Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Titanium Alloy Ti-6Al-4V and Weldment

2001 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamdouh M. Salama

Optimization of weight, cost, and performance of deepwater offshore structures demands the increased utilization of high strength, light weight, and corrosion resistant materials such as titanium alloys. Titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V has been considered for several critical components such as risers and taper joints. Because of the novelty of use of titanium alloys in the offshore industry, there is currently no standard governing design of titanium components for offshore structures. Since these structural components are subjected to a complex spectrum of environmental loading, assessment of defect tolerance using fatigue crack growth analysis is generally considered an important design parameter. In this paper, more than 60 crack growth data sets from 20 independent laboratories were collected and analyzed to develop crack growth rate equations for use in defect assessment. These data include the results of fatigue testing of both base material and welded joints in air and seawater with and without cathodic protection and at different R-ratios and test frequencies. The results suggest that for crack growth rates above 10−7 in./cycle, crack growth of Ti-6Al-4V appears to be independent of testing condition and materials processing. At the low crack growth rate (below 10−7 in./cycle), the review revealed that data are very limited. These limited data, however, suggest that the crack growth threshold is dependent on the R-ratio and slightly dependent on material processing. Comparison between crack growth rates of steel and titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) showed that the two materials have very similar behavior.

1971 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 976-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Shahinian ◽  
H. H. Smith ◽  
H. E. Watson

The dependence of fatigue crack growth rates on range of stress intensity factor (ΔK) in Type 316 stainless steel was investigated over the temperature range of 75 to 1100 deg F. The data for the most part could be described by a power law relationship. An increase in temperature generally increased crack growth rate for a given ΔK and decreased fatigue life. The dependence of crack growth rate on temperature is not described adequately by an Arrhenius relation over the range investigated. On the other hand, by normalizing ΔK with respect to Young’s modulus, E, the crack growth rates for the various temperatures tend to fall within a single band.


2008 ◽  
Vol 33-37 ◽  
pp. 261-266
Author(s):  
Sheng Nan Wang ◽  
Yi Li ◽  
Jian Bo Qin ◽  
Ya Long Liu ◽  
Yue Quan Zhou

The effects of five single and three mixed corrosive environments on the fatigue crack growth and residual strength of steel 30CrMnSiNi2A were experimentally studied. The crack growth rates in corrosive environments, obtained by using Paris equation, were compared with crack growth rate in lab air. The results showed that the interactions of aggressive environments with fatigue loads caused the accelerations of fatigue crack growth rates in steel 30CrMnSiNi2A. But the effects of various environments on the fatigue crack growth rate are different. Among the environments the most detrimental one was oil-box zone, followed by cookroom&washroom, tank seeper, 3.5%NaCl, moist air, high altitude and dried air. Also, the test data showed the less effect of various corrosive environments on critical crack length, that is, no direct infection of corrosive environments on residual strength capability dominated by fracture toughness.


Author(s):  
Eun Ju Song ◽  
Joseph A. Ronevich

One of the most efficient methods for supplying gaseous hydrogen long distances is by using steel pipelines. However, steel pipelines exhibit accelerated fatigue crack growth rates in gaseous hydrogen relative to air. Despite conventional expectations that higher strength steels would be more susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement, recent testing on a variety of pipeline steel grades has shown a notable independence between strength and hydrogen assisted fatigue crack growth rate. It is thought that microstructure may play a more defining role than strength in determining the hydrogen susceptibility. Among the many factors that could affect hydrogen accelerated fatigue crack growth rates, this study was conducted with an emphasis on orientation dependence. The orientation dependence of toughness in hot rolled steels is a well-researched area; however, few studies have been conducted to reveal the relationship between fatigue crack growth rate in hydrogen and orientation. In this work, fatigue crack growth rates were measured in hydrogen for high strength steel pipeline with different orientations. A significant reduction in fatigue crack growth rates were measured when cracks propagated perpendicular to the rolling direction. A detailed microstructural investigation was performed, in an effort to understand the orientation dependence of fatigue crack growth rate performance of pipeline steels in hydrogen environments.


1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. V. Jata ◽  
D. Maxwell ◽  
T. Nicholas

Frequency effects on fatigue crack growth rates are examined in aluminum alloy 8009 in sheet and extruded product forms. The investigations show that frequency effects on the fatigue crack growth rates are pronounced in the sheet but minimal in the extrusion. The influence of creep cracking on fatigue crack growth rate is studied through tests with a 60 s hold-time at maximum load at several stress intensity ranges. A 60 s hold-time at maximum load at 315°C tends to retard fatigue crack growth in both the sheet and the extrusion. The mechanism by which this retardation occurs is attributed to stress relaxation at the crack tip. At 204°C a 60 s hold at Pmax accelerates crack growth rate in the sheet but not in the extrusion. Vacuum and laboratory air tests show that fatigue crack growth rates in vacuum are lower than in air by about a factor of four. A 60 s hold-time at minimum load has only a minor effect on the fatigue crack growth rates at 315°C and no effect at 204°C, confirming the absence of any strong environmental contribution to crack growth rate. Fracture modes in fatigue, creep crack growth and hold-time at Pmax are significantly different. The fractographic results are discussed in relation to the mechanical property data.


Author(s):  
L F M da Silva ◽  
D J Stewardson ◽  
F M F de Oliveira ◽  
P M S T de Castro

Fatigue crack growth rates of rails from four European rail manufacturers are presented. The tests performed, on which the present paper is based, are part of the contribution to a project on the fatigue crack growth rate qualifying criteria of rails for railways—SMT4-CT98-2240—part-funded by the European Union. Six different laboratories were involved in measuring the scatter in fatigue crack growth rates. The tests were carried out under a stress ratio of 0.5, with test temperature and relative humidity recorded but not controlled beyond the ambient laboratory condition. The cyclic test frequency was either 10 or 15 Hz. The crack length was measured manually (optical microscope) which requires interruptions to the test overnight. Statistical analysis revealed that interruptions to tests may cause interference with the results. The data were analysed by three procedures: formal methods used were the secant method and the seven-point incremental polynomial technique; in addition, statistical analysis of a more investigative type using running regressions was utilized. It was found that there was no significant difference between the crack growth rate in samples from four different manufacturers.


Author(s):  
Andrew J. Slifka ◽  
Elizabeth S. Drexler ◽  
Robert L. Amaro ◽  
Damian S. Lauria ◽  
Louis E. Hayden ◽  
...  

Pipelines are widely accepted to be the most economical method for transporting large volumes of hydrogen, needed to fuel hydrogen-powered vehicles. Some work has been previously conducted on the fatigue crack growth rates of base metals of pipeline materials currently in use for hydrogen transport and on pipeline materials that may be used in the future. However, welds and their heat-affected zones are oftentimes the source and pathway for crack initiation and growth. The heat-affected zones of welds can exhibit low resistance to crack propagation relative to the base metal or the weld itself. Microstructural irregularities such as chemical segregation or grain-size coarsening can lead to this low resistance. Therefore, in order to have adequate information for pipeline design, the microstructures of the heat-affected zones must be characterized, and their mechanical properties must be measured in a hydrogen environment. With that in mind, data on the fatigue crack growth rate is a critical need. We present data on the fatigue crack growth rate of the heat-affected zones for two girth welds and one seam weld from two API 5L X52 pipes. The materials were tested in hydrogen gas pressurized to 5.5 MPa and 34 MPa at a cyclic loading rate of 1 Hz, and an R ratio of 0.5.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. McBagonluri ◽  
E. Akpan ◽  
C. Mercer ◽  
W. Shen ◽  
W. O. Soboyejo

Surface and subsurface crack nucleation and growth mechanisms are elucidated for equiaxed (microstructure 1), elongated (microstructure 2), and colony (microstructure 3) microstructures of Ti6242. Prominent cleavage facets, indicative of a Stroh-type dislocation-pile phenomenon characterize the nucleation sites. Beachmarking and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques are used to study fatigue crack growth rates and crack shape evolution in the short and long crack regimes. The studies reveal that surface crack growth rate data are generally comparable to the through-crack growth rate data in the long crack growth regime. However, the depth crack growth rates are somewhat slower than the through-crack growth rates. Surface crack evolution profiles are shown to exhibit a tendency towards “Preferred Propagation Paths” (PPPs). However, the magnitudes of the aspect ratios along the PPPs are different from those reported for square or rectangular cross sections subjected to cyclic tension or bending loads. Finally, the measured crack lengths and aspect ratios are compared with predictions obtained from a fracture mechanics model.


Author(s):  
Sanjay Tiku ◽  
Morvarid Ghovanlou ◽  
Aaron Dinovitzer ◽  
Mark Piazza ◽  
T. A. Jones

Abstract While the general fracture mechanics principles and methodologies for calculating fatigue lives are well documented and validated, their application in the prediction of pipeline system fatigue lives differed from field experience. The source and magnitude of the conservatism inherent in the calculated fatigue life estimates are an important element when establishing integrity management programs. Of particular interest are the fatigue life estimates used in integrity management programs for electric resistance welded (ERW) pipeline systems that may have pipe seam anomalies oriented along the pipe axis. BMT Canada Ltd (BMT) was contracted by Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) to develop a pipeline material fatigue crack growth database and conduct full scale cyclic pressure fatigue tests to develop improved crack growth rate parameters. A pipeline material fatigue crack growth database was developed using 185 fatigue crack growth rate tests on 45 pipeline materials ranging in grade from X46 to X70 and in vintage from 1937 to 2014. The database included fatigue crack growth rate tests on 18 pipe body base materials (BM) and 27 ERW weld seam materials at two different, stress ratios (R), of R-ratio = 0.1 and R-ratio = 0.6. The sampled crack growth rates observed in the pipeline steels, tested in the project were 2 to 3 times lower than the crack growth rates recommended in BS 7910. This paper presents the proposed power (Paris) law fatigue crack growth equation parameters, C and m, developed in the study. Two full-scale cyclic pressure tests were carried out to validate the use of recommended crack growth rate parameters. Axial flaws were machined in the pipe body and weld center line (WCL). Fifty-one (51) flaws of different lengths and depths were machined. The crack growth rates were monitored during the cyclic pressure tests by recording crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD). The calibration curves for correlating CMODs with crack depths were developed and validated against finite element (FE) analysis. The fatigue crack growth rates observed in the full-scale tests were then compared with existing BS 7910 and API 579 formulations. The comparison confirmed that the BS 7910 approach results in very conservative estimates of fatigue crack growth rates for axial flaws. The BS 7910 stress intensity factor formulation overestimated the bulging correction for axially oriented flaws. The API 579 fracture mechanics-based fatigue crack growth formulation combined with crack growth rate parameters developed in this program provided improved estimates for fatigue life. The fatigue crack growth rates for line pipe and ERW weld seams developed in this project were shown to be less conservative and better predictors for fatigue crack growth and represent a valuable tool for pipeline integrity management. The use of this information will enable pipeline operators to focus remedial actions on features that have the lowest estimated fatigue lives.


2000 ◽  
Vol 646 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lou ◽  
C. Mercer ◽  
W.O. Soboyejo

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the results of a study of the effects of temperature on fatigue crack growth in Ti-47A1–2Cr-2Mn + 0.8 Vol. %TiB2 gamma titanium aluminide intermetallics. Fatigue crack growth rate data are presented for the cast lamellar microstructure at 25,450 and 750°C. The trends in the fatigue crack growth rate data are explained by considering the combined effects of crack-tip deformation mechanisms and oxide-induced crack closure. Faster fatigue crack growth rates at 450°C are attributed to the high incidence of irreversible deformation-induced twinning, while slower crack growth rates at 700°C are due to increased deformation by slip and the effects of crack-tip shielding provided by oxide-induced wedging, which is analyzed using a modified Dugdale-Barenblatt model.


2008 ◽  
Vol 385-387 ◽  
pp. 5-8
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Korsunsky ◽  
Daniele Dini ◽  
Michael J. Walsh

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.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document