Three-dimensional analyses of in-plane and out-of-plane crack-tip constraint characterization for fracture specimens

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 1461-1476 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Y Mu ◽  
G Z Wang ◽  
S T Tu ◽  
F Z Xuan
2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nam-Su Huh ◽  
Yun-Jae Kim ◽  
Jae-Boong Choi ◽  
Young-Jin Kim ◽  
Chang-Ryul Pyo

One important element of the Leak-Before-Break analysis of nuclear piping is how to determine relevant fracture toughness (or the J-resistance curve) for nonlinear fracture mechanics analysis. The practice to use fracture toughness from a standard C(T) specimen is known to often give conservative estimates of toughness. To improve the accuracy of predicting piping failure, this paper proposes a new method to determine fracture toughness using a nonstandard testing specimen, curved wide-plate in tension. To show validity of the proposed curved wide-plate test, the J-resistance curve from the full-scale pipe test is compared with that from the curved wide-plate test and that from C(T) specimen. It is shown that the J-resistance curve from the curved wide-plate tension test is similar to, but that from the C(T) specimen is lower than, the J-resistance curve from the full-scale pipe test. Further validation is performed by investigating crack-tip constraint conditions via detailed three-dimensional finite element analyses, which shows that the crack-tip constraint condition in the curved wide-plate tension specimen is indeed similar to that in the full-scale pipe under bending.


Author(s):  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work addresses a two-parameter description of crack-tip fields in bend and tensile fracture specimens incorporating the evolution of near-tip stresses following stable crack growth with increased values of the J-integral. The primary objective is to examine the potential coupled effects of geometry and ductile tearing on crack-tip constraint as characterized by the J-Q theory which enables more accurate correlations of crack growth resistance behavior in conventional fracture specimens. Plane-strain, finite element computations including stationary and growth analyses are described for SE(B) and clamped SE(T) specimens having different notch depth to specimen width ratio in the range 0.2 ≤ a/W≤0.5. A computational cell methodology to model Mode I crack extension in ductile materials is utilized to describe the evolution of J with Δa for the fracture specimens. Laboratory testing of an API 5L X70 steel using deeply cracked C(T) specimens is used to measure the crack growth resistance curve for the material and to calibrate the cell parameters. The present results provide additional understanding of the effects of constraint on crack growth which contributes to further evaluation of crack growth resistance properties of pipeline steels using SE (T) and SE(B) specimens.


Author(s):  
Sebastian Cravero ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work presents a numerical investigation of crack-tip constraint for SE(T) specimens and axially surface cracked pipes using plane-strain, nonlinear computations. The primary objective is to gain some understanding of the potential applicability of constraint designed fracture specimens in defect assessments of pressurized pipelines and cylindrical vessels. The present study builds upon the J-Q approach using plane-strain solutions to characterize effects of constraint on cleavage fracture behavior for fracture specimens and cracked pipes. Under increased loading, each cracked configuration follows a characteristic J-Q trajectory which enables comparison of the corresponding crack-tip driving force. The results provide a strong support to use constraint-designed SE(T) specimens in fracture assessments of pressurized pipes and cylindrical vessels.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 644-659
Author(s):  
Feizal Yusof ◽  
Karh Heng Leong

Purpose Crack tip stresses are used to relate the ability of structures to perform under the influence of cracks and defects. One of the methods to determine three-dimensional crack tip stresses is through the J-Tz method. The J-Tz method has been used extensively to characterize the stresses of cracked geometries that demonstrate positive T-stress but limited in characterizing negative T-stresses. The purpose of this paper is to apply the J-Tz method to characterize a three-dimensional crack tip stress field in a changing crack length from positive to negative T-stress geometries. Design/methodology/approach Elastic-plastic crack border fields of deep and shallow cracks in tension and bending loads were investigated through a series of three-dimensional finite element (FE) and analytical J-Tz solutions for a range of crack lengths ranging from 0.1⩽a/W⩽0.5 for two thickness extremes of B/(W − a)=1 and 0.05. Findings Both the FE and the J-Tz approaches showed that the combined in-plane and the out-of-plane constraint loss were differently affected by the T-stress and the out-of-plane size effects when the crack length changed from deep to shallow cracks. The conditions of the J-Tz dominance on the three-dimensional crack front tip were shown to be limited to positive T-stress geometries, and the J-Tz-Q2D approach can extend the crack border dominance of the three-dimensional deep and shallow bend models along the crack front tip until perturbed by an elastic-plastic corner field. Practical implications The paper reports the limitation of the J-Tz approach, which is used to calculate the state of three-dimensional crack tip stresses in power law hardening materials. The results from this paper suggest that the characterization of the three-dimensional crack tip stress in power law hardening materials is still an open issue and requires other suitable solutions to solve the problem. Originality/value This paper demonstrates a thorough analysis of a three-dimensional elastic-plastic crack tip fields for geometries that are initially either fully constrained (positive T-stress) or unconstrained (negative T-stress) crack tip fields but, subsequently, the T-stress sign changes due to crack length reduction and specimen thickness increase. The J-Tz stress-based method has been tested and its dominance over the crack tip field is shown to be affected by the combined in-plane and the out-of-plane constraints and the corner field effects.


Author(s):  
Sebastian Cravero ◽  
Richard E. Bravo ◽  
Hugo A. Ernst

Single edge cracked under tension (SENT) specimens appear as an alternative to conventional fracture specimens to characterize fracture toughness of circumferentially cracked pipes. The similarities of stress and strains fields between SENT specimens and cracked pipes are now well known. However, these similarities are not so well established for the case of circumferentially cracked pipes under combined loading conditions (i.e. internal pressure plus bending). This work presents a numerical analysis of crack-tip constraint of circumferentially surface cracked pipes and SENT specimens using full 3D nonlinear computations. The objective is to examine combined loading effects on the correlation of fracture behavior for the analyzed crack configurations. The constraint study using the J-Q methodology and the h parameter gives information about the fracture specimen that best represents the crack-tip conditions on circumferentially flawed pipes under combined loads. Additionally, simulations of ductile tearing in a surface cracked plate under biaxial loading using the computational cell methodology demonstrate the negligible effect of biaxial loadings on resistance curves.


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