Experimental and Analytical Leak Characterization for Axial Through-Wall Cracks in a Liquids Pipeline

Author(s):  
Mohamed R. Chebaro ◽  
Nader Yoosef-Ghodsi ◽  
David M. Norfleet ◽  
Jason H. Bergman ◽  
Aaron C. Sutton

Three pipeline sections containing defects of interest were non-destructively tested in the field, cut out and shipped to a structural laboratory to undergo full-scale testing. The common objectives of the experiments were to determine (1) the leak initiation pressure and (2) the leak rate at various specified internal pressures. While two spools (Specimens A and B) contained through-wall cracks, the third (Specimen C) had a partial through-wall crack with similar characteristics. The capacity of through-wall defects to withstand a level of internal pressure without leaking is due to the resultant local, compressive hoop residual stresses. Specimen C underwent full-scale pressure cycling to further comprehend the crack propagation mechanism in order to correlate it to field operation and analytical fatigue life predictions. To enhance the understanding of the physical crack behaviour as a function of internal pressure, a comprehensive finite element analysis (FEA) model was built using SIMULIA’s Abaqus software. The model inputs incorporated results from the above-mentioned laboratory tests, in addition to extensive radial, circumferential and axial residual stress measurements using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, obtained on three pipe spools cut out from the same line. The resulting crack opening parameters from FEA were input into a closed-form fluid mechanics (FM) model, which was calibrated against a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, to determine the corresponding leak initiation pressures and leak rates. These outcomes were then compared to experimental findings. The FEA and FM models were subsequently employed to carry out a parametric study for plausible combinations of feature geometries, material properties, operational pressures and residual stresses to replicate field conditions. The key outcome from this study is the experimental and analytical demonstration that, for given fluid properties and pressures, the leak threshold and leak rate for through-wall cracks are primarily dependent upon the crack geometry and local residual stress distributions.

Author(s):  
Xian-Kui Zhu ◽  
Rick Wang

Mechanical dents often occur in transmission pipelines, and are recognized as one of major threats to pipeline integrity because of the potential fatigue failure due to cyclic pressures. With matured in-line-inspection (ILI) technology, mechanical dents can be identified from the ILI runs. Based on ILI measured dent profiles, finite element analysis (FEA) is commonly used to simulate stresses and strains in a dent, and to predict fatigue life of the dented pipeline. However, the dent profile defined by ILI data is a purely geometric shape without residual stresses nor plastic deformation history, and is different from its actual dent that contains residual stresses/strains due to dent creation and re-rounding. As a result, the FEA results of an ILI dent may not represent those of the actual dent, and may lead to inaccurate or incorrect results. To investigate the effect of residual stress or plastic deformation history on mechanics responses and fatigue life of an actual dent, three dent models are considered in this paper: (a) a true dent with residual stresses and dent formation history, (b) a purely geometric dent having the true dent profile with all stress/strain history removed from it, and (c) a purely geometric dent having an ILI defined dent profile with all stress/strain history removed from it. Using a three-dimensional FEA model, those three dents are simulated in the elastic-plastic conditions. The FEA results showed that the two geometric dents determine significantly different stresses and strains in comparison to those in the true dent, and overpredict the fatigue life or burst pressure of the true dent. On this basis, suggestions are made on how to use the ILI data to predict the dent fatigue life.


Author(s):  
Noel P. O’Dowd ◽  
Yuebao Lei

Tensile residual stresses, such as those generated by welding, act as crack opening stresses and can have a negative effect on the fatigue and fracture performance of a component. In this work the effect of representative residual stress distributions on the fracture behaviour of a ferritic steel has been examined using finite element analysis. A Gurson-type void growth model is used to model the effect of ductile tearing ahead of a crack. For the cases examined it is seen that a tensile residual stress field may lead to a reduction in the toughness of the material (as represented by the J-resistance curve). The observed difference in toughness can be linked to the different constraint levels in the specimens due to the introduction of the residual stress field and can be rationalised through the use of a two parameter, J–Q approach.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-154
Author(s):  
John H. Underwood ◽  
Michael J. Glennon

Laboratory fatigue life results are summarized from several test series of high-strength steel cannon breech closure assemblies pressurized by rapid application of hydraulic oil. The tests were performed to determine safe fatigue lives of high-pressure components at the breech end of the cannon and breech assembly. Careful reanalysis of the fatigue life tests provides data for stress and fatigue life models for breech components, over the following ranges of key parameters: 380–745 MPa cyclic internal pressure; 100–160 mm bore diameter cannon pressure vessels; 1040–1170 MPa yield strength A723 steel; no residual stress, shot peen residual stress, overload residual stress. Modeling of applied and residual stresses at the location of the fatigue failure site is performed by elastic-plastic finite element analysis using ABAQUS and by solid mechanics analysis. Shot peen and overload residual stresses are modeled by superposing typical or calculated residual stress distributions on the applied stresses. Overload residual stresses are obtained directly from the finite element model of the breech, with the breech overload applied to the model in the same way as with actual components. Modeling of the fatigue life of the components is based on the fatigue intensity factor concept of Underwood and Parker, a fracture mechanics description of life that accounts for residual stresses, material yield strength and initial defect size. The fatigue life model describes six test conditions in a stress versus life plot with an R2 correlation of 0.94, and shows significantly lower correlation when known variations in yield strength, stress concentration factor, or residual stress are not included in the model input, thus demonstrating the model sensitivity to these variables.


1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qizhou Yao ◽  
Jianmin Qu

Abstract In this study, the apparent fracture toughness of the interfaces of several epoxy-based polymeric adhesives and metal (aluminum) substrate is experimentally measured. Double layer specimens with initial interfacial cracks are made for four-point bending tests. Thermal residual stresses exist on the interface due to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the underfill and aluminum. Silica fillers are used to modify the CTE of the epoxy-based adhesives so that various levels of interface thermal residual stresses are achieved. Finite element analysis is also performed to quantify the effects of CTE mismatch as well as the elastic mismatch across the interface. It is found that the apparent interfacial toughness is significantly affected by the thermal residual stress, while the effect of elastic mismatch is negligible. In general thermal residual stress undermines the resistance to an interfacial crack. In some cases the residual stress is sufficient to result in adhesive and/or cohesive failure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 941 ◽  
pp. 269-273
Author(s):  
Constant Ramard ◽  
Denis Carron ◽  
Philippe Pilvin ◽  
Florent Bridier

Multipass arc welding is commonly used for thick plates assemblies in shipbuilding. Sever thermal cycles induced by the process generate inhomogeneous plastic deformation and residual stresses. Metallurgical transformations contribute at each pass to the residual stress evolution. Since residual stresses can be detrimental to the performance of the welded product, their estimation is essential and numerical modelling is useful to predict them. Finite element analysis of multipass welding of a high strength steel is achieved with a special emphasis on mechanical and metallurgical effects on residual stress. A welding mock-up was specially designed for experimental measurements of in-depth residual stresses using contour method and deep hole drilling and to provide a simplified case for simulation. The computed results are discussed through a comparison with experimental measurements.


2016 ◽  
Vol 707 ◽  
pp. 154-158
Author(s):  
Somsak Limwongsakorn ◽  
Wasawat Nakkiew ◽  
Adirek Baisukhan

The proposed finite element analysis (FEA) model was constructed using FEA simulation software, ANSYS program, for determining effects of corrosion fatigue (CF) from TIG welding process on AISI 304 stainless steel workpiece. The FEA model of TIG welding process was developed from Goldak's double ellipsoid moving heat source. In this paper, the residual stress results obtained from the FEA model were consistent with results from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The residual stress was further used as an input in the next step of corrosion fatigue analysis. The predictive CF life result obtained from the FEA CF model were consistent with the value obtained from stress-life curve (S-N curve) from the reference literaturature. Therefore, the proposed FEA of CF model was then used for predicting the corrosion fatigue life on TIG welding workpiece, the results from the model showed the corrosion fatigue life of 1,794 cycles with testing condition of the frequency ( f ) = 0.1 Hz and the equivalent load of 67.5 kN (equal to 150 MPa) with R = 0.25.


Author(s):  
Francis H. Ku ◽  
Pete C. Riccardella

This paper presents a fast finite element analysis (FEA) model to efficiently predict the residual stresses in a feeder elbow in a CANDU nuclear reactor coolant system throughout the various stages of the manufacturing and welding processes, including elbow forming, Grayloc hub weld, and weld overlay application. The finite element (FE) method employs optimized FEA procedure along with three-dimensional (3-D) elastic-plastic technology and large deformation capability to predict the residual stresses due to the feeder forming and various welding processes. The results demonstrate that the fast FEA method captures the residual stress trends with acceptable accuracy and, hence, provides an efficient and practical tool for performing complicated parametric 3-D weld residual stress studies.


Author(s):  
Shivdayal Patel ◽  
B. P. Patel ◽  
Suhail Ahmad

Welding is one of the most used joining methods in the ship industry. However, residual stresses are induced in the welded joints due to the rapid heating and cooling leading to inhomogenously distributed dimensional changes and non-uniform plastic and thermal strains. A number of factors, such as welding speed, boundary conditions, weld geometry, weld thickness, welding current/voltage, number of weld passes, pre-/post-heating etc, influence the residual stress distribution. The main aim of this work is to estimate the residual stresses in welded joints through finite element analysis and to investigate the effects of boundary conditions, welding speed and plate thickness on through the thickness/surface distributions of residual stresses. The welding process is simulated using 3D Finite element model in ABAQUS FE software in two steps: 1. Transient thermal analysis and 2. Quasi-static thermo-elasto-plastic analysis. The normal residual stresses along and across the weld in the weld tow region are found to be significant with nonlinear distribution. The residual stresses increase with the increase in the thickness of the plates being welded. The nature of the normal residual stress along the weld is found to be tensile-compressive-tensile and the nature of normal residual stress across the weld is found to be tensile along the thickness direction.


Author(s):  
Celal Cakiroglu ◽  
Samer Adeeb ◽  
J. J. Roger Cheng ◽  
Millan Sen

Pipelines can be subjected to significant amounts of tensile forces due to geotechnical movements like slope instabilities and seismic activities as well as due to frost heave and thaw cycles in arctic regions. The tensile strain capacity εtcrit of pipelines is crucial in the prediction of rupture and loss of containment capability in these load cases. Currently the Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems code CSA Z662-11 0 contains equations for the prediction of εtcrit as a function of geometry and material properties of the pipeline. These equations resulted from extensive experimental and numerical studies carried out by Wang et al [2]–[6] using curved wide plate tests on pipes having grades X65 and higher. Verstraete et al 0 conducted curved wide plate tests at the University of Ghent which also resulted in tensile strain capacity prediction methods and girth weld flaw acceptability criteria. These criteria are included in the European Pipeline Research Group (EPRG) Tier 2 guidelines. Furthermore Verstrate et al 0 introduced a pressure correction factor of 0.5 in order to include the effect of internal pressure in the tensile strain capacity predictions in a conservative way. Further research by Wang et al with full scale pipes having an internal pressure factor of 0.72 also showed that εtcrit decreases in the presence of internal pressure [10]–[15]. In their work, Wang et al presented a clear methodology for the design of full scale experiments and numerical simulations to study the effect of internal pressure on the tensile strain capacity of pipes with girth weld flaws [10]–[15]. However, there has been limited testing to enable a precise understanding of the tensile strain capacity of pipes with grades less than X65 as a function of girth weld flaw sizes and the internal pressure. In this paper the experimental setup for the testing of grade X52 full scale specimens with 12″ diameter and ¼″ wall thickness is demonstrated. In the scope of this research 8 full scale specimens will be tested and the results will be used to formulate the tensile strain capacity of X52 pipes under internal pressure. The specimens are designed for the simultaneous application of displacement controlled tensile loading and the internal pressure. Finite element analysis is applied in the optimization process for the sizes of end plates and connection elements. Also the lengths of the full scale specimens are determined based on the results from finite element analysis. The appropriate lengths are chosen in such a way that between the location of the girth weld flaw and the end plates uniform strain zones could be obtained. The internal pressure in these experiments is ranging between pressure values causing 80% SMYS and 30% SMYS hoop stress. The end plates and connection elements of the specimens are designed in such a way that the tensile displacement load is applied with an eccentricity of 10% of the pipe diameter with the purpose of increasing the magnitude of tensile strains at the girth weld flaw location. The results of two full scale experiments of this research program are presented. The structural response from the experiments is compared to the finite element simulation. The remote strain values of the experiment are found to be higher than the εtcrit values predicted by the equations in 0.


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