Determination of Brittle-to-Ductile Transition Temperatures of Large-Diameter TMCP Linepipe Steel With High Charpy Energy by Use of Modified West Jefferson Testing

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Hioe ◽  
G. Wilkowski ◽  
M. Fishman ◽  
M. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Brittle Fracture ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Pipe Steels ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Brittle To Ductile Transition ◽  
Pipe Burst ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test ◽  
Fracture Appearance ◽  
Shear Area

In this paper the results will be presented for burst tests from a Joint Industry Project (JIP) on “Validation of Drop Weight Tear Test (DWTT) Methods for Brittle Fracture Control in Modern Line-Pipe Steels by Burst Testing”. The JIP members for this project were: JFE Steel as founding member, ArcelorMittal, CNPC, Dillinger, NSSMC, POSCO, Tenaris, and Tokyo Gas. Two modified West Jefferson (partial gas) pipe burst tests were conducted to assess the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature and brittle fracture arrestability of two 48-inch diameter by 24.6-mm thick X65 TMCP line-pipe steels. These steels had very high Charpy energy (350J and 400J) which is typical of many modern line-pipe steels. In standard pressed-notch DWTT specimen tests, these materials exhibited abnormal fracture appearance (ductile fracture from the pressed notch prior to brittle fracture starting) that occurs with many high Charpy energy steels. Such behavior makes the transition temperature difficult to determine. The shear area values versus temperature results for these two burst tests compared to various modified DWTT specimens are shown. Different rating methodologies; DNV, API, and a Best-Estimate of steady-state fracture propagation appearance were evaluated.

Fracture Behavior in West Jefferson Test Under Low-Temperature Condition for X65 Steel Pipe With High Charpy Energy: Current Activities in HLP Committee, Japan, Report 1

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihiko Amano ◽  
Satoshi Igi ◽  
Takahiro Sakimoto ◽  
Takehiro Inoue ◽  
Shuji Aihara
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Brittle Fracture ◽  
Pressure Vessel ◽  
Fracture Behavior ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Burst Test ◽  
Pipe Burst ◽  
Test Vessel ◽  
Fracture Appearance

This paper describes the results of pressure vessel fracture test which called West Jefferson and/or partial gas burst testing using Grade API X65 linepipe steel with high Charpy energy that exhibits inverse facture in the Drop Weight Tear Test (DWTT). A series of pressure vessel fracture tests which is as part of an ongoing effort by the High-strength Line Pipe committee (HLP) of the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan (ISIJ) was carried out at low temperature in order to investigate brittle-to-ductile transition behavior and to compare to DWTT fracture behavior. Two different materials on Fracture Appearance Transition Temperature (FATT) property were used in these tests. One is −60 degree C and the other is −25 to −30 degree C which is defined as 85 % shear area fraction (SA) in the standard pressed notch DWTT (PN-DWTT). The dimensions of the test pipes were 24inches (609.6 mm) in outside diameter (OD), 19.1 mm in wall thickness (WT). In each test, the test pipe is cooled by using liquid nitrogen in the cooling baths. Two cooling baths are set up separately on the two sides of the test vessel, making it possible to obtain fracture behaviors under two different test temperatures in one burst test. The test vessel was also instrumented with pressure transducers, thermocouples and timing wires to obtain the pressure at the fracture onset, temperature and crack propagation velocity, respectively. Some informative observations to discuss appropriate evaluation method for material resistance to brittle facture propagation for high toughness linepipe materials are obtained in the test. When the pipe burst test temperatures are higher than the PN-DWTT transition temperature, ductile cracks were initiated from the initial notch and propagated with short distance in ductile manner. When the pipe burst test temperatures were lower than the PN-DWTT transition temperature, brittle cracks were initiated from the initial notch and propagated through cooling bath. However, the initiated ductile crack at lower than the transition temperature was not changed to brittle manner. This means inverse facture occurred in the PN-DWTT is a particular problem caused by the API DWTT testing method. Furthermore, results for the pipes tested indicated that inverse facture occurred in PN-DWTT at the temperature above the 85 % FATT may not affect the arrestability against the brittle fracture propagation and it is closely related with the location of brittle fracture initiation origin in the fracture appearance of PN-DWTT.

Brittle Fracture Arrest in High Charpy Energy Steels: Comparisons With Some Existing Data

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wilkowski ◽  
D-J. Shim ◽  
Y. Hioe ◽  
S. Kalyanam ◽  
M. Uddin
Keyword(s):  
Brittle Fracture ◽  
Pipe Steels ◽  
Shelf Energy ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Pipe Burst ◽  
Sensitivity Studies ◽  
Shear Area ◽  
Fracture Arrest ◽  
Pipeline Design ◽  
Very High

Current line-pipe steels have significantly higher Charpy upper-shelf energy than older steels. Many newer line-pipe steels have Charpy upper-shelf energy in the 300 to 500J range, while older line-pipe steels (pre-1970) had values between 30 and 60J. With this increased Charpy energy comes two different and important aspects of how to predict the brittle fracture arrestability for these new line-pipe steels. The first aspect of concern is that the very high Charpy energy in modern line-pipe steels frequently produces invalid results in the standard pressed-notch DWTT specimen. Various modified DWTT specimens have been used in an attempt to address the deficiencies seen in the PN-DWTT procedure. In examining fracture surfaces of various modified DWTT samples, it has been found that using the steady-state fracture regions with similitude to pipe burst test (regions with constant shear lips) rather than the entire API fracture area, results collapse to one shear area versus temperature curve for all the various DWTT specimens tested. Results for several different materials will be shown. The difficulty with this fracture surface evaluation is that frequently the standard pressed-notch DWTT only gives valid transitional fracture data up to about 20-percent shear area, and then suddenly goes to 100-percent shear area. The second aspect is that with the much higher Charpy energy, the pipe does not need as much shear area to arrest a brittle fracture. Some analyses of past pipe burst tests have been recently shown and some additional cases will be presented. This new brittle fracture arrest criterion means that one does not necessarily have to specify 85-percent shear area in the DWTT all the time, but the shear area needed for brittle fracture arrest depends on the pipeline design conditions (diameter, hoop stress) and the Charpy upper-shelf energy of the steel. Sensitivity studies and examples will be shown.

Modified West Jefferson Burst Test for Assessment of Brittle Fracture Arrest in Thick-Wall TMCP Line-Pipe Steel With High Charpy Energy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Igi ◽  
T. Sakimoto ◽  
J. Kondo ◽  
Y. Hioe ◽  
G. Wilkowski
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Brittle Fracture ◽  
Ductile Fracture ◽  
Base Metal ◽  
The Other ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Burst Test ◽  
Seam Weld ◽  
Shear Area ◽  
Fracture Arrest

Three partial gas pipe burst tests were conducted to assess the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature and brittle fracture arrestability of a heavy-walled TMCP line-pipe steel. This steel had a very high Charpy energy (400 J) which is typical of many modern line-pipe steels. In standard pressed-notch DWTT specimen tests this material exhibited abnormal fracture appearance (ductile fracture from the pressed notch prior to brittle fracture starting) that occurs with many high Charpy energy steels. Such behavior gives an invalid test by API RP 5L3, which makes the transition temperature difficult to determine. The first burst test was conducted in a manner that is typical of a traditional West Jefferson (partial gas vessel) burst tests. The crack was initiated in the center of the cooled vessel (with a partial air gap), but an unusual result occurred. In this test a ductile fracture just barely started from each crack tip, but one of the endcaps blew off. The pipe rocketed into the wall of a containment building. The opposite endcap impacted the wall of the building and brittle fractures started there with one coming back to the center of the vessel. The implication from this test was that perhaps initiation of the brittle fracture in the base metal gives different results than if the initial crack came from a brittle location. The second burst test used a modified West-Jefferson Burst Test procedure. The modification involved cutting a short length of pipe at the center of the vessel and rotating the seam weld to the line of crack propagation. The HAZ of the axial seam weld had a higher dynamic transition temperature. The initiation flaw was across one of the center girth welds so that one side of the initial through-wall crack had the crack tip in the base metal while the other side initiated in the seam weld HAZ. On the base metal side, the crack had about 220 mm of crack growth before reaching steady-state shear area, i.e., the shear area gradually decreased as the fracture speed was increasing. On the other side, a brittle fracture was started in the HAZ as expected, and once it crossed the other central girth weld into the base metal, the fracture immediately transformed to a lower shear area percent. These results along with those from the first burst test suggest that the DWTT specimen should have a brittle weld metal in the starter notch region to ensure the arrestability of the material. The final burst test was at a warmer temperature. There was a short length of crack propagation with higher shear area percent, which quickly turned to ductile fracture and arrested. In addition various modified DWTTs were conducted and results were analyzed using an alternative brittle fracture arrest criterion to predict pipe brittle fracture arrestability.

Evaluation for Abnormal Fracture Appearance in Drop Weight Tear Test With High Toughness Linepipe

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryuji Muaoka ◽  
Nobuyuki Ishikawa ◽  
Shigeru Endo ◽  
Joe Kondo
Keyword(s):  
Brittle Fracture ◽  
Fracture Surface ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Area Fraction ◽  
Burst Test ◽  
High Toughness ◽  
Chevron Notch ◽  
Drop Weight Tear Test ◽  
Fracture Appearance ◽  
Shear Area

The West-Jefferson type full scale partial gas burst test was carried out in order to investigate appropriate evaluation method for resistance to brittle fracture propagation in high toughness linepipe materials that exhibits abnormal fracture appearance by the Drop Weight Tear Test (DWTT). Shear area fraction (SA%) of the DWTT that had been derived from the way regarding or disregarding the abnormal fracture appearance was compared with the shear area fraction obtained from the fracture surface by the full scale burst test. It was shown that SA% obtained by the burst tests corresponded well with that by the pressed notch DWTT for the cases of disregarding abnormal fracture appearance. On the other hand, SA% in the DWTT was lower than that in the burst test when the abnormal fracture appearance was treated in the same manner as the brittle fracture that occurs at the notch tip of the specimen. Therefore, it can be stated that the evaluation by regarding the abnormal fracture surface can be conservative and much relevant evaluation can be possible by disregarding the abnormal fracture appearance. SA% of the fracture surface in the Chevron notch DWTT showed slightly lower value than that in the burst test, regardless of whether abnormal fracture appearances was regarded or disregarded. This means the Chevron notch DWTT is also severe testing method, as well as the pressed notch DWTT with regarding the abnormal fracture surface.

Predicting the Brittle-to-Ductile Transition Temperatures for Surface Cracks in Pipeline Girth Welds: It’s Better Than You Thought

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gery Wilkowski ◽  
David Rudland ◽  
Do-Jun Shim ◽  
David Horsley
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Surface Crack ◽  
Master Curve ◽  
Crack Depth ◽  
Temperature Shift ◽  
Transition Temperatures ◽  
Surface Cracks ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Brittle To Ductile Transition ◽  
Girth Welds

A methodology to predict the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature for sharp or blunt surface-breaking defects in base metals was developed and presented at IPC 2006. The method involved applying a series of transition temperature shifts due to loading rate, thickness, and constraint differences between bending versus tension loading, as well as a function of surface-crack depth. The result was a master curve of transition temperatures that could predict dynamic or static transition temperatures of through-wall cracks or surface cracks in pipes. The surface-crack brittle-to-ductile transition temperature could be predicted from either Charpy or CTOD bend-bar specimen transition temperature information. The surface crack in the pipe has much lower crack-tip constraint, and therefore a much lower brittle-to-ductile transition temperature than either the Charpy or CTOD bend-bar specimen transition temperature. This paper extends the prior work by presenting past and recent data on cracks in line-pipe girth welds. The data developed for one X100 weld metal shows that the same base-metal master curve for transition temperatures works well for line-pipe girth welds. The experimental results show that the transition temperature shift for the surface-crack constraint condition in the weld was about 30C lower than the transition temperature from standard CTOD bend-bar tests, and that transition temperature difference was predicted well. Hence surface cracks in girth welds may exhibit higher fracture resistance in full-scale behavior than might be predicted from CTOD bend-bar specimen testing. These limited tests show that with additional validation efforts the FITT Master Curve is appropriate for implementation to codes and standards for girth-weld defect stress-based criteria. For strain-based criteria or leak-before-break behavior, the pipeline would have to operate at some additional temperature above the FITT of the surface crack to ensure sufficient ductile fracture behavior.

Transition Temperature Determination for Thick Wall Line Pipe

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Demofonti ◽  
G. Junker ◽  
V. Pistone ◽  
Gerd Junker ◽  
Valentino Pistone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Test Specimen ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Thick Wall ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Brittle Transition ◽  
Brittle Transition Temperature ◽  
Ductile To Brittle Transition ◽  
Shear Area

The applicability of Drop Weight Tear Test specimen to evaluate the ductile to brittle transition temperature of thick wall pipes (30 mm and 40 mm wall thickness) has been investigated by comparing West Jefferson tests at different temperatures and laboratory data. The traditional API pressed notch specimen has been used with full and reduced thickness, together with chevron notch and weld notch starters. The different crack initiation methods have been examined with the goal of providing an easier test specimen, with reduced fracture energy. The 85% shear area transition temperature indicated by the different test specimen show a reasonable similarity, but the higher costs of preparation of the alternative notch geometries limit their adequacy in substituting the traditional pressed notch specimen. Good agreement has been found between standard DWTT specimen and full-scale test transition temperature. The results of this program together with literature data, confirm the validity of the DWTT specimen to measure the ductile to brittle transition temperature for thermomechanical rolled linepipe steels of thickness up to 40 mm. The reduced thickness specimens conservatively predicted full scale behaviour.

Control of %age Shear Area in DWTT at Low Temperature in Niobium Microalloyed Line Pipe Steel

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundaresa Subramanian ◽  
Xiaoping Ma ◽  
Xuelin Wang ◽  
Chengjia Shang ◽  
Xiaobing Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Brittle Fracture ◽  
Cube Texture ◽  
High Angle ◽  
Austenite Grain Size ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Nano Scale ◽  
Austenite Grain ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Shear Area

Microstructural engineering to obtain 100% shear area in DWTT at low temperature requires target parameters to suppress brittle fracture. In-depth characterization of benchmarked steels has confirmed that %age shear area is decreased by high number density of ultra-fine precipitates (<10nm) that contribute to precipitation strengthening, high intensity of rotated cube texture and coarse brittle constituents like M/A or carbides. The control of these parameters by nano-scale precipitate engineering of TiN-NbC was covered in a previous presentation in IPC 2016 [1]. The present paper focuses on crystallographic variants selection that controls the density and dispersion of high angle boundaries, which arrest microcracks to suppress brittle fracture, thereby increasing %age shear area in DWTT at low temperature. Studies on crystallographic variants selection in single undeformed austenite grain have clarified crystallographic variants configuration which gives rise to high angle boundaries is influenced by hardenability parameters, i.e., alloying, cooling rate and austenite grain size. The profound effect of carbon and solute niobium on density and dispersion of high angle boundaries in CGHAZ is demonstrated by analyzing EBSD data to reconstruct the shear transformation of undeformed austenite using K-S relationship. Moreover, pancaking of austenite influences crystallographic variants through Sv factor and dislocation density. Experimental results on nano-scale TiN-NbC composite precipitate engineered steel confirm that adequate solute niobium (>0.03wt%) is retained in the matrix, which is aided by the suppression of delayed strain induced precipitation of ultra-fine precipitates of NbC. The hardenability from solute niobium is found to be adequate to give high density of high angle boundaries to give about 95% shear area in DWTT at −40°C in 32 mm gage K-60 plate and 100% shear area in 16.3 mm X-90 strip. Both steels were processed by nano-scale precipitate engineering of TiN-NbC composite to control size and uniformity of distribution of austenite grains before pancaking.

How New Vintage Line-Pipe Steel Fracture Properties Differ From Old Vintage Line-Pipe Steels

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wilkowski ◽  
D.-J. Shim ◽  
Y. Hioe ◽  
S. Kalyanam ◽  
F. Brust
Keyword(s):  
Brittle Fracture ◽  
Fracture Behavior ◽  
Pipe Steel ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Actual Behavior ◽  
Correction Factors ◽  
Pipe Steels ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Line Pipe Steel ◽  
Fracture Control

Newer vintage line-pipe steels, even for lower grades (i.e., X60 to X70) have much different fracture behavior than older line-pipe steels. These differences significantly affect the fracture control aspects for both brittle fracture and ductile fracture of new pipelines. Perhaps one of the most significant effects is with brittle fracture control for new line-pipe steels. From past work brittle fracture control was achieved through the specification of the drop-weight-tear test (DWTT) in API 5L3. With the very high Charpy energy materials that are being made today, brittle fracture will not easily initiate from the pressed notch of the standard DWTT specimen, whereas for older line-pipe steels that was the normal behavior. This behavior is now referred to as “Abnormal Fracture Appearance” (AFA). More recent work shows a more disturbing trend that one can get 100-percent shear area in the standard pressed-notch DWTT specimen, but the material is really susceptible to brittle fracture. This is a related phenomenon due to the high fracture initiation energy in the standard DWTT specimen that we call “Abnormal Fracture Behavior” (AFB). This paper discusses modified DWTT procedures and some full-scale results. The differences in the actual behavior versus the standard DWTT can be significant. Modifications to the API 5L3 test procedure are needed. The second aspect deals with empirical fracture control for unstable ductile fractures based on older line-pipe steel tests initially from tests 30-years ago. As higher-grade line-pipe steels have been developed, a few additional full-scale burst tests have shown that correction factors on the Charpy energy values are needed as the grade increases. Those correction factors from the newer burst tests were subsequently found to be related to relationship of the Charpy energy values to the DWTT energy values, where the DWTT has better similitude than the Charpy test for fracture behavior (other than the transition temperature issue noted above). Once on the upper-shelf, recent data suggest that what was once thought to be a grade correction factor may really be due to steel manufacturing process changes with time that affect even new low-grade steels. Correction factors comparable to that for X100 steels have been indicated to be needed for even X65 grade steels. Hence the past empirical equations in Codes and Standards like B31.8 will significantly under-predict the actual values needed for most new line-pipe steels.

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