The Behavior of Shallow Cracks in a Pipeline Steel Operating in a Sour Environment

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Holtam ◽  
D. P. Baxter ◽  
I. A. Ashcroft ◽  
R. C. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor ◽  
Stress Intensity ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pipeline Steel ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Material Behavior ◽  
Assessment Methodology

Setting conditions for the avoidance of in-service crack growth in aggressive corroding environments has long been a major challenge due to the number of variables that have a significant effect on material behavior. One area where both experimental data and a validated assessment methodology are lacking is the behavior of shallow cracks. This paper describes the early results of an ongoing research program aimed at addressing the shortfall in experimental data to characterize material behavior in the shallow-crack regime, with the long-term aim of improving the understanding and assessment of the early stages of environment assisted cracking. There is an industry need for a better understanding of material behavior under these conditions and for the development of a more robust assessment methodology. API 5L X65 pipeline steel parent material was tested in a sour environment with initial flaw sizes in the range 1–2 mm. Fatigue crack growth rate tests have been performed to investigate the influence of crack depth on crack growth rate (da/dN). Initial results suggest that crack growth rates for deep flaws can increase by a factor of 5–100 compared with air depending on the applied stress intensity factor range (ΔK). Shallow cracks have been shown to grow up to 130 times faster in a sour environment than in air and up to an order of magnitude faster than deep cracks in a sour environment at the same value of ΔK. Constant load tests have also been performed to investigate the influence of crack depth on the threshold stress intensity factor for stress corrosion cracking (KISCC). Preliminary results suggest that in this case there is no crack depth dependence in the range of flaw sizes tested. While further experimental work is required, the results obtained to date highlight the potential nonconservatism associated with extrapolating deep-crack data. Guidance is therefore provided on how to generate appropriate experimental data to ensure that subsequent fitness for service assessments are conservative.

The Behaviour of Shallow Cracks in a Pipeline Steel Operating in a Sour Environment

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Holtam ◽  
D. P. Baxter ◽  
I. A. Ashcroft ◽  
R. C. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Intensity ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pipeline Steel ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Material Behaviour ◽  
Ongoing Research

Setting conditions for the avoidance of in-service crack growth in aggressive corroding environments has long been a major challenge due to the number of variables that have a significant effect on material behaviour. One area where both experimental data and a validated assessment methodology are lacking is the behaviour of shallow cracks. This paper describes the early results of an ongoing research programme aimed at addressing the shortfall in experimental data to characterise material behaviour in the shallow crack regime, with the long-term aim of improving the understanding and assessment of the early stages of environment assisted cracking (EAC). There is an industry need for a better understanding of material behaviour under these conditions, and for the development of a more robust assessment methodology. API 5L X65 pipeline steel parent material was tested in a sour environment with initial flaw sizes in the range 1–2 mm. Fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) tests have been performed to investigate the influence of crack depth on crack growth rate (da/dN). Initial results suggest that crack growth rates for deep flaws can increase by a factor of 5–100 compared to air depending on the applied stress intensity range (ΔK). Shallow cracks have been shown to grow up to 130 times faster in a sour environment than in air and up to an order of magnitude faster than deep cracks in a sour environment at the same value of ΔK. Constant load tests have also been performed to investigate the influence of crack depth on the threshold stress intensity factor for stress corrosion cracking (KISCC). Preliminary results suggest that in this case there is no crack depth dependence in the range of flaw sizes tested. While further experimental work is required, the results obtained to date highlight the potential non-conservatism associated with extrapolating deep-crack data. Guidance is therefore provided on how to generate appropriate experimental data to ensure that subsequent fitness for service assessments are conservative.

Fatigue Crack Growth of Alloy 7050-T7451 Plate in L-S Orientation

2012 ◽  
Vol 525-526 ◽  
pp. 221-224
Author(s):  
Rui Bao ◽  
Xiao Chen Zhao ◽  
Ting Zhang ◽  
Jian Yu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Stress Intensity ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Characteristics ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor Range ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Stress Ratios

Experiments have been conducted to investigate the crack growth characteristics of 7050-T7451 aluminium plate in L-S orientation. Two loading conditions are selected, i.e. constant amplitude and constant stress intensity factor range (ΔK). The effects of ΔK-levels and stress ratios (R) on crack splitting are studied. Test data shows that crack splitting could result in the reverse of crack growth rate trend with the increasing R ratio at high ΔK-level. The appearance of crack splitting depends on both ΔK and R.

Stress-Corrosion Cracking in Unidirectional GFRP Composites

2010 ◽  
Vol 430 ◽  
pp. 101-113
Author(s):  
Hideki Sekine ◽  
Peter W.R. Beaumont
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor ◽  
Stress Intensity ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Intensity Factor ◽  
Glass Fiber ◽  
Stress Corrosion ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Stress Corrosion Cracking ◽  
Matrix Crack

A micromechanical theory of macroscopic stress-corrosion cracking in unidirectional glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites is proposed. It is based on the premise that under tensile loading, the time-dependent failure of the composites is controlled by the initiation and growth of a crack from a pre-existing inherent surface flaw in a glass fiber. A physical model is constructed and an equation is derived for the macroscopic crack growth rate as a function of the apparent crack tip stress intensity factor for mode I. Emphasis is placed on the significance of the size of inherent surface flaw and the existence of matrix crack bridging in the crack wake. There exists a threshold value of the stress intensity factor below which matrix cracking does not occur. For the limiting case, where the glass fiber is free of inherent surface flaws and matrix crack bridging is negligible, the relationship between the macroscopic crack growth rate and the apparent crack tip stress intensity factor is given by a simple power law to the power of two.

scholarly journals Corrosion Fatigue Crack Growth Studies on Pressure Vessel and Piping Steels in Water Environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 1857-1862 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.M. Mathew ◽  
S. Vishnuvardhan ◽  
G. Raghava ◽  
A.S. Santhi
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Stress Intensity ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor Range ◽  
Corrosion Fatigue Crack ◽  
Corrosion Fatigue Crack Growth

Abstract Corrosion fatigue crack growth studies were conducted on eccentrically-loaded single edge notch tension specimens made of SA 333 Gr. 6 and SA 516 Gr. 70 carbon steels in water environment. The experiments were conducted using a ±250 kN capacity Universal Testing Machine under constant amplitude sinusoidal loading at a test frequency of 0.50 Hz and stress ratio of 0.1. The fabrication of test specimens and the experiments were carried out based on ASTM E 647 and ASTM E 1820. The crack initiation and growth were monitored and images were captured by using a digital camera at regular intervals of fatigue cycles. By using these images, the length of crack was measured. The tests were terminated when the uncracked portion of the specimens was insufficient to take further load. Crack growth rate and stress intensity factor range values were evaluated at incremental values of loading cycles and crack length. Using the crack growth rate vs. stress intensity factor range plots, best fit curves following power law in the form of Paris’ equation were obtained.

Crack Growth Behavior of Aluminum Alloys Tested in Liquid Mercury

1986 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Kapp ◽  
D. Duquette ◽  
M. H. Kamdar
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor ◽  
Stress Intensity ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Intensity Factor ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Static Loading ◽  
Fatigue Loading ◽  
Loading Conditions ◽  
Fixed Load

Crack growth rate measurements have been made in three mercury embrittled aluminum alloys each under three loading conditions. The alloys were 1100-0, 6061-T651, and 7075-T651. The loading conditions were fixed displacement static loading, fixed load static loading, and fatigue loading at two frequencies. The results showed that mercury cracking of aluminum was not unlike other types of embrittlement (i.e. hydrogen cracking of steels). Under fixed load static conditions no crack growth was observed below a threshold stress intensity factor (KILME). At K levels greater than KILME cracks grew on the order of cm/s, while under fixed displacement loading, the crack growth rate was strongly dependent upon the strength of the alloy tested. This was attributed to crack closure. In the fatigue tests, no enhanced crack growth occurred until a critical range of stress intensity factor (ΔKth) was achieved. The ΔKth agreed well with the KILME obtained from the static tests, but the magnitude of the fatigue growth rate was substantially less than was expected based on the static loading results. Observations of the fracture surfaces in the SEM suggested a brittle intergranular fracture mode for the 6061-T651 and the 7075-T651 alloys under all loading conditions. The fractographic features of the 1100-0 alloy under fixed load and fatigue loading conditions were also brittle intergranular. Under fixed displacement loading the cracks grew via a ductile intergranular mode.

Negative R Fatigue Crack Growth Rate Testing on Austenitic Stainless Steel in Air and Simulated Primary Water Environments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Platts ◽  
Ben Coult ◽  
Wenzhong Zhang ◽  
Peter Gill
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Intensity Factor ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Stress Intensity ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Intensity Factor ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Laws

Light water reactor coolant environments are known to significantly enhance the fatigue crack growth rate of austenitic stainless steels. However, most available data in these high temperature pressurized water environments have been derived using specimens tested at positive load ratios, whilst most plant transients involve significant compressive as well as tensile stresses. The extent to which the compressive loading impacts on the environmental enhancement of fatigue crack growth, and, more importantly, on the processes leading to retardation of those enhanced rates is therefore unclear, potentially leading to excessive conservatism in current assessment methodologies. A test methodology using corner cracked tensile specimens, and based on finite element analysis of the specimens to generate effective stress intensity factors, Keff, for specimens loaded in fully reverse loading has been previously presented. The current paper further develops this approach, enabling it to be utilized to study a range of positive and negative load ratios from R = −2 to R = 0.5 loading, and provides a greater understanding of the development of stress intensity factor within a loading cycle. Test data has been generated in both air and high temperature water environments over a range of loading ratios. Comparison of these data to material specific crack growth data from conventional compact tension specimens and environmental crack growth laws (such as Code Case N-809) enables the impact of crack closure on the effective stress intensity factor to be assessed in both air and water environments. The significance of indicated differences in the apparent level of closure between air and water environments is discussed in the light of accepted growth laws and material specific data.

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