High pH Crack Growth Sensitivity to Underload-Type of Pressure Fluctuations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Niazi ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Kaitlyn Korol ◽  
Weixing Chen
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Loading Conditions ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Variable Amplitude ◽  
High Ph ◽  
R Ratio ◽  
Pump Compressor ◽  
Crack Growth Rates

High pH Stress Corrosion Cracking (HpHSCC) is a significant threat to the buried pipelines, which are protected through simultaneous coating and cathodic protection strategies. In the past decades, extensive research has been devoted to assessing the influence of environmental and metallurgical factors on the susceptibility to HpHSCC. With reference to mechanical factors, previous studies employed either slow strain rate or constant amplitude testing methods. However, the pressure fluctuation data extracted from pipeline operations has indicated that pipelines experience highly variable amplitude loading conditions during their service. Accordingly, an important consideration in managing HpHSCC is load interaction. Statistics show a higher probability of HpHSCC failures within the 30 km downstream from pump/compressor stations where the pipeline steels experience elevated service temperatures, with incipient higher susceptibility to HpHSCC. However, the pipeline sections within the 30 km downstream from pump/compressor stations also experience the underload-type of pressure fluctuations that feature a maximum pressure close to the design limit, frequent and large amplitudes of depressurization, resulting in low stress ratio, R (minimum stress/maximum stress), and many smaller pressure fluctuations (minor cycles) with R ratio closer to +1.0. It has been well characterized that the underload-minor-cycle-type of pressure fluctuations has the significant acceleration effect on crack growth rates in near-neutral pH (NNpH) environments. However, the effect of the underload-type of pressure schemes on HpHSCC crack growth has not been well developed. In this research work, a cathodically protected X65 steel specimen in the developed high pH solution, composed of 1N Na2CO3 and 1N NaHCO3, was subjected to different loading conditions. These loading waveforms simulate underload cycles (R = 0.5), minor cycles (R = 0.9) and variable amplitudes consisting of both underload and minor cycles, respectively. The HpHSCC test results showed that the highest and lowest crack growth rates were obtained in high and low R ratio constant amplitude loading conditions, respectively. Furthermore, an intermediate crack growth rate was obtained under variable amplitude loading condition. These results indicate that the underload cycles retard crack growth rate in high pH environments.

The Effect of Crack Growth Retardation when Comparing Constant Amplitude to Variable Amplitude Loading in an Aluminium Alloy

2014 ◽  
Vol 891-892 ◽  
pp. 948-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Burchill ◽  
Simon A. Barter ◽  
Michael Jones
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Life ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Retardation ◽  
Crack Front ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Variable Amplitude ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Crack Growth Retardation

It has often been observed that the growth of short fatigue cracks under variable amplitude (VA) cyclic loading is not well predicted when utilising standard constant amplitude (CA) crack growth rate/stress intensity data (da/dN v DK). This paper outlines a coupon fatigue test program and analyses, investigating a possible cause of crack growth retardation from CA-only testing. Various test loading spectra were developed with sub-blocks of VA and CA cycles, then using quantitative fractography (QF) the sub-block crack growth increments were measured. Comparison of these results found that, after establishing a consistent uniform crack front using a VA load sequence, the average crack growth rate then progressively slowed down with the number of subsequent CA load cycles applied. Further fractographic investigation of the fracture surface at the end of each CA and VA sub-block crack growth, identified significant crack front morphology differences. Thus it is postulated that a variation or deviation from an efficient crack path is a driver of local retardation in short crack growth during CA loading. This may be a source of error in analytical predictions of crack growth under VA spectra loading that may need to be considered in addition to other potential effects such asless closure whilst cracks are small. For aircraft designers, using solely CA data for fatigue life predictions this may result in non-conservative estimates of total crack fatigue life, producing unexpected failures or an increased maintenance burden.

Application of Load Sequence to Control Crack Growth in Steel Pipelines Under Near Neutral pH SCC

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olayinka Tehinse ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Jenny Been ◽  
Karina Chevil ◽  
Sean Keane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Variable Amplitude ◽  
Neutral Ph ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Load Sequence

Pipelines are designed to operate below a maximum operating pressure in service. However, there are pressure fluctuations during operation. The presence of pressure fluctuations creates a drive for crack growth in steel pipes. In order to prevent catastrophic failure of pipelines, there is need for better understanding of the contribution of pressure fluctuations to crack growth rate in steel pipelines. Analysis of pressure fluctuation data in oil and gas pipelines shows that there are different types of fluctuations in a pipe due to friction loss with distance from the pump or compressor station. All these fluctuation types show a form of variable amplitude loading classified in this research as underload, mean load and overload. Studies of some structural systems shows that underload can cause acceleration of crack growth while retardation of crack growth is observed after an overload. This research aims to apply pressure fluctuations to manage integrity of steel pipelines through a novel approach of load sequence involving underload and overload in near neutral pH environment. Clear knowledge of the effect of load interaction involving load sequence of underload and overload is vital to control crack growth in steel pipelines under near neutral pH environment. The result of crack growth rate under different load sequence on X65 steel indicate that increase in overload ratio of 2, 3 and 4 caused an increase in crack growth rate of 1.68E−3, 1.89E−3 and 2.31E−3 mm/block respectively. These results are compared with results from other tests under variable amplitude without load sequence. Analyses were carried out on the morphology of the crack tip and the fracture surface after the test.

Influence of Mean Load Pressure Fluctuations on Crack Growth Behavior in Steel Pipelines

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olayinka Tehinse ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Karina Chevil ◽  
Erwin Gamboa ◽  
Lyndon Lamborn
Keyword(s):  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Stress Sensitivity ◽  
Crack Growth Behavior ◽  
Mean Stress ◽  
Load Pressure ◽  
R Ratio ◽  
Stress Maximum ◽  
Minimum Stress ◽  
Pump Compressor

Internal pressure fluctuations during pipeline operations could contribute to crack growth in steel pipelines. These pressure fluctuations create a variable amplitude loading condition with large amplitude cycles at near-zero stress ratio, R (minimum stress / maximum stress) and small amplitude cycles (minor cycles) at near +1 R ratio which can both affect crack propagation. Mean stresses fluctuate with pressure due to fluid friction losses proportional to the distance from the pump/compressor station. A deeper understanding of mean stress sensitivity on crack growth rate in steel pipelines is sought. The aim of this research is to retard crack growth in pipelines by prescribing pressure fluctuations, thus controlling mean stress effects on imperfection growth in steel pipelines under a near neutral pH environment. This study shows that prescriptive mean load pressure fluctuations can be used to reduce crack growth rates in steel pipelines, thus expanding pipeline integrity management methods.

The Impact of Pressure Fluctuations on the Early Onset of Stage II Growth of High pH Stress Corrosion Crack

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Niazi ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Lyndon Lamborn ◽  
Weixing Chen
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Stress Corrosion ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Crack Size ◽  
Stage I ◽  
Stage Ii ◽  
R Ratio

Abstract Steel pipelines undergo the following sequential stages prior to high pH stress corrosion cracking (HpHSCC) failure, viz., formation of environmental condition, initiation of the intergranular cracks followed by cracks coalescence to form critical crack size (Stage I), mechanically dictated crack growth with higher rate (Stage II) compared to Stage I, rapid crack propagation to failure (Stage III). From fracture mechanics perspective, the crack size reaches the critical value at the onset of stage II; consequently, stress intensity factor (K) ahead of the crack tip exceed the critical value (KISCC). Although many researches have been devoted to understanding HpHSCC behavior, the mechanical conditions that accelerate the onset of stage II remains unknown. This study investigates the mechanical loading conditions that yield to early onset of stage II with respect to the most severe loading condition in operating pipeline, underload-minor-cycle type of pressure fluctuation. In this study, several loading scenarios were applied to pre-cracked CT specimens exposed to 1 N NaHCO3-1N Na2CO3 at 40° C and −590 mVSCE. The first series of tests were conducted through applying variable amplitude loading waveforms to determine the K value below the KISCC. It was observed the crack growth rate decreases from 1.5 × 10−7 mm/s to 2.5 × 10−8 mm/s when Kmax decreases from 36 to 15 MPa·m0.5. Then, both constant amplitude and variable amplitude loading scenarios with the Kmax = 15 MPa·m0.5 were applied to pre-cracked CT specimens. It was observed that low R-ratio constant amplitude cycles yield to highest crack growth rate (3.6 × 10−7 mm/s), which was one order of magnitude higher than other waveforms. However, comparing the intergranular crack advancement per block resulted in similar crack growth rates for those waveforms containing low R-ratio cycles. These results imply that stage I of crack growth is assisted by fatigue due to low R-ratio cycles. It was observed that loading/unloading frequency of low R-ratio cycles has a direct relation with crack growth rate at stage I, i.e., high frequency cycles accelerate onset of stage II. The implication of these results for pipeline operator is that pressure fluctuation, particularly large and rapid pressure fluctuation at the sites susceptible to HpHSCC, threatens the pipeline integrity. Avoiding such pressure fluctuations, if possible, increase pipeline lifespan and prevents catastrophic damages by intergranular stress corrosion crack growth through delaying the onset of stage II of HpHSCC crack growth.

Fatigue Crack Growth Rate Analysis in a Titanium Alloy

2008 ◽  
Vol 385-387 ◽  
pp. 5-8
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Korsunsky ◽  
Daniele Dini ◽  
Michael J. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Complex Load ◽  
R Ratio ◽  
Lower Amplitude ◽  
Crack Growth Rates

Reliable prediction of fatigue crack growth rates in aerospace materials and components underpins the so-called defect-tolerant approach to lifing. In this methodology the presence or appearance of defects and cracks in components is accepted. However, safe operation is guaranteed by regular inspections and health monitoring, and ensuring (by means of reliable modelling) that no crack may grow far enough to reach the critical size in the interval between inspections. Under such circumstances it is clear that particular attention has to be paid to the development and validation of predictive modelling capabilities for fatigue crack propagation. The situation is complicated by the fact that it is often a challenge to represent correctly the in-service loading experienced by a cracked component. In practice, on top of the major cycles associated with each flight (LCF component), cycles of higher frequency and lower amplitude are also present (HCF component). Sensitivity to dwell at maximum load is also often observed. Furthermore, it is well established that complex load sequences involving overloads and underloads result in fluctuations of fatigue crack growth rates (retardation and acceleration) that must be accounted for in crack growth calculations. In the present study we consider the application of an approach due to Noroozi et al. [1] to the analysis of R-ratio effects in Ti-6Al-4V material, on the basis of the experimental crack growth rate data collected under the auspices of AGARD programme [2]. The approach shows promising results, and has the capacity to capture loading sequence effects.

The Effect of a Dwell Period on Fatigue Crack Growth Rates in Filled SBR and NR

2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 838-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Harbour ◽  
Ali Fatemi ◽  
Will V. Mars
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Material Characterization ◽  
Loading Conditions ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Crack Growth Rates ◽  
Growth Experiments ◽  
Dwell Period

Abstract Loading conditions for rubber components are often more complex than the constant amplitude signals used in material characterization. During a series of uniaxial fatigue crack growth experiments on filled SBR under variable amplitude loading conditions, test signals that included a dwell period produced higher crack growth rates than corresponding constant amplitude test signals without a dwell period. These test signals alternated periods of cyclic loading with dwell periods ranging from 1 to 100 seconds at a near zero stress level. Dwell period tests produced average experimental crack growth rates up to 30 times greater than constant amplitude crack growth rates in filled SBR. The length of dwell time and the number of applied cycles between dwell periods were the most significant influences on the crack growth results. An empirical model was developed that captured the dwell effect based on these parameters. Dwell periods also produced increased crack growth rates in natural rubber, but the effect was less significant. It is proposed that the effect is caused by the time-dependent recovery in the rubber microstructure at the crack tip producing a localized and temporary elevated stress-state during loading events immediately following a dwell period. Current fatigue prediction methods do not account for the dwell effect.

Prediction of Fatigue Crack Growth of Aged Hardening Al-Alloys under Variable Amplitude Loading

2014 ◽  
Vol 891-892 ◽  
pp. 1729-1735
Author(s):  
Mustapha Benachour ◽  
Boumedienne Zeggai ◽  
Nadjia Benachour ◽  
Mohamed Benguediab ◽  
Abdelkader Belmokhtar
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Al Alloys ◽  
Variable Amplitude Loading ◽  
Variable Amplitude ◽  
R Ratio ◽  
Single Overload ◽  
Crack Growth Rates

In this investigation, variable amplitude loading effect was studied on aged hardening Al-alloys in series 2000 and 7000. Generalised Willenborg model was used in order to show loading interaction effects (overload effects). Variable amplitude loading under different form of spectrum has affected highly the fatigue life and fatigue crack growth rates. Fatigue lives were increased and fatigue crack growth rates (FCGRs) were decreased in increasing of overload ratio in single overload case. In application of overload band, the fatigue lives and FCGRs were affected by band overload and R-ratio of them when level in FCGRs was increased.

An Experimental Study of the Crack Growth Behavior of 16MnR Pressure Vessel Steel

2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaogui Wang ◽  
Zengliang Gao ◽  
Tianwen Zhao ◽  
Yanyao Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Stable Crack Growth ◽  
Growth Behavior ◽  
Crack Growth Behavior ◽  
Pressure Vessel Steel ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Vessel Steel ◽  
R Ratio

An experimental investigation was conducted on the crack growth behavior of a pressure vessel steel, 16MnR, in ambient air. Standard compact tension specimens were subjected to Mode I loading with several R-ratios and loading amplitudes. Three circular notch sizes ranging from very sharp notch to blunt notch were used. In addition to constant amplitude loading, experiments were conducted to study the influences of overload and loading sequence on crack growth. The results show that the R-ratio has an insignificant influence on the crack growth of the material. The size of the notch together with the R-ratio and loading amplitude has a great influence on the early crack growth from the notch. A single tensile overload during a constant amplitude loading experiment retards the crack growth significantly. Right after the application of an overload, the crack growth rate is higher than that of the stable crack growth observed in the constant amplitude loading. The crack growth rate decreases and reaches a minimum value before it gradually increases and reaches the stable crack growth curve. In high-low sequence loading with the maximum load in the second step lower than that of the first loading step, the preceding higher constant amplitude loading results in a significant crack growth retardation in the second loading step. This phenomenon is similar to the effect of a single tensile overload on the constant amplitude loading. An existing model making use of the stress intensity factor is discussed with respect to its capability to describe the observed crack growth behavior with the influence of overload and sequence loading.

Fatigue Crack Growth under Variable Amplitude Loadings: A Theoretical Study

2008 ◽  
Vol 399 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Ion Dumitru ◽  
Anghel Cernescu
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Fatigue Crack Growth ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Theoretical Study ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Growth Simulation ◽  
Variable Amplitude ◽  
Crack Growth Simulation ◽  
Crack Growth Retardation

The purpose of this study was making evident the overload effect in a spectre with constant amplitude cycles. The crack growth simulation was made on cracked specimen and was studied for four loading cases. Fatigue crack growth rate was calculated applying NASGRO equation and the crack growth retardation analyzed.

Depressurization-Induced Crack Growth Enhancement for Pipeline Steels Exposed to Near-Neutral pH Environments

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengshan Yu ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Richard Kania ◽  
Greg Van Boven ◽  
Jenny Been
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth Rate ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Loading Frequency ◽  
Constant Amplitude ◽  
Growth Mechanisms ◽  
Pipeline Steels ◽  
Neutral Ph ◽  
Loading Scheme

Pressure fluctuations are recognized as the driving force for the crack growth of pipeline steels in near-neutral pH environments; however, the crack growth mechanisms are still not fully understood. Difficulty in understanding the crack growth mechanisms is present due to two dilemmas between laboratory testing and field findings: high frequency study in the laboratory versus low frequency pressure fluctuations in the field; constant amplitude cyclic laboratory tests versus random pressure fluctuations in the actual spectra. To bridge the dilemmas, the crack growth behavior of X60 pipeline steel was investigated in near-neutral pH solution at frequencies as low as 1×10−5 Hz under variable amplitude cyclic loading. Special attention was given to the loading scheme consisting of minor cycles with R ratios (minimum stress/maximum stress) as high as 0.9 and underloads with a relatively lower R ratio of 0.5. It was found that the constant amplitude crack growth rate in near-neutral pH solution in the frequency region below 1×10−3 Hz decreases with decreasing loading frequency, and it reaches a constant value at very low frequencies. This crack growth rate-frequency relation is opposite of that found in the high loading-frequency regime, where crack growth rate was found to increase with decreasing loading frequency. Crack growth rate was observed to increase by a factor of up to 10 when the underload plus minor cycle loading scheme, as mentioned previously, was applied. Based on the findings obtained from the investigation, recommendations of pressure control were also made to minimize the crack growth during pipeline operation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document