Prediction of Environmentally Assisted Cracking on Gas and Liquid Pipelines

Author(s):  
J. Been ◽  
R. Eadie ◽  
R. Sutherby

A model has been developed to predict crack growth on pipelines from environmentally assisted cracking in near-neutral pH environments (often-termed low-pH stress corrosion cracking (SCC)). The model is based on the results of cyclic loading experiments and is used in conjunction with pressure time variations in the pipeline determined from the operating SCADA records to predict the growth of an assumed existing crack in the pipe. The crack grows through different crack growth regimes, which are determined by the size of the pressure variations and the instantaneous crack dimensions. For a growing crack that experiences relatively high pressure fluctuations, as often encountered on liquid lines, reasonable crack growth predictions were made based on corrosion fatigue. An approach based on crack tip strain rate appears more suitable for the prediction of crack growth of small cracks and for cracks on gas lines with small pressure fluctuations. The model is designed so that the effect of stress intensifiers (like the long seam weld crown) that are often associated with these failures can be included. The model can be used in its present format for prioritizing inspections on both gas and liquid pipelines. Whereas predicted crack growth rates compare favorably with rates measured in the field, further work is required to incorporate additional mechanical and environmental effects, in particular to improve the prediction of small crack growth rates. Low crack velocities may be possible in the presence of small pressure fluctuations and low frequencies, but they may be less probable.

2018 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 13004
Author(s):  
Madeleine Burchill ◽  
Simon Barter ◽  
Lok Hin Chan ◽  
Michael Jones

The fatigue or durability life of a few critical structural metallic components often sets the safe and/or economic useful life of a military airframe. In the case of aluminium airframe components, growth rates, at or soon after fatigue crack nucleation are being driven by near threshold local cyclic stress intensities and thus are very low. Standard crack growth rate data is usually generated from large cracks, and therefore do not represent the growth of small cracks (typically <1mm). Discussed here is an innovative test and analysis technique to measure the growth rates of small cracks growing as the result of stress intensities just above the cyclic growth threshold. Using post-test quantitative fractographic examination of fatigue crack surfaces from a series of 7XXX test coupons, crack growth rates and observations of related growth phenomenon in the threshold region have been made. To better predict small crack growth rates under a range of aircraft loading spectra a method by which standard material data models could be adapted is proposed. Early results suggest that for small cracks this method could be useful in informing engineers on the relative severity of various spectra and leading to more accurate predictions of small crack growth rates which can dominate the fatigue life of airframe components.


2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. Mars ◽  
A. Fatemi

Abstract Although both the crack nucleation and growth stages of the fatigue failure process in rubber are manifestations of the same characteristic material behavior, the nucleation stage deserves special attention. In this case, continuum mechanical parameters may be used to characterize the driving forces of small cracks, without reference to the geometry of the test piece. The ability to estimate crack driving forces from continuum mechanical parameters during the growth process of small cracks has been investigated by correlating three different parameters (maximum principal strain, strain energy density, and cracking energy density) to rates of crack growth observed photographically during fatigue tests on initially uncracked specimens. Significant scatter in crack growth rates was observed resulting from high crack density and crack interactions. These results are also compared to crack growth measurements made on a pure shear (planar tension) test piece. The difference between continuum parameters that refer to a specific material plane, and those that do not is emphasized. Generally, the maximum principal strain and cracking energy density parameters provided similar levels of correlation. The strain energy density parameter consistently gave the poorest correlation. An advantage of the cracking energy density is that it considers the experiences of specific planes embedded in the material (i.e. it is a plane-specific parameter).


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 475
Author(s):  
Lukáš Trávníček ◽  
Ivo Kuběna ◽  
Veronika Mazánová ◽  
Tomáš Vojtek ◽  
Jaroslav Polák ◽  
...  

In this work two approaches to the description of short fatigue crack growth rate under large-scale yielding condition were comprehensively tested: (i) plastic component of the J-integral and (ii) Polák model of crack propagation. The ability to predict residual fatigue life of bodies with short initial cracks was studied for stainless steels Sanicro 25 and 304L. Despite their coarse microstructure and very different cyclic stress–strain response, the employed continuum mechanics models were found to give satisfactory results. Finite element modeling was used to determine the J-integrals and to simulate the evolution of crack front shapes, which corresponded to the real cracks observed on the fracture surfaces of the specimens. Residual fatigue lives estimated by these models were in good agreement with the number of cycles to failure of individual test specimens strained at various total strain amplitudes. Moreover, the crack growth rates of both investigated materials fell onto the same curve that was previously obtained for other steels with different properties. Such a “master curve” was achieved using the plastic part of J-integral and it has the potential of being an advantageous tool to model the fatigue crack propagation under large-scale yielding regime without a need of any additional experimental data.


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