Calibration of a Nondestructive Toughness Tester (NDTT) for Measuring Fracture Toughness of Pipeline Steel

Author(s):  
Steven D. Palkovic ◽  
Simon C. Bellemare ◽  
Kamal K. Botros ◽  
Xiande (Derek) Chen ◽  
Richard Kania

In-ditch/in-service characterization of pipelines using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) can provide valuable data for confirming operating pressure and qualifying pipelines for transporting natural gas of different quality or gas mixture, as well as for determining repair criteria for integrity management programs. This is especially relevant for vintage pipelines that may not have material test reports (MTR) available, and for aging infrastructure that have been subjected to suspected or unknown integrity threats. However, measurement of material fracture toughness currently requires the removal of large samples for laboratory testing, such as compact tension (CT) fracture testing or Charpy impact testing. The present work introduces a new concept, the Nondestructive Toughness Tester (NDTT), that provides a NDE solution for measuring the fracture toughness of pipeline steel in a superficial layer of material (∼0.005 inches). The NDTT uses a specially designed wedge-shaped stylus to generate a Mode I tensile loading that results in a ductile fracture response. NDTT tests are performed in multiple orientations on 8 different pipeline steel samples covering 3 different grades to compare the NDTT material response with the fracture toughness measurements from laboratory CT specimens. Analysis of these results indicate that the height of a fractured ligament that remains on the sample surface after NDTT testing exhibits a linear relationship with traditional CT J-integral measurements normalized by its yield strength. This type of behavior is analogous to the crack-tip-opening-displacement (CTOD) calculated through elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. Tests conducted on the pipe outer diameter and in the longitudinal direction near the pipe mid-wall indicate that the NDTT can measure differences in fracture toughness for different crack orientations. Furthermore, the results show that outer diameter tests provide a conservative estimate of the overall steel fracture toughness. These observations indicate that the NDTT is a viable method for assessing toughness properties of steel materials. Additional research is required to further refine the implementation of the NDTT concept and understand the relationship with laboratory test results on pipe cutouts, but the progress is already a significant step towards obtaining additional material toughness data for integrity management.

Author(s):  
Abderrazak Traidia ◽  
Elias Chatzidouros ◽  
Mustapha Jouiad ◽  
Kaamil-Ur-Rahman Shibly

Abstract Standard-compliant measurement of the in-plane fracture toughness of metals is often challenging due to insufficient material in the through-thickness direction to extract a full single edge bending (SEB) or compact tension (CT) fracture specimen. In the present work, we propose a new specimen design methodology to overcome this challenge. A W-shaped SEB specimen (called W-SEB) was developed, and its topology was optimized using finite element simulations. The new specimen design was validated numerically and experimentally on a case study showing excellent agreement with standard ASTM E1820 actual SEB specimen geometry. In view assessing the anisotropy of the fracture toughness (KQ and crack tip opening displacement (CTOD)) of pipeline steels susceptible to hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC), the W-SEB specimen was tested on X65 and X42 pipeline steel samples taken from the field. Experimental results show an increase in the maximum CTOD along the in-plane direction as compared to the transverse direction for both steel grades. Such experimental results could lead to important considerations with respect to accurate fitness for service assessment of HIC-damaged assets.


Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Kyriakopoulou ◽  
Panagiotis Karmiris-Obratański ◽  
Athanasios Tazedakis ◽  
Nikoalos Daniolos ◽  
Efthymios Dourdounis ◽  
...  

The present research focuses on the investigation of an in situ hydrogen charging effect during Crack Tip Opening Displacement testing (CTOD) on the fracture toughness properties of X65 pipeline steel. This grade of steel belongs to the broader category of High Strength Low Alloy Steels (HSLA), and its microstructure consists of equiaxed ferritic and bainitic grains with a low volume fraction of degenerated pearlite islands. The studied X65 steel specimens were extracted from pipes with 19.15 mm wall thickness. The fracture toughness parameters were determined after imposing the fatigue pre-cracked specimens on air, on a specific electrolytic cell under a slow strain rate bending loading (according to ASTM G147-98, BS7448, and ISO12135 standards). Concerning the results of this study, in the first phase the hydrogen cations’ penetration depth, the diffusion coefficient of molecular and atomic hydrogen, and the surficial density of blisters were determined. Next, the characteristic parameters related to fracture toughness (such as J, KQ, CTODel, CTODpl) were calculated by the aid of the Force-Crack Mouth Open Displacement curves and the relevant analytical equations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 634-638 ◽  
pp. 2808-2812
Author(s):  
Zhu Feng Sun ◽  
Ling Yun Xie

Explored the influence of pore structure of foam metal material on mechanical behavior of fracture. Discuss fracture toughness of several different micro geometric structure of foam metal material with finite element method. The author's calculations showed, microstructure and loading mode has an important effect on the fracture toughness of the foam metal material. due to ignoring the effects of cell structure on the mechanical properties of materials, the classic fracture toughness criterion -crack tip opening displacement (COD) is incomplete, it would be more efficient to take opening displacement change rate of the crack-tip as the parameter to characteristic the metallic foam material fracture toughness.


2017 ◽  
Vol 741 ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Fumito Kawamura ◽  
Masazumi Miura ◽  
Ryuichiro Ebara ◽  
Keiji Yanase

Many studies have been conducted to characterize the fracture toughness of structural steels and their welded joints. However, most studies focus on newly developed steels, and the number of studies on the fracture toughness of long-term used steels in structural components is rather limited. Furthermore, a lack of data on the fracture toughness causes difficulties in evaluating the structural integrity of existing steel structures. In this study, CTOD tests were performed to characterize the fracture toughness of penstock that has been in service for 50 years. By measuring the critical crack tip opening displacement in conjunction with analysis for chemical compositions, the characteristics of fracture toughness were investigated.


Author(s):  
Pradeep Lall ◽  
Padmanava Choudhury ◽  
Jaimal Williamson

Abstract Flip-Chip Ball Grid Arrays (FCBGAs) are finding applications in automotive underhood electronics for enablement of safety-critical functions. Underfills needed to reinforce flip-chip interconnects in FCBGAs need to operate reliably under sustained high temperature operation. Underfill-to-substrate interface is one of the primary failure locations under wide thermal excursions and usually a precursor to flip-chip joint failure. In order to assess the reliability in the end application, there is need for understanding the damage progression of the underfill-to-substrate interface as a function of operating time and operating temperature. In this study, the Substrate-UF interface was exposed to high temperature and the interfacial fracture toughness quantified. A three-point composite beam specimen of PCB/Underfill was fabricated to study the interface and thermally aged for periods of 10 days, 30 days, 60 days at temperatures ranging from 100°C to 150°C. Quasi-static bending was used to observe and determine interfacial delamination of the sample specimen. A 2D-Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method was also employed to understand the Crack tip opening displacement (CTOD), crack initiation and the fracture toughness, CTOD were compared with the aging schedule and temperature.


Author(s):  
Xian-Kui Zhu

Fracture toughness is often described by the J-integral or crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) for ductile materials. ASTM, BSI and ISO have developed their own standard test methods for measuring fracture initiation toughness and resistance curves in terms of the J and CTOD using bending dominant specimens in high constraint conditions. However, most actual cracks are in low constraint conditions, and the standard resistance curves may be overly conservative. To obtain more realistic fracture toughness for actual cracks in low-constraint conditions, different fracture test methods have been developed in the past decades. To facilitate understanding and use the test standards, this paper presents a critical review on commonly used fracture toughness test methods using standard and non-standard specimens in reference to the fracture parameters J and CTOD, including (1) ASTM, BSI and ISO standard test methods, (2) constraint correction methods for formulating a constraint-dependent resistance curve, and (3) direct test methods using the single edge-notched tension (SENT) specimen. This review discusses basic concepts, basic methods, estimation equations, test procedures, historical efforts and recent progresses.


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