Technical Basis for Acceptance/Rejection Criteria for Flaws in High Pressure Gas Cylinder

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahendra D. Rana ◽  
John H. Smith ◽  
Henry Holroyd

The objective of this paper is to present the technical basis used for developing acceptance/rejection limits for seamless, high pressure gas cylinders that can be used at the time of retesting the cylinders. The development of acceptance/rejection limits for cylinders is done in three steps. First, the “critical flaw sizes” (e.g., depth and length or area) for selected types of flaws are established by an analysis procedure that has been verified by experimental tests. Next the “allowable flaw sizes” are calculated by modifying (reducing) the size of the critical flaw sizes for each cylinder by adjusting for fatigue crack growth that may occur during the use of the cylinder. Finally, the “acceptance/rejection criteria” is established to take into account other factors, such as all the expected operating conditions that the cylinders may see in service, and the reliability and detectability of the specific inspection equipment to be used and to adjust the allowable flaw sizes to provide an additional margin of safety. This acceptance/rejection limits have been incorporated in a recently published ISO Technical Report No. TR 22694:2008 (2007, “Gas Cylinders—Methods for Establishing Acceptance/Rejection Criteria for Flaws in Seamless Steel and Aluminum Alloy Cylinders at Time of Periodic Inspection and Requalification,” The International Standards Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, Technical Report No. 22694). In this work, the API 579 “Recommended Practice for Fitness-for-Service” (2000, API 579: Recommended Practice for Fitness-for-Service, 1st ed., American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC) was used to calculate the critical flaw sizes for a range of cylinder sizes and strength levels. For this study, the critical flaw size is defined as the size of the flaw that will cause the cylinders to fail at the test pressure of the cylinder. The results of flawed-cylinder burst tests were used to experimentally verify the calculated critical flaw sizes. The allowable flaw sizes were then calculated by using well established fatigue crack growth rate data for steel and aluminum alloys to allow for the expected amount of fatigue crack growth that may occur during the specified retesting intervals. A limited number of tests was conducted to verify the allowable flaw size calculations. Further adjustments are made to the allowable flaw sizes to define the acceptance/rejection criteria to be used during cylinder retesting.

Author(s):  
Mahendra D. Rana ◽  
John H. Smith ◽  
Henry Holroyd

The objective of this paper is to present the technical basis used for developing acceptance/rejection limits for seamless, high pressure gas cylinders that can be used at the time of retesting the cylinders. The development of acceptance/rejection limits for cylinders is done in three steps. First, the “critical flaw sizes” (e.g. depth and length or area) for selected types of flaws are established by an analysis procedure that has been verified by experimental tests. Next the “allowable flaw sizes” are calculated by modifying (reducing) the size of the “critical flaw sizes” for each cylinder by adjusting for fatigue crack growth that may occur during the use of the cylinder. Finally the “acceptance/rejection criteria” is established to take into account other factors such as all the expected operating conditions that the cylinders may see in service and the reliability and detectability of the specific inspection equipment to be and to adjust the “allowable flaw sizes” to provide an additional margin of safety. This acceptance/rejection limits have been incorporated in recently published ISO Technical Report TR 22694: 2008 [1]. In this work, the API 579 “Recommended Practice for Fitness-for-Service” [2] was used to calculate the “critical flaw sizes” for a range of cylinder sizes and strength levels. For this study the “critical flaw size” is defined as the size of the flaw that will cause the cylinders to fail at the test pressure of the cylinder. The results of flawed-cylinder burst tests were used to experimentally verify the calculated “critical flaw sizes”. The “allowable flaw sizes” were then calculated by using well established fatigue crack growth rate data for steel and aluminum alloys to allow for the expected amount of fatigue crack growth that may occur during the specified retesting intervals. A limited number of tests were conducted to verify the “allowable flaw size” calculations. Further adjustments are made to the “allowable flaw sizes” to define the “acceptance/rejection criteria” to be used during cylinder retesting.


Author(s):  
Chris San Marchi ◽  
Joseph Ronevich ◽  
Paolo Bortot ◽  
Yoru Wada ◽  
John Felbaum ◽  
...  

Abstract The design of pressure vessels for high-pressure gaseous hydrogen service per ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII Division 3 requires measurement of fatigue crack growth rates in situ in gaseous hydrogen at the design pressure. These measurements are challenging and only a few laboratories in the world are equipped to make these measurements, especially in gaseous hydrogen at pressure in excess of 100 MPa. However, sufficient data is now available to show that common pressure vessel steels (e.g., SA-372 and SA-723) show similar fatigue crack growth rates when the maximum applied stress intensity factor is significantly less than the elastic-plastic fracture toughness. Indeed, the measured rates are sufficiently consistent that a master curve for fatigue crack growth in gaseous hydrogen can be established for steels with tensile strength less than 915 MPa. In this overview, published reports of fatigue crack growth rate data in gaseous hydrogen are reviewed. These data are used to formulate a two-part master curve for fatigue crack growth in high-pressure (106 MPa) gaseous hydrogen, following the classic power-law formulation for fatigue crack growth and a term that accounts for the loading ratio (R). The bounds on applicability of the master curve are discussed, including the relationship between hydrogen-assisted fracture and tensile strength of these steels. These data have been used in developing ASME VIII-3 Code Case 2938. Additionally, a phenomenological term for pressure can be added to the master curve and it is shown that the same master curve formulation captures the behavior of pressure vessel and pipeline steels at significantly lower pressure.


Author(s):  
Yoru Wada ◽  
Yusuke Yanagisawa

Autofrettage is used to known as an effective method to prevent fatigue crack propagation of thick-walled cylinder vessels operating under high pressure. Since low-alloy steel shows an enhanced crack growth rate in high-pressure gaseous hydrogen, this paper aims to validate the effect of autofrettage on crack growth behavior in high-pressure gaseous hydrogen utilizing 4%NiCrMoV steel (SA723 Gr3 Class2). An autofrettaged cylindrical specimen with a 70mm inside diameter and 111mm outside diameter was prepared with an axial EDM (depth of 1mm) notched on the inside surface. The measured residual stress profile coincides well with the calculated results. The fatigue crack growth test was conducted by pressurizing the cylinder and varying the external water pressure. Crack propagation from the EDM notch was observed in the non-autofrettaged cylindrical specimen while no crack propagation was observed when the initial EDM notch size was within the compressive residual stress field. When the initial EDM notch size was increased, the fatigue crack growth showed a narrow, groove-like fracture surface for the autofrettaged specimen. In order to qualitatively analyze those results, fatigue crack growth rates were examined under various load ratios including a negative load ratio using a fracture mechanics specimen. From the information obtained, crack growth analysis of an autofrettaged cylinder in a high-pressure hydrogen environment was successfully demonstrated with a fracture mechanics approach.


Author(s):  
Carl E. Jaske

This paper describes an accepted approach for predicting fatigue crack-growth life in pipelines. Fatigue life is computed as the number of cycles for a crack-like flaw to grow from an initial size to a final critical size. This computation is performed by integrating a fracture-mechanics model for fatigue crack growth. The initial flaw size is estimated either from inspection results or by using fracture mechanics to predict the largest flaw that would have survived a hydrostatic pressure test. The final flaw size is estimated using fracture mechanics. Fracture-mechanics models for computing fatigue crack growth and predicting flaw size are reviewed. The anticipated cyclic loading must be characterized to perform the crack-growth calculations. Typically, cyclic loading histories, such as pressure cycle data, are analyzed and used to estimate future loadings. To utilize the crack-growth models, the cycles in the loading history must be counted. The rainflow cycle counting procedure is used to characterize the loading history and develop a histogram of load range versus number of cycles. This histogram is then used in the fatigue crack-growth analysis. Results of example calculations are discussed to illustrate the procedure and show the effects of periodic hydrostatic testing, threshold stress intensity factor range, and pressure ratio on predicted fatigue crack-growth life.


Author(s):  
Kazuhisa Matsumoto ◽  
Shinichi Ohmiya ◽  
Hideki Fujii ◽  
Masaharu Hatano

To confirm a compatibility of a newly developed high strength stainless steel “NSSC STH®2” for hydrogen related applications, tensile and fatigue crack growth properties were evaluated in high pressure hydrogen gas up to 90MPa. At temperatures between −40 and 85°C, no conspicuous deterioration of tensile properties including ductility was observed even in 90 MPa hydrogen gas at −40°C while strength of STH®2 was higher than SUS316L. Although a slight drop of reduction of area was recognized in one specimen tested in 90 MPa hydrogen gas at −40°C, caused by the segregation of Mn, Ni and Cu in the laboratory manufactured 15mm-thick plate, it was considerably improved in the large mill products having less segregation. Fatigue crack growth rates of STH®2 in high pressure hydrogen gas were almost the same as that of SUS316L in air. Although fatigue crack growth rate in air was considerably decelerated and lower than that in hydrogen gas at lower ΔK region, this was probably caused by crack closure brought by oxide debris formed on the fracture surfaces near the crack tip by the strong contact of the fracture surfaces after the fatigue crack was propagated. By taking the obtained results into account, it is concluded that NSSC STH®2 has excellent properties in high pressure hydrogen gas in addition to high strength compared with standard JIS SUS316L.


Author(s):  
Junichiro Yamabe ◽  
Hisao Matsunaga ◽  
Yoshiyuki Furuya ◽  
Saburo Matsuoka

To clarify the usefulness of the safety factor multiplier method for hydrogen components given in the CHMC1-2014 standard, we performed slow-strain-rate tensile and fatigue testing by using smooth and notched specimens in air and in high-pressure hydrogen gas. We also conducted fatigue-crack growth tests by using compact tension specimens in air and in hydrogen gas. Testing of notched specimens sampled from a Cr–Mo steel gave a safety factor multiplier of 3.0. This value agreed well with that predicted by crack growth analysis taking into account hydrogen-enhanced fatigue-crack growth. The safety factor multipliers of types 304, 316, and 316L austenitic stainless steels were predicted to be 2.0, 1.6, and 1.3, respectively, from their fatigue-crack growth behaviors. The safety factor based on the safety factor multiplier method seems to be overly conservative for the various steels in high-pressure hydrogen gas service. We therefore propose a new and promising design method for specific component applications that is based on design by rule and design by analysis. The importance of operational histories of components for hydrogen service is introduced to permit the precise prediction of their fatigue lives.


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