Crack tip constraint analysis in welded joints with pronounced strength and toughness heterogeneity

2019 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 102293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Primož Štefane ◽  
Sameera Naib ◽  
Stijn Hertelé ◽  
Wim De Waele ◽  
Nenad Gubeljak
Author(s):  
Xian-Kui Zhu ◽  
Brian N. Leis

The J-Q theory [1,2] can characterize the crack-tip fields and quantify fracture constraints for various geometric and loading configurations in elastic-plastic materials, but it fails to do so for bending-dominant geometries at large-scale yielding (LSY). This issue significantly restricts its applications to fracture constraint analysis. A modification of the J-Q theory is thus proposed in this paper as a three-term solution with an additional term to address the global bending stress to offset this restriction. The nonlinear global bending stress is linearly approximated in the region of interest at LSY. To verify the bending-modified J-Q solution, detailed elastic-plastic finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out under plane strain conditions for three conventional bending specimens, i.e., single edge notched bend (SENB), single edge notched tension (SENT) and compact tension (CT) specimens for X80 pipeline steel. Deformation considered varies from small-scale yielding (SSY) to LSY. The results show that the bending modified J-Q solution can well match FEA results of crack-tip stress fields for the bending specimens at all deformation levels from SSY to LSY, and the modified parameter Q is a load- and distance-independent constraint parameter at LSY. Thus, the modified parameter Q can be effectively used to quantify the crack-tip constraint for bending geometries. Its application to fracture constraint analysis is demonstrated by ranking crack-tip constraint levels for fracture specimens and by determining constraint corrected J-R curves for the X80 pipeline steel.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 501-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. C. Jiao ◽  
W. Z. Wang ◽  
S. J. Tan ◽  
C. Yu ◽  
Y. Z. Liu

Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Qing Gao

It has been observed that the loss of crack tip constraint leads to enhanced resistance to both cleavage and ductile tearing. Recent developments on constraint-based fracture mechanics have enabled the practical assessment of defective components including the constraint effect. However, how to quantify the effect of crack tip constraint on the fatigue crack propagation rate is still an open issue. It is common practice to use the Paris crack propagation law, which is based on the stress intensity factor alone. In this paper, the effect of crack tip constraint on the fatigue crack propagation of small cracks at T-plate welded joints is investigated. A fatigue crack propagation rate model is developed incorporating both low and high constraint conditions. It is shown that the effect of constraint on crack propagation rate is significant when the crack is small (within the stress concentration of the weld joints). This effect can be accounted for by using the proposed fatigue crack propagation rate model.


Author(s):  
Seung-Ho Lee ◽  
Hyun-Woo Jung ◽  
Yun-Jae Kim ◽  
Kamran Nikbin ◽  
Robert A. Ainsworth

Author(s):  
P.-S. Lam ◽  
Y. J. Chao ◽  
X.-K. Zhu ◽  
Y. Kim ◽  
R. L. Sindelar

Mechanical testing of A285 carbon steel, a storage tank material, was performed to develop fracture properties based on the constraint theory of fracture mechanics. A series of single edge-notched bend (SENB) specimen designs with various levels of crack tip constraint were used. The variation of crack tip constraint was achieved by changing the ratio of the initial crack length to the specimen depth. The test data show that the J-R curves are specimen-design-dependent, which is known as the constraint effect. A two-parameter fracture methodology is adopted to construct a constraint-modified J-R curve, which is a function of the constraint parameter, A2, while J remains the loading parameter. This additional fracture parameter is derived from a closed form solution and can be extracted from the finite element analysis for a specific crack configuration. Using this set of SENB test data, a mathematical expression representing a family of the J-R curves for A285 carbon steel can be developed. It is shown that the predicted J-R curves match well with the SENB data over an extensive amount of crack growth. In addition, this expression is used to predict the J-R curve of a compact tension specimen (CT), and reasonable agreement to the actual test data is achieved. To demonstrate its application in a flaw stability evaluation, a generic A285 storage tank with a postulated axial flaw is used. For a flaw length of 10% of the tank height, the predicted J-R curve is found to be similar to that for a SENB specimen with a short notch, which is in a state of low constraint. This implies that the use of a J-R curve from the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standard designs, which typically are high constraint specimens, may be overly conservative for analysis of fracture resistance of large structures.


Author(s):  
P. James ◽  
M. Jackson ◽  
P. Birkett ◽  
C. Madew

Defect tolerance assessments are carried out to support the demonstration of structural integrity for high integrity components such as nuclear reactor pressure vessels. These assessments often consider surface-breaking defects and assess Stress Intensity Factors (SIFs) at both the surface and deepest points. This can be problematic when there is a high stress at the surface, for example due to the stress concentration at the root of a screw thread. In the past this has led to the development of complex and costly 3D finite element analyses to calculate more accurate SIFs, and still resulting in small apparent limiting defect sizes based on initiation at the surface point. Analysis has been carried out along with supporting materials testing, to demonstrate that the increased SIF at the surface point is offset by a reduction in crack-tip constraint, such that the material exhibits a higher apparent fracture toughness. This enables a more simplistic assessment which reduces the effective SIF at the surface such that only the SIF at the deepest point needs to be considered. This then leads to larger calculated limiting defect sizes. This in turn leads to a more robust demonstration of structural integrity, as the limiting defect sizes are consistent with the capability of non-destructive examination techniques. The high SIF at the surface location, and the concomitant reduction in crack-tip constraint, meant that it was not possible to demonstrate the material response with conventional tests, such as those using shallow-notched bend specimens. Instead it was necessary to develop modified specimens in which semielliptical defects were introduced into a geometry which replicated the notch acuity at the root of a screw thread. These feature tests were used to demonstrate the principle, prior to testing with more conventional specimens to fit more accurately the parameters required to represent the material response in a defect tolerance assessment. Margins in defect tolerance assessments are usually measured against the initiation of tearing, even though the final failure for the material may occur at a higher load following stable crack extension. This work measured and assessed the benefit of reduced crack-tip constraint on both the point of initiation and on the development of the tearing resistance curve. This demonstrated that the effect of constraint was valid with tearing for this material and that there was additional margin available beyond the onset of tearing. The feature test geometry also provided evidence of the tearing behaviour at the surface and deepest points of a surrogate component under representative loading. This paper provides an overview of the range of tests performed and the post-test interpretation performed in order to provide the R6 α and k constraint parameters.


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