CTOA Test Method Using Drop-Weight Tear Test (DWTT): Background and Development of Standard

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Xu ◽  
W. R. Tyson ◽  
C. H. M. Simha ◽  
M. Gesing ◽  
J. Liang
Keyword(s):  
Crack Propagation ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Charpy Specimen ◽  
Pipe Steels ◽  
Absorbed Energy ◽  
Drop Weight ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test ◽  
Charpy Absorbed Energy ◽  
Fracture Arrest

Arrest of fast ductile fracture in the design of gas pipelines has traditionally been assured by specifying Charpy absorbed energy (Cv) of pipe steel based on the Battelle two-curve method. However, the Charpy test has been shown to be inadequate to characterize crack propagation in modern high-strength, high-toughness pipe steels. For steels with Cv more than approximately 100 J, fracture arrest methodologies based on Cv can lead to non-conservative predictions. The problem is that the Charpy specimen is too small to characterize full-scale fracture, and for tough steels the ductility can be so high that the Charpy specimen bends without fracturing completely. To overcome these limitations, the use of a larger full-thickness specimen, the “Drop-Weight Tear Test” (DWTT) specimen, has been proposed. The test is instrumented to measure the force on and displacement of the impactor during crack propagation. The data is interpreted to yield the “crack-tip opening angle” (CTOA), which is constant during steady-state crack growth and characterizes the propagation resistance. The CTOA has been proposed for some time as a suitable property to assess fracture propagation and arrest in high-pressure gas pipelines, but up to now a standard test method for measurement of the CTOA has not been available. To remedy this situation, a draft standard has been developed by the authors and is being balloted by ASTM E081. In this paper, the CTOA parameter and CTOA-based fracture arrest methodology will be introduced briefly. The background and development of the draft ASTM standard test method for determination of CTOA using the drop-weight tear test (DWTT) specimen will be reviewed including the procedure and the results of an international round robin. In the CTOA test method, the only adjustable parameter is the rotation factor (rp). Using a modified Xue-Wierzbicki damage mechanics model and a statistical analysis, rp has been determined to be a weak function of yield strength, Charpy absorbed energy and specimen thickness. Although no physical model has been developed to explain the interplay of these factors, they are all related to the extent and distribution of plastic deformation ahead of the crack. The technical background and quantification of rp will be described in this paper. It is intended to apply the CTOA test method to a broad range of steels, including thin (less than 6 mm) and thick (larger than 20 mm) pipe steels.

Flow Behaviour and Ductile Fracture Toughness of a High Toughness Steel

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Xu ◽  
R. Bouchard ◽  
W. R. Tyson
Keyword(s):  
Flow Stress ◽  
Ductile Fracture ◽  
Tensile Tests ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Opening Angle ◽  
Absorbed Energy ◽  
Crack Propagation Resistance ◽  
High Toughness ◽  
Drop Weight ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test

This paper reports results of tests on flow and ductile fracture of a very high toughness steel with Charpy V-notch absorbed energy (CVN energy) at room temperature of 471 J. The microstructure of the steel is bainite/ferrite and its strength is equivalent to X80 grade. The flow stress was determined using tensile tests at temperatures between 150°C and −147°C and strain rates of 0.00075, 0.02 and 1 s−1, and was fitted to a proposed constitutive equation. Charpy tests were carried out at an initial impact velocity of 5.1 ms−1 using drop-weight machines (maximum capacity of 842 J and 4029 J). The samples were not broken during the test, i.e. they passed through the anvils after significant bending deformation with only limited crack growth. Most of the absorbed energy was due to deformation. There was little effect of excess energy on absorbed energy up to 80% of machine capacity (i.e. the validity limit of ASTM E 23). As an alternative to the CVN energy, the crack tip opening angle (CTOA) measured using the drop-weight tear test (DWTT) has been proposed as a material parameter to characterize crack propagation resistance. Preliminary work on evaluating CTOA using the two-specimen CTOA test method is presented. The initiation energy is eliminated by using statically precracked test specimens. Account is taken of the geometry change of the specimens (e.g. thickening under the hammer) on the rotation factor and of the effect of strain rate on flow stress.

Effect of Notch Type in Drop-Weight Tear Test Specimen on Crack Propagation and Arrest Behavior

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Igi ◽  
Toshihiko Amano ◽  
Takahiro Sakimoto ◽  
Yasuhiro Shinohara ◽  
Tetsuya Tagawa
Keyword(s):  
Crack Propagation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Crack Arrest ◽  
Brittle Crack ◽  
Chevron Notch ◽  
Drop Weight ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test ◽  
Shear Area ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Crack Propagation And Arrest

The drop-weight tear test (DWTT) has been widely used to evaluate the resistance of linepipe steels against brittle fracture propagation. However, in the recent years there is an ambiguity in its evaluation if inverse fracture appears on the specimen fracture surfaces. Although cause of the inverse fracture is not fully understood, compressive pre-straining near the impact hammer and existing tiny split have been discussed as a possible cause. In this paper, machined notch in brittle weld DWTT for X65 was performed and compared with various notch types of DWTTs such as conventional DWTT specimen with a pressed notch (PN), a chevron notch (CN) and a static pre-cracked (SPC). The fracture appearances were compared with different strength X65 - X80 grades linepipes and with different initial notch types. The frequency of the inverse fracture appeared in these DWTTs were different in each material and each specimen types, but there were no cases where the inverse fracture did not occurs. The purpose of DWTT is to evaluate the brittle crack arrestability of the material in a pressurized linepipe. A large scale brittle crack arrest test, so called West Jeferson test is generally used to reproduce crack propagation and arrest behavior in an actual pipeline material. A middle scale test so called Crack Arrest Temperature (CAT) test was also proposed to check the shear area fraction measured in DWTT with API rating with that the local shear lip thickness fraction in those tests. CAT test can well reproduce crack propagation and arrest behavior under the condition of brittle crack initiation from the initial notch.

Effect of Separation on Ductile Crack Propagation Behavior During Drop Weight Tear Test

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Hara ◽  
Taishi Fujishiro
Keyword(s):  
Crack Propagation ◽  
Ductile Fracture ◽  
Fracture Resistance ◽  
High Strength ◽  
Opening Angle ◽  
Ductile Crack ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Propagation Behavior ◽  
Drop Weight ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test

The demand for natural gas using LNG and pipelines to supply the world gas markets is increasing. The use of high-strength line pipe provides a reduction in the cost of gas transmission pipelines by enabling high-pressure transmission of large volumes of gas. Under the large demand of high-strength line pipe, crack arrestability of running ductile fracture behavior is one of the most important properties. The CVN (Charpy V-notched) test and the DWTT (Drop Weight Tear Test) are major test methods to evaluate the crack arrestability of running ductile fractures. Separation, which is defined as a fracture parallel to the rolling plane, can be characteristic of the fracture in both full-scale burst tests and DWTTs. It is reported that separations deteriorate the crack arrestability of running ductile fracture, and also that small amounts of separation do not affect the running ductile fracture resistance. This paper describes the effect of separation on ductile propagation behavior. We utilized a high-speed camera to investigate the CTOA (Crack Tip Opening Angle) during the DWTT. We show that some separations deteriorate ductile crack propagation resistance and that some separations do not affect the running ductile fracture resistance.

Effects of Notch Type and Loading Rate on CTOA of Modern X65 and X70 Pipe Steels

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Xu ◽  
J. Sollen ◽  
J. Liang ◽  
R. Zavadil ◽  
W. R. Tyson
Keyword(s):  
Loading Rate ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Opening Angle ◽  
Pipe Steels ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test ◽  
X65 Steel ◽  
Rotation Factor ◽  
Crack Tip Opening

The crack-tip opening angle (CTOA) has been investigated as a fracture propagation resistance parameter for prevention of fast ductile fracture in gas pipelines. A CANMET simplified single specimen CTOA method has been proposed as a mill test and is being applied to characterize critical CTOA (CTOAc) of typical pipe steels to develop a toughness database and improve the test method. In this work, tests using standard machined V-notch and API pressed notch (PN) drop-weight tear test (DWTT) specimens at quasi-static and impact rates were performed on modern X65 and X70 pipe steels typical of those used for CO2 pipelines. The rotation factor of the X65 steel deduced from the deformed ligament geometry is equivalent to those of X70 to X100 steels. Pressed-notch DWTT specimens were successfully fractured in impact and yielded CTOAc values equivalent to those of V-notched specimens following the CANMET recommended practice for determination of CTOAc. The effect of loading rate on CTOAc between the quasi-static and impact rates (covering five orders of magnitude) is small or negligible, being within experimental scatter. This is in agreement with data in the CANMET database, except for a low-toughness X52 steel that showed an increase in CTOAc between quasi-static and impact loading rates. The effect of flattening on CTOAc was also investigated and is small or negligible for the large-diameter (at least 508 mm) pipes tested in this work. The results may be used to support and improve a proposed test method for determination of CTOAc being considered by an ASTM Task Group and currently being evaluated in a round-robin testing program.

Drop Weight Tear Testing of High Toughness Pipeline Material

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell Olav Halsen ◽  
Espen Heier
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Initiation ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Side Impact ◽  
Battelle Memorial Institute ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Pipeline Steels ◽  
High Toughness ◽  
Drop Weight ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test ◽  
Impact Side

Drop Weight Tear Testing is a common test method for determining a material’s ability to arrest a propagating crack. This testing method was developed by Battelle Memorial Institute, and is conducted in accordance with standards as API RP 5L3 ‘Recommended Practice for Conducting Drop Weight Tear testing on Line Pipe’ and EN 10274 ‘Metallic Materials - Drop Weight Tear Test’. One problem that has been encountered when performing Drop Weight Tear Testing of high toughness TMCP materials is that the pre-deformed material in the pressed notch is not sufficiently embrittled to ensure initiation of a brittle fracture. According to prevailing standards a brittle initiation is necessary for a valid test result. The material opposite the notched side (impact side) will deform quite considerably and is due to strain hardening expected to loose toughness prior to the actual fracture initiation takes place. Consequently high toughness material may give poor test results. In that respect, DNV initiated a Joint Industry Project called ‘Drop Weight Tear Testing of High Toughness Pipeline Material’, where the main objective was to obtain a better understanding on how the results from the DWTT should be interpreted for high toughness pipeline steels. During the project an extensive amount of Drop Weight Tear tests (DWTT) were performed on relevant modern pipeline steels. The resulting shear ratios were determined according to conventional fracture surface evaluation methods as well as newly developed methods as presented in the literature. The appearance of energy curves for both regular DWTT specimens and specimens with varying back gouge depths was also considered in the investigation and the consistency between the estimated shear ratios and the corresponding measured absorbed energies were thoroughly evaluated. This paper summarizes the results and recommendations obtained in the performed investigations.

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