrogen embrit-

tlement at high strength levels, it shows high resistance to cracking at
strength levels used in the oil industry (18). Various laboratories have
shown that, even at a hardness of HRC 40, Alloy 718 is not susceptible to
delayed failure in the NACE TM0177 tests containing hydrogen sulfide and
acetic acid, even when coupled to carbon steel and in the well-aged condi-
tion (19). Table 8 demonstrates the resistance to delayed failure in the
TM0177 tests. These results imply that hydrogen embrittlement of Alloy 718
in properly heat treated conditions does not pose the primary limitation
for use in oil field applications. This applies for constant temperature
exposures as well as cycling between high and low temperature environments,
as is shown in Table 7. Since the strength level is the critical parameter
which determines sulfide stress corrosion cracking resistance, controlling
the strength level to acceptably low values minimizes the risk for sulfide
stress cracking in the oil field. Thus, the HRC 40 maximum hardness
appropriately reduces the risk of hydrogen embrittlement in the oil and gas
applications to low values.

Stress Corrosion Cracking of Alloy 718

Alloy 718 is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking in high tempera-

ture waters (20), in caustic solutions, and in high-temperature chloride
solutions (16,21) containing hydrogen sulfide or acids. Most of the stress
corrosion cracking investigations performed for the aerospace industries
(water or caustic environments) are not relevant to the oil and gas indus-
try applications because of the specificity of environments required for
stress corrosion cracking. In deionized water and caustics (22), the

337
 TABLE 7*
RESISTANCE OF ALLOY 718 TO
HYDROGENEMERITTLEMENT IN THE NACE
TM-01-77 TEST SOLUTION, ROOM TEMPERATURE,
5 PERCENT NaCl + l/2 PERCENT ACETIC ACID + 1 ATMOSPHEREH2S

720 Hours

Test
Alloy Condition Hardness, HRC Condition

1875 F/l hr/WQ/1425 F/12 hr/AC/1490 F/8 hr AC 38 U-Bend

1875 F/l hr/WQ/1475 F/12 hr AC 40 U-Bend

1750 F/lhr WQ/1325 F/8 hr FC/1150 F/8 hr AC 41 NACE Tensile

1950 F/l hr/WQ/1325 F/8 hr FC/1150 F/8 hr AC 41 C-Ring +

Steel Couple
u=u
Y
1925 F/l hr/WQ/1450 F/l hr/AC 32 C-Ring +
Steel Couple
u=u
Y
1750 F/l hr/WQ/1325 F/8 hr FC/1150 F/8 hr/AC 43 NACE Tensile
Steel Couple

Cold Roll + 1325 F/8 hr/FC/11.50 F/8 hr/AC 46 Bent Beam

Steel Couple

1925 F/l hr/AC/1400 F/10 hr/FC/1200 F/20 hr AC 45 TM0177

*Data From Reference (19).

 TABLE 8
AVERAGE CRACKING TIME FOR COMMERCIAL Fe-Ni-Cr
ALLOYS EXPOSED IN BOILING MgC12 at 154 C"

Nickel Average
Alloy Designation Concentration Time to Cracking
(wt. pet.) (minutes)*

Type 304 9

Type 310 20 600

Alloy 800 32 1,800

Alley 825 42 6,700

Alloy 718 53 10,000

"Specimens 0.38 mm diameter wires, vacuum annealed and rapidly

cooled, stressed at 90% of 0.2% offset yield strength.

-!+Each value the average of ten specimens.

Reference 31.

stress corrosion cracking resistance improves with increased aging tempera-

ture similar to that for hydrogen embrittlement. It is not known whether
this is relevant to the stress corrosion cracking in high-temperature
chloride solutions typical of oil and gas field environments. The effect
of heat treatment on the chloride stress corrosion cracking resistance of
Alloy 718 in oil field environments has not been thoroughly examined. This
is ironical since the stress corrosion cracking behavior limits the appli-
cation in the most severe environments. Alloy 718 is susceptible to
chloride cracking in boiling magnesium chloride (23) solution at 154 C
(309 F) (Table 8) and other high-temperature environments containing
chloride, sulfur (24), oxygen, or acids. Although not specific to Alloy
718, the presence of hydrogen sulfide greatly accelerates the high-
temperature chloride stress corrosion cracking of nickel-based alloys.

High-temperature chloride stress corrosion cracking limits the maximum

environmental temperature for Alloy 718 in the oil industry. While Alloy
718 exhibits good resistance to chloride stress corrosion cracking in many
high-temperature chloride containing solutions, it is very susceptible in
the presence of elemental sulfur (25) (Table 9). Elemental sulfur is found
in environments with high H S partial pressures. Therefore, in the pres-
ence of elemental sulfur, t t: e maximum temperature limit for Alloy 718 is
estimated to be 250 to 300 F (121-149 C). In fact, wellhead temperatures
and temperatures of safety valves are controlled below 260 F (127 C) in
some applications.

339
 TABLE 9
EFFECT OF ELEMENTAL SULFUR ON STRESS CORROSION CRACKING

C-Shaped Samples, Like Alloy Holders

Deaerated 25% NaCl + 1 g/l Sulfur (No Acid Added)
ANNEALED ALLOYS
Time to Failure, Months, 12-Month Exposure

350 F 450 F
100 psi H2S 100 psi H2S
pH = 4.5 pH = 4.5

Duplex Stainless Steel 1, 1, 1 1, 1, 1

Alloy 28 1, 2, 2 1, 1, 1

Alloy 925, Aged 1, 1, 1 1, 1, 1

Alloy 718
(Heat Treated HRC 45) 1, 1, 1 1, 1, 1

Alloy 825 2, 2, 2 1, 1, 2

Alloy G-3 7, 8, 8 1, 2, 3

Alloy C-276 NC, NC, NC NC, NC, NC

NC - No Cracking

Some investigations have shown the gamma double prime alloys to be

less susceptible to stress corrosion cracking than gamma prime alloys
similar to findings on hydrogen embrittlement. While the data are sparse
on Alloy 718, information on other precipitation hardenable alloys similar
to 718 suggest that higher-temperature heat treatments and the absence of
grain boundary precipitation is beneficial for chloride stress corrosion
cracking resistance. Consequently, as a practice, where stress corrosion
cracking limitations apply, higher-temperature aging treatments are used to
prolong life and improve resistance to chloride stress corrosion cracking.

Selection of Precipitation Hardenable Alloys for the Oil and Gas Industry

Only a few highly corrosion-resistant precipitation hardenable alloys

are considered for use in the oil and gas industry. Among these alloys are
17-4 PH stainless steel, Custom 450 stainless steel, A-286, Alloy K500,
Alloy 718, Alloy 925, Alloy 625, Alloy Custom-Aged 625+, and a new
Alloy PH3. The Alloy X750 has been used historically but is finding less
usage because of its susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement and stress
corrosion cracking. The first few alloys are of lower-cost and are used as
environmental considerations permit. However, these alloys are more highly
susceptible to sulfide stress corrosion cracking and are not considered for
the severe applications. In the severe applications, the alloys include
925, 718, PH6, 625, and Custom-Aged 625+. Of these alloys, only Alloy 718
can achieve the very high-yield strengths (140,000 psi minimum yield) for
application requiring these strength levels. Table 10 displays the yield

340
 TASLE 10
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF HEAT TREATABLE
ALLOYS USED FOR CORROSIONRESISTANT
APPLICATIONS IN PETROLEUMPRODUCTION

Yield Strength
Solution Annealed Tensile
+ Aged Strength
Alloy Heat Treatment ksi OfPa) ksi @Pa)

625 1700 F/l hr/WQ/1200 F/16 hr 88 (607) 146 (1007)

925 1800 F/l hr/WQ/1400 F/8 hr FC/

1150 F/8 hr/AC 114 (786) 170 (1172)

custom
Age 625 1800 F/4 hr/WQ/1375 F/8 hr/
FC 1250 F/8 hr/AC 126 (869) 182 (1255)

PH6 1960 F/WQ/1275 F/20 hr/AC 133 (917) 160 (1103)

718 1875 F/2 hr/WQ/1425 F/8 hr/AC 142 (979) 184 (1269)
strengths obtainable and typical values used in the industry. In this
respect, Alloy 718 has the advantage over the other alloys. However, for
the most severe applications, the Alloy 625, Custom-Aged 625+, and PH6
alloys exhibit higher chloride stress corrosion cracking resistance (26-30)
and, therefore, are considered for the highest severity environments.

Subsurface safety valves require alloys with higher strength than

those in production tubing because design stress levels are lower. Since
the restriction of the I.D. bore should be minimized, the strength require-
ment for complicated parts is pushed to higher levels. Therefore, one of
the most critical components in high-pressure gas wells, a subsurface
safety valve, presently imposes the greatest restrictions for material
usage in severely corrosive applications. Alloy 718 remains the material
of choice for the severe sour applications.

Conclusions

1. The stress corrosion cracking resistance of Alloy 718 determines the

limits of application in the most severely corrosive high-pressure sour
gas wells.

2. Alloy 718 is susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement in the extremely

high-strength levels. However, for oil field applications, the limit
of HRC 40 maximum hardness provides good resistance to hydrogen em-
brittlement.

3. Increasing aging temperatures result in lower toughness in Alloy 718.

Toughness is an important material selection criteria for this alloy.

4. Increasing aging temperatures reduce both the general corrosion resis-

tance and the pitting corrosion resistance of Alloy 718.

5. The heat treatment of Alloy 718 is necessarily customized for appli-

cations in the oil industry, and heat treatments historically used for
high-temperature applications are generally not suitable for general
oil field usage. High temperature aging treatments are preferred for
improved resistance to environmental embrittlement.

References
1 D. R. Ray,
1. Abu Dhabi; Offshore Khuff Gas Completions Using Exotic
Metallurgy, SPE 15755, SPE, 1987.

2. M. Igarashi, S. Mukai, T. Kudo, Y. Okada, A. Ikeda, Precipitation-

Hardenable, Nickel-Base Alloys for Sour Gas Environments, Corrosion,
Volume 44, No. 3, 1988, p. 169.

3. Oliver Onyewuenyi, Properties of Alloy 718, 1987 ASM Houston Materials

Conference, Houston, Texas, April 8, 1987.

4. W. J. Mills, L. Il. Blackburn, Fracture Toughness Variations in

Alloy 718, Trans. ASME, Vol. 110, July 1988, p. 286.

5. M. Igarashi, Y. Okada; Intergranular Fracture in Precipitation-

Hardened, Nickel-Based Superalloys; Symposium in "Grain Boundary
Structure and Related Phenomena;" Minakemi Spa, Japan, November 25-29,
1985.

6. T. F. Lemke, J. A. Harris, High-Alloy Materials for Offshore Applica-

tions, OTC Paper No. OTC4451, 198?.

342
7. D. L. Dull, L. Raymond; A Test Procedure to Evaluate the Relative
Susceptibility of Materials to Stress Corrosion Cracking; Corrosion,
Vol. 29. May 1975, p. 205.

8. D. L. Dull, L. Raymond, Surface Cracking of Inconel 718 During Cathodic

Charging, Metallurgical Transactions, Vol. 4, June 1973, p. 1635.

9. J. A. Harris, T. F. Lemke, Laboratory Testing of Nickel Alloys for H2S

Service, Materials Performance, Volume 12, No. 1, 1983.

Also, Paper No. 137, Corrosionl82, 1982.

10. P. W. Rice, Evaluating Nickel-Base and Stainless Alloys for Subsurface

H2S Service, Materials Performance, Vol. 17, p. 16, 1978.

11. R. J. Walter, W. T. Chandler; Influence of Gaseous Hydrogen on Metals,

Final Report Contract NASA-25579, Report for Marshall Space Flight
Center, Prepared by Rocketdyne, A Division of Rockwell International;
October 1973.

12. R. P. Jewett, K. J. Walter, W. T. Chandler, R. P. Fromberg; Hydrogen-

Environment Embrittlement of Metals, A NASA Technology Survey, Contract
NASA-19(C) for NASA by Rocketdyne, A Division of North American
Rockwell.

13. N. S. Stoloff, L. Klein, J. E. Grossman, H. L. Marcus; Hydrogen

Embrittlement of an Aligned T/T' - I Eutectic Alloy, Scripta Met. Vol.
10, p. 889, 1976.

14. R. J. Walter, W. T. Chandler, "Influence of Hydrogen Environments on

Crack Growth in Inconcl 718," Conference on Environmental Degradation
of Engineering Materials, Blacksburg, Virginia, October 11-12, 1977.

15. J. Prybylowski, R. Ballinger, The Influence of Microstructure on

Environmentally Assisted Cracking of Alloy 718; Paper No. 244,
Corrosion/86, 1986.

16. J. Kolts, Heat Treatment and Environmental Embrittlement of High-

Performance Alloys, Paper No. 407, Corrosionl86, NACE 1986.

17. Russell D. Kane, Accelerated Hydrogen Charging of Nickel and Cobalt-

Base Alloys, Corrosion, Vol. 34, No. 12, 1978, p. 442.

18. M. Watkins, J. B. Greer, Corrosion Testing of Highly Alloyed Materials

for Deep, Sour Gas Well Environments, J. of Petroleum Technology, June
1976, p. 648.

19. Ballot, Item No. 7, Attachment G, MROl-75 Revision, September 1982,

NACE, Houston, pp. 48-67.

20. K. Hosoya, R. Ballinger, J. Prybylowski, I. S. Hwang, Microstructural

Role in Environmentally Assisted Cracking of Nickel Base Alloys,
Corrosion, November 1988, p. 838.

21. Glen A. Vaughn, Hung-Erh Chuang, Wireline Materials for Sour Service,
Paper No. 182, Corrosion/81, NACE 1981.

22. H. T. Michels, S. Florren, The Relationship Between Microstructure

Deformation Behavior and Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance at an Age
Hardened Ni Base Alloy, Met. Trans. A, Vol. 8A, 1977, p 617.

343
23. A. J. Sedriks, Stress-Corrosion Cracking of Stainless Steels and Nickel
Alloys, J. of the Inst. of Metals, Volume 101, 1973, p. 225.

24. R. D. Kane, J. B. Greer, D. F. Jacobs, H. R. Hanson, B. J. Berkowitz,

G. A. Vaughn, Stress Corrosion Cracking of Nickel and Cobalt-Based
Alloys in Chloride Containing Environments, Paper No. 174,
Corrosion/79, NACE 1979.

25. Juri Kolts, Laboratory Evaluation of Corrosion Resistant Alloys for

the Oil and Gas Industry, p. 323, Corrosion/86, NACE, 1986.

26. SSRT Test Results of Precipitation-Hardened, Nickel-Base Alloys for

Downhole Equipments, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd., March 1986.

27. R. B. Frank, T. A. DeBold, A New Age-Hardenable Corrosion-Resistant

Alloy, ASM Material Conference, Orlando, Florida, October 7, 1986.

28. J. D. Byrd, Properties of Alloy 625, 1987 ASM Houston Materials

Conference, Houston, Texas, April 8, 1987.

29. Stress Corrosion Cracking of Precipitation Hardenable Nickel-Based

"PH6" Alloy, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd., March 1988.

30. R. B. Frank, T. A. DeBold, Properties of an Age-Hardenable, Corrosion-

Resistant, Nickel-Based Alloy, Material Performance, September 1988,
p. 59.

31. R. M. Latanision, R. W. Staehle, Stress Corrosion Cracking of Iron-

Nickel-Chromium Alloys, Dept. of Metallurgical Eng., The Ohio State
University, 1968.

344