Fatigue Crack Growth Rate Studies on Stainless Steel Welds

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Thomas ◽  
Raghu V. Prakash ◽  
Ganesh Sundararaman ◽  
Vasudevan Muthukumaran
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Stainless Steels ◽  
Heat Input ◽  
Tig Welding ◽  
Weld Penetration ◽  
Structural Members ◽  
Single Pass

The low carbon, nitrogen enhanced SS 304 L(N) stainless steels are one of the most potential candidates for the structural members in chemical industries and powerplants operating at hostile environments of temperature and corrosion. In service, the structural members fabricated using welding process, when subjected to a combination of mechanical load and elevated temperature can fail by fatigue. The Welding of Austenitic stainless steels using Tungsten Inert gas (TIG) is often limited by the depth of weld penetration, which can be achieved during a single pass. This necessitates for the use of multiple passes resulting in weld distortion and generation of residual stress. The Use of an electronegative flux (Activating flux) during the TIG welding (A-TIG) is known to enhance the weld penetration, thereby reducing the number of passes. The present study evaluates the fatigue crack growth in stainless steel weldment (304L(N) welds) joined using conventional Multipass TIG welding and Activated flux TIG welding at 673K. Compact Tension (C(T)) specimens having a width of 50.8 mm and a thickness of 4 mm were extracted from the location of heat-affected zone (HAZ) and weld metal (WM) for A-TIG and MP-TIG configurations. From the micro-structural evaluation of A-TIG welds, it is noted that high heat input in a single pass has favored the formation of coarse equiaxed grains along the weld center. The use of multiple passes at reduced heat input has resulted in the formation of finer grains, with the orientation of grains changing along each weld pass interface. This finer randomly oriented grains has resulted in increasing crack path resistance through the MP-TIG welds compared to A-TIG welds. Thus from a view point of fatigue crack growth, due to the presence of fine grains, conventional Multi-pass weld is superior compared to A-TIG, but in cases where there is a creep or creep-fatigue combination, the A-TIG weld may prove to be useful.

Analysis of Environmental Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Type 347 Stainless Steels Under Simulated PWR Water Conditions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seokmin Hong ◽  
Ki-Deuk Min ◽  
Soon-Hyeok Jeon ◽  
Bong-Sang Lee
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Stainless Steels ◽  
Growth Behavior ◽  
Crack Growth Behavior ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior ◽  
Water Conditions ◽  
Asme Code

In this study, the fatigue crack growth behavior of Type 347 stainless steel (SS) used in pressurizer surge line in Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant was analyzed. Environmental fatigue crack growth rates (FCGRs) were evaluated using pre-cracked compact tension (CT) specimens under the various simulated PWR water conditions; different levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) and loading frequencies. FCGRs of 347SSs were accelerated under PWR water conditions. When DO levels increased and frequency decreased, FCGR of 347SS increased. Under the more corrosive environment at crack tip, FCGRs were accelerated more. FCGRs of 347SSs under PWR water condition were compared with reference FCGR curves of stainless steel in ASME code section XI, ASME Code Case N-809, and JSME based on FCGR data of 304SS and 316SS. In this study, FCGRs of 347SS were slightly faster than reference curves in JSME under PWR environment but slower than that in JSME under BWR environment. Compared to reference FCGR curve in ASME Code Case N-809, FCGRs of 347 stainless steels are similar or slightly higher.

A Review of Fatigue Crack Growth Thresholds for Metals in Fitness-for-Service Codes: On the Uncertainty of Using the Thresholds at Negative Stress Ratios

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunio Hasegawa ◽  
Bohumir Strnadel ◽  
Vratislav Mares ◽  
David Dvorak ◽  
Saburo Usami
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Stainless Steels ◽  
Ferritic Steel ◽  
Literature Survey ◽  
Ferritic Steels ◽  
Section Viii ◽  
Stress Ratios

Abstract Fatigue crack growth thresholds deltaKth for metals are provided in many fitness-for-service codes. However, fatigue thresholds at negative stress ratios are not uniform. There are two forms of thresholds at negative stress ratios: constant thresholds irrespective of stress ratios, or increasing thresholds with decreasing stress ratios. The definitions of the thresholds at negative stress ratios also take two forms: either deltaKth = Kmax - Kmin, or deltaKth = Kmax. ASME Section VIII, Section XI (ferritic steel) and IIW give constant thresholds expressed by deltaKth = Kmax. API 579 and ASME Section XI (stainless steel) give increases in thresholds with decreasing stress ratios and the thresholds are expressed by deltaKth = Kmax - Kmin. BS 7910 gives constant thresholds expressed by deltaKth = Kmax - Kmin. The fatigue thresholds differ significantly among different FFS codes. Appropriate thresholds for ferritic steels, stainless steels and aluminum alloys are demonstrated in the literature survey.

Technical Basis of Fatigue Crack Growth Threshold for Stainless Steel in Air Environment for ASME Code Section XI

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunio Hasegawa ◽  
Saburo Usami
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Stainless Steels ◽  
Austenitic Stainless Steels ◽  
Threshold Values ◽  
Asme Code ◽  
American Society ◽  
Growth Threshold

The fatigue crack growth threshold is an important characteristic of crack growth assessment for the integrity of structural components. However, threshold values for austenitic stainless steels in air environment are not well provided in many fitness-for-service (FFS) codes, although extensive amount of fatigue crack growth tests data has been published. This paper focuses on fatigue crack growth threshold values for austenitic stainless steel in air environment at room and high temperatures. The paper introduces the current fatigue crack growth rates provided by the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Code Section XI and summarizes the available test data of fatigue crack growth thresholds based on the literature survey. The paper then discusses the applicability of the existing fatigue crack growth thresholds for stainless steels and proposes a new relation as a function of the stress ratio for use by the ASME Code Section XI.

scholarly journals High Temperature Fatigue Crack Growth Rate Studies in Stainless Steel 316L(N) Welds Processed by A-TIG and MP-TIG Welding.

2018 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 21014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Thomas ◽  
Raghu V. Prakash ◽  
S Ganesh Sundara Raman ◽  
M. Vasudevan
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Base Metal ◽  
Tig Welding ◽  
Weld Distortion

Welded stainless steel components used in power plants and chemical industries are subjected to mechanical load cycles at elevated temperatures which result in early fatigue failures. The presence of weld makes the component to be liable to failure in view of residual stresses at the weld region or in the neighboring heat affected zone apart from weld defects. Austenitic stainless steels are often welded using Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) process. In case of single pass welding, there is a reduced weld penetration which results in a low depth-to-width ratio of weld bead). If the number of passes is increased (Multi-Pass TIG welding), it results in weld distortion and subsequent residual stress generation. The activated flux TIG welding, a variant of TIG welding developed by E.O. Paton Institute, is found to reduce the limitation of conventional TIG welding, resulting in a higher depth of penetration using a single pass, reduced weld distortion and higher welding speeds. This paper presents the fatigue crack growth rate characteristics at 823 K temperature in type 316LN stainless steel plates joined by conventional multi-pass TIG (MP-TIG) and Activated TIG (A-TIG) welding process. Fatigue tests were conducted to characterize the crack growth rates of base metal, HAZ and Weld Metal for A-TIG and MP-TIG configurations. Micro structural evaluation of 316LN base metal suggests a primary austenite phase, whereas, A-TIG weld joints show an equiaxed grain distribution along the weld center and complete penetration during welding (Fig. 1). MP-TIG microstructure shows a highly inhomogeneous microstructure, with grain orientation changing along the interface of each pass. This results in tortuous crack growth in case of MP-TIG welded specimens. Scanning electron microscopy studies have helped to better understand the fatigue crack propagation modes during high temperature testing.

scholarly journals Advantageous Description of Short Fatigue Crack Growth Rates in Austenitic Stainless Steels with Distinct Properties

Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 475
Author(s):  
Lukáš Trávníček ◽  
Ivo Kuběna ◽  
Veronika Mazánová ◽  
Tomáš Vojtek ◽  
Jaroslav Polák ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Stainless Steels ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
J Integral ◽  
Scale Yielding ◽  
Residual Fatigue ◽  
Crack Growth Rates

In this work two approaches to the description of short fatigue crack growth rate under large-scale yielding condition were comprehensively tested: (i) plastic component of the J-integral and (ii) Polák model of crack propagation. The ability to predict residual fatigue life of bodies with short initial cracks was studied for stainless steels Sanicro 25 and 304L. Despite their coarse microstructure and very different cyclic stress–strain response, the employed continuum mechanics models were found to give satisfactory results. Finite element modeling was used to determine the J-integrals and to simulate the evolution of crack front shapes, which corresponded to the real cracks observed on the fracture surfaces of the specimens. Residual fatigue lives estimated by these models were in good agreement with the number of cycles to failure of individual test specimens strained at various total strain amplitudes. Moreover, the crack growth rates of both investigated materials fell onto the same curve that was previously obtained for other steels with different properties. Such a “master curve” was achieved using the plastic part of J-integral and it has the potential of being an advantageous tool to model the fatigue crack propagation under large-scale yielding regime without a need of any additional experimental data.

Effect of Hydrogenated Water on Fatigue Crack Growth for Austenitic Stainless Steel in Simulated BWR Water Environment

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li H. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Cyclic Loading ◽  
Austenitic Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Water Chemistry ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Stage ◽  
Transgranular Fracture ◽  
Cyclic Loading Condition

Fatigue crack growth rates (FCGR) of sensitized austenitic stainless steel (SS) were measured in simulated BWR water at 288 °C using compact tension specimens under different cyclic loading modes, including saw-tooth, trapezoidal and constant loading pattern. This study tested sensitized SS in normal water chemistry (NWC) and hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) respectively, and attempted to clarify the effect of low electrochemical corrosion potential on the FCGR of sensitized stainless steel. Significant environment effects on FCGR of sensitized stainless steel were observed in both water chemistries when compared with air fatigue curve. The pronounced suppression effect of HWC on crack growth in statically sustained load was not observed in cyclic loading condition. ASME curve doesn’t seem to be conservative and could not bound all the FCGR data tested in this study. In contrast, all of the measured FCGR data were bound by the JSME disposition curve. PLEDGE model proposed by General Electric reasonably predicted the FCGR of sensitized SS in NWC, but underestimated the FCGR in HWC. ANL’s superposition model successfully estimated the FCGR measured in both water chemistries. The fractography exhibited transgranular fracture mode during the crack initiation and growth stage. No differences in the appearance of fracture surface were observed in HWC and NWC. Only in very high DO environments, the sensitized 304 SS exhibited the mixed mode of intergranular and transgranular during growth stage.

scholarly journals High Resistance of Fatigue Crack Growth for Austenitic Stainless Steels Containing Nitrogen.

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (634) ◽  
pp. 1343-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisashi HIRUKAWA ◽  
Saburo MATSUOKA ◽  
Etsuo TAKEUCHI ◽  
Takahito OMURA ◽  
Koji YAMAGUCHI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
High Resistance ◽  
Stainless Steels ◽  
Austenitic Stainless Steels

Effects of a Single Overload on Fatigue Crack Growth of Type 316 Stainless Steel

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koji Miyoshi ◽  
Masayuki Kamaya
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Opening ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Single Overload ◽  
Tensile Overload

Abstract The effect of a single overload on the fatigue crack growth rate was investigated for Type 316 stainless steel. Fatigue crack growth tests were conducted by controlling strain and load. Tensile and compressive overloads were applied during constant amplitude cycling. The overload ratio, which was defined as the ratio of overload size to baseline constant amplitude, was also changed. The constant amplitude tests were conducted at the strain or the stress ratio of −1.0 which was defined as the ratio of the minimum value to the maximum value. The crack opening point was obtained by the unloading elastic compliance method. The crack growth rate increased after the single compressive overload. The accelerating rate increased with the overload ratio. In contrast, not only the acceleration but also the retardation of the crack growth rate was observed for some tensile overload cases. The crack growth rate increased for relatively small tensile overload cases and decreased for relatively large tensile overload cases. The change in the crack opening level was examined. The crack growth rates after tensile and compressive single overloads correlated with the effective strain and stress intensity factor ranges both for load and strain controlling modes.

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