Wide Range Compliance Solutions for Various Fracture Test Specimens Using Crack Mouth Opening Displacement

Author(s):  
Claudio Ruggieri ◽  
Rodolfo F. de Souza

This work addresses the development of wide range compliance solutions for tensile-loaded and bend specimens based on CMOD. The study covers selected standard and non-standard fracture test specimens, including the compact tension C(T) configuration, the single edge notch tension SE(T) specimen with fixed-grip loading (clamped ends) and the single edge notch bend SE(B) geometry with varying specimen spam over width ratio and loaded under 3-point and 4-point flexural configuration. Very detailed elastic finite element analysis in 2-D setting are conducted on fracture models with varying crack sizes to generate the evolution of load with displacement for those configurations from which the dependence of specimen compliance on crack length, specimen geometry and loading mode is determined. The extensive numerical analyses conducted here provide a larger set of solutions upon which more accurate experimental evaluations of crack size changes in fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth testing can be made.

Author(s):  
Guowu Shen ◽  
William R. Tyson ◽  
James A. Gianetto ◽  
Dong-Yeob Park

The effect of side grooves on crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) compliance, distribution of J-integral and crack-tip constraint parameters Q and A2 along the thickness of a clamped single-edge-notched tension (SE(T)) specimen were studied by finite element analysis (FEA). Focus was on the effect of depth of side grooves on J-integral and constraint parameters Q and A2 for shallow and deep cracks. The 3-D results were compared with those of SE(T) specimens in plane strain. The results show that the effective thickness equation used in ASTM E 1820 to evaluate compliance of side-grooved SE(B) and C(T) specimens can be used for clamped SE(T) specimens with reasonable accuracy. The results also suggest that the depth of the side grooves affects the distribution of the J-integral: the highest J-integral is at the center of the thickness for a SE(T) specimen with side grooves equal to or less than 10% of total thickness, and near the root of the side grooves for side grooves greater than 10% for a deeply-cracked specimen when the applied load P≥PY. The FEA results also show that the depth of side grooves affects the distribution of the constraint parameters: the crack-tip constraint is highest at the center of the thickness for a specimen with 0% side grooves (plain-sided), and near the root of the side grooves for side grooves equal to or greater than 10%. It was also found from FEA that the crack-tip constraint of a SE(T) specimen with 20% side grooves with shallow (a/W = 0.2) or deep (a/W = 0.5) crack is higher than that of a SE(T) specimen with the same crack depth in plane strain. As a result, the J-resistance of a SE(T) specimen with 20% side grooves may be lower than that of the same specimen in plane strain.


Author(s):  
Gustavo H. B. Donato ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work presents an exploratory development of J and CTOD estimation procedures for welded fracture specimens under bending based upon plastic eta factors and plastic rotation factors. The techniques considered include: i) estimating J and CTOD from plastic work and ii) estimating CTOD from the plastic rotational factor. The primary objective is to gain additional understanding on the effect of weld strength mismatch on estimation techniques to determine J and CTOD fracture parameters for a wide range of a/W-ratios and mismatch levels. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain models of SE(B) fracture specimens with center cracked, square groove welds provide the evolution of load with increased load-line displacement and crack mouth opening displacement which are required for the estimation procedure. The results show that levels of weld strength mismatch within the range ±20% mismatch do not affect significantly J and CTOD estimation expressions applicable to homogeneous materials, particularly for deeply cracked fracture specimens. The present analyses, when taken together with previous studies, provide a fairly extensive body of results which serve to determine parameters J and CTOD for different materials using bend specimens with varying geometries and mismatch levels.


Author(s):  
Rodolfo F. de Souza ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

Standardized procedures to measure cleavage fracture toughness of ferritic steels in the DBT region most commonly employ three-point bend fracture specimens, conventionally termed SE(B) or SENB specimens. The evaluation protocol of fracture toughness for these crack configurations builds upon laboratory records of load and crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) to relate plastic work with J (or, equivalently, CTOD). The experimental approach employs a plastic η-factor to relate the macroscale crack driving force to the area under the load versus crack mouth opening displacement for cracked configurations. This work provides revised η-factors derived from CMOD records applicable to estimate the J-integral and CTOD in SE(B) specimens with varying crack size and specimen configuration. Non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain and 3-D models provide the evolution of load with increased CMOD which is required for the estimation procedure. The analysis matrix considers SE(B) specimens with W = 2B and W = B configurations with and without side grooves covering a wide range of specimen thickness, including precracked Charpy (PCVN) specimens. Overall, the present results provide further validation of the J and CTOD evaluation procedure currently adopted by ASTM 1820 while, at the same time, giving improved estimation equations for J incorporating 3-D effects which enter directly into more accurate testing protocols for experimental measurements of fracture toughness values using 3P SE(B) specimens.


Author(s):  
Timothy S. Weeks ◽  
Jeffrey W. Sowards ◽  
Ross A. Rentz ◽  
David T. Read ◽  
Enrico Lucon

This paper reports an extension of a previous study that compared methods of evaluating J by the crack mouth opening displacement and by surface strain gradients. Here, the surface strain gradients are measured by three-dimensional digital image correlation. The results herein represent a small test matrix that involved evaluation of the J-integral for clamped single-edge notched tensile specimens from API 5L X65 base-metal, weld metal and the adjacent heat affected zone; the J-integral was evaluated by a standardized procedure utilizing the crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) and by the contour integral method on an external surface strain contour. Digital image correlation provides sufficient full-field strain data for use by this method and is considerably more robust than surface-mounted strain gage instrumentation. A series of validity checks are presented that demonstrate that the data are useful and valuable. Experimental determination of the J-integral is not limited to thoroughly analyzed test geometries and may be achieved with limited instrumentation. Furthermore, the method described does not require a determination of crack size nor any instrumentation that requires access to the crack mouth.


Author(s):  
Gustavo H. B. Donato ◽  
Rodrigo Magnabosco ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work presents an exploratory development of J estimation procedures for deep and shallow cracked tension SE(T) specimens based upon plastic eta factors which incorporate the effects of weld strength mismatch. The considered technique includes estimation of J from plastic work. The primary objective is to derive estimation procedures which are applicable to determine J fracture parameters for a wide range of a/W-ratios, material flow properties and different levels of weld strength mismatch using clamped SE(T) specimens of varying geometries. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain models provide the evolution of load with increased load-line displacement and crack mouth opening displacement, which are needed to determine the estimation procedures. Laboratory testing of a welded structural steel using SE(T) specimens provide the data needed to evaluate J evolution for the welded joints based upon the proposed methodology. The crack driving force evolution is compared against the results obtained using plastic eta factors for homogeneous specimens and demonstrates the importance of considering mismatch effects on crack-tip stress fields and fracture parameters. The present analyses, when taken together with previous studies, extend the body of results which serve to determine J integral using tension SE(T) specimens with varying geometries and mismatch levels.


Author(s):  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work investigates application of the η-factor (which bears direct connection with laboratory toughness measurements) on accurate and robust estimates of J for clamped single edge notch tension (SE(T)) specimens made of homogeneous and welded materials using load-displacement records. Very detailed nonlinear finite element analyses for plane-strain models provide the evolution of load with increased load-line displacement and crack mouth opening displacement to define the applied load as a separable function dependent upon crack geometry, material deformation and mismatch level. The procedure enables determining the corresponding separation parameters for each specimen geometry thereby allowing evaluation of factor η derived from a load separation analysis. The study shows that η-factors based on load-displacement records defining the plastic area provide effective and accurate toughness measurements for clamped SE(T) fracture specimens. The analyses also revealed that η-factors for clamped SE(T) fracture specimens based on load-line displacement (LLD) records and plastic area are relatively insensitive to weld strength mismatch. Overall, the present results provide a strong support to use η-based procedures in toughness measurements using clamped SE(T) fracture specimens.


Author(s):  
Marion Erdelen-Peppler ◽  
Christoph Kalwa ◽  
Jens Schröder

Toughness testing of the heat affected zone (HAZ) of longitudinal welds is increasingly often required in pipeline standards and specifications. This includes simple tests such as the Charpy impact test that was designed to serve as quality test as well as enhanced methods including crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) tests that are necessary to conduct an engineering critical assessment (ECA). If occasional low toughness values are observed, the question turns towards assessing the impact of such numbers and how representative they are of the behavior of a pipe in service. The significance of low toughness values measured in laboratory testing can be judged on basis of ring expansion and hydraulic burst tests. The current study summarises an extensive test series to quantify the toughness of submerged arc welds (SAW) obtained by different test methods. The tested pipes cover a wide range of material including medium strength X70 up to high strength X100. Their welds are characterized in terms of fracture toughness properties with single edge notch tension (SENT) and single edge notch bending (SENB) tests. Different constraint levels are obtained within each series by introducing notches of standard depth as well as shallow notches. Structural behavior is characterized with burst tests as well as ring expansion tests containing notches in the longitudinal weld. The experimental results are assessed within dedicated finite element studies. The assessment is conducted for pipes serving as pressure containment, thus having circumferential stress resulting from internal pressure. Based on the results achieved the conclusion can be drawn that the standard route including high constraint CTOD leads to overly conservative results concerning the integrity of longitudinal welds. A better representation of structural behavior is observed in ring expansion tests.


2013 ◽  
Vol 577-578 ◽  
pp. 637-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nenad Gubeljak ◽  
Andrej Likeb ◽  
Jožef Predan ◽  
Yu. G. Matvienko

Thethin walled structures as pipe-line are often unsuitable for standard testingof fracture toughness. One possibility is applying non-standard modifiedspecimens with simple testing procedure, but measured fracture behaviour isconsequence of loading conditions and geometry of specimen. In this paper thedifferences in fracture behaviour of single edge notch bending (SENB) and ringpipe-line bended specimens are discussed. Especially uneven fatigue crack frontas consequence of complex fatigue loading caused different fracture behaviour,than standard single edge notch bending (SENB) specimens. The stress-strainconditions at the crack tip are analysed by finite element modelling. Thecritical crack tip opening displacement has been determined as a crack tipsurface strain-relaxation by using stereo-optical grading method. Comparisonbetween CTOD-R curves of both types of specimens shows difference in crackdriving force.


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