Investigation of the Performance of the Contour Residual Stress Measurement Method When Applied to Welded Pipe Structures

Author(s):  
R. J. Dennis ◽  
N. A. Leggatt ◽  
E. A. Kutarski

The ‘Contour Method’ is a relatively new relaxation method for residual stress measurement and may be seen as an evolution of established methods such as hole drilling. The general procedure when applying the Contour Method is cutting, measurement and calculation of residual stress normal to the cut plane using Bueckner’s principle of elastic superposition. That is the residual stresses are determined from the measured profile of a cut surface. While the Contour Method is simple in concept there are certain underlying issues relating to the cutting process that may lead to uncertainties in the measured results. Principally the issues are that of constraint and plasticity during the cutting process and the influence that they have on the measured residual stresses. Both of these aspects have been investigated in previous work by simulating the entire contour measurement method process using finite element techniques for ‘simple’ flat plate welded specimens. Here that work is further investigated and extended by application to a 316 Stainless Steel welded pipe structure containing a part-circumferential repair. This more complex structure and residual stress field is of significantly greater engineering interest. The key objective of this work is to ascertain the feasibility of and further our understanding of the performance of the Contour Method. Furthermore this work has the potential to provide a method to support the optimisation of the contour measurement process when applied to more complex engineering components.

Author(s):  
R. J. Dennis ◽  
D. P. Bray ◽  
N. A. Leggatt ◽  
M. Turski

The contour method is a relatively new relaxation method for residual stress measurement and may be seen as an evolution of established methods such as hole drilling. The general procedure when applying the contour method is cutting, measurement and calculation of residual stress normal to the cut plane using Bueckner’s principle of elastic superposition. That is the residual stresses are determined from the measured profile of a cut surface. While the contour method is simple in concept there are certain underlying issues relating to the cutting process that may lead to uncertainties in the measured results. Principally the issues are that of constraint and plasticity during cutting and the influence they have on the measured residual stresses. In this paper both issues are investigated in detail by simulating the entire contour method process using finite element techniques for two welded specimens. Constraint has been a recognised concern for the contour method with the general requirement being to hold the specimen as rigidly as possible. Both clamping and fixing bolts are routinely used however in reality these methods do not provide a fully rigid constraint. In this work a range of constraints have been examined to determine the influence on the measured residual stresses. Plasticity, as a consequence of the cutting process, has also been recognised as a factor which may affect the measured residual stresses. In this work the extent of plasticity is predicted by simulation of the cutting process. With a known initial residual stress field the effects of plasticity are directly quantifiable. This work therefore provides an extremely useful insight into some of the key issues that affect the measurement performance of the contour method.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Cheng ◽  
I. Finnie ◽  
O¨. Vardar

The use of thin cuts for residual stress measurement is referred to as the crack compliance method. A computational model is presented for the determination of normal and shear residual stresses near the surface by introducing shallow cuts. The optimum regions for strain measurement are obtained. This method is shown to be considerably more sensitive than the conventional hole drilling method and is capable of measuring residual stresses which vary with depth below the surface.


2014 ◽  
Vol 996 ◽  
pp. 295-300
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Václavík ◽  
Otakar Weinberg

The review and some experiences are given from measurement and evaluations of residual stresses on large shaft forgings and rail axles using the hole-drilling and ring-core strain-gauge methods, provided by Pilsner Research and Testing Institute, Czech Republic.


Author(s):  
D. Vangi ◽  
S. Tellini

When measuring residual stresses using the hole-drilling strain-gauge method, plasticity effects arise if the residual stress level exceeds about 60% of the material yield strength. In this case the classical methods, which are based on the linear elastic material behavior, do not work properly and residual stresses are overestimated. This paper presents a numerical study of the influence of plasticity on residual stress measurement by using the hole-drilling strain-gauge method in those cases in which stress does not vary with depth. The study investigates the effects of the most important loading, measuring, geometry, and material variables. An iterative method, which can be applied to obviate these errors, is then presented. The method was implemented in ANSYS using the APDL macrolanguage (ANSYS Parametric Design Language Guide, Documentation for ansys 11.0) to automatically execute the procedure steps. A finite element model of the hole, which allows for plasticity, is requested. Employing the readings of a standard three elements strain-gauge rosette, the method makes it possible to extend the measurement limit in comparison to that of the ASTM E837 standard (ASTM E837-08, “Standard Test Method for Determining Residual Stresses by the Hole-Drilling Strain-Gauge Method”).


2014 ◽  
Vol 996 ◽  
pp. 301-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Serra ◽  
Xavier Ficquet ◽  
Ed Kingston

The hole drilling technique is probably the most widely used residual stress measurement technique. The ASTM E837 standard covers hole drilling measurements for thin and thick specimens. VEQTER have encountered several cases when the specimen was between the thick and thin specification. In order to gain a greater understanding of the sensitivity of the analyses and accurately measure the residual stresses using the hole drilling technique within intermediate thickness specimens and within thin specimens containing non-uniform residual stresses a study was performed.


Author(s):  
Levente Tatár ◽  
Gyula Török ◽  
David J. Smith ◽  
Son Do ◽  
Carsten Ohms ◽  
...  

As part of the STYLE EU FP7 project a modified 1:5 scale replica of a VVER-440 type reactor pressure vessel inlet nozzle was manufactured. The nozzle included a dissimilar metal weld of the type found in full-scale nozzles. This scale model was developed to permit accurate measurements to be made and detailed finite element (FE) models to be developed without recourse to using a full scale mock-up. It was also found that a full-scale mock-up would not permit the application of certain residual stress measurement methods. Temperatures and displacements were recorded during welding of the dissimilar metals, with measurements used to guide simulation of the welding process using finite element models. Through thickness residual stress profiles were measured using a comprehensive range of different techniques, such as deep hole drilling, neutron diffraction, magnetic Barkhausen noise. Usage of contour method had been planned too, but it but could not be accomplished in due time. The measured residual stresses obtained by the different methods are presented and compared. Measured residual stresses, temperatures and displacements were then used to validate the results derived from the FE model.


Author(s):  
Anais Jacob ◽  
Jeferson Araujo de Oliveira ◽  
Ali Mehmanparast ◽  
Foroogh Hosseinzadeh ◽  
Filippo Berto

A key challenge in the Offshore Wind industry is assuring the life-cycle structural integrity of wind turbine foundation monopiles. This is due to harsh environmental aspects as well as the loading regime (i.e. constant exposure to wave and wind forces introducing both fatigue and corrosion damage). Welding is a widely used joining technique for the manufacturing of offshore monopile structures. However, this is an aggressive process that introduces high levels of residual stress, which in turn may lead to reduced fatigue life, corrosion cracking resistance and accelerated degradation mechanisms. This study presents evidence that a measurement-informed strategy could be used towards developing a more reliable structural integrity assessment procedure for offshore monopile structures by taking into account the effect of residual stresses. A welded mock-up, 90 mm thick, 2600 mm wide and 800 mm long plate, was fabricated using a typical double-V welding procedure following current industrial practice. The contour method of residual stress measurement was employed to map residual stresses in the welded mock-up as well as in the CT specimens extracted from the weld region of the plate for future fatigue tests. Residual stress measurement results show that the mock-up plate contained tensile residual stresses above yield in the core of the weld, while the extracted CT specimens had lower though still significant residual stress levels. These results indicate that if the initial residual stresses are not carefully considered during fatigue or corrosion cracking tests, the results from the CT specimens alone will likely result in misleading structural life estimations.


Author(s):  
Xavier Ficquet ◽  
Karim Serasli ◽  
Ed J. Kingston

Optimising the structural integrity of an oil and gas pipeline is hugely important for its productivity and hence profitability. The structural integrity of a pipeline is influenced by factors such as: stress (i.e. applied and residual), material properties, environment, and the size and orientation of contained flaws. For example, whilst in operation, the integrity of a pipeline can be extended by reducing its applied stresses e.g. the flow and pressure of the oil and gas running within. Prior to operation however the integrity of the pipeline can easily be extended by reducing the residual stresses generated during installation or even “negatively pre-loading” the pipeline using residual stresses to help cancel out some of the applied stresses. Therefore understanding the distribution of residual stresses within a pipeline can be of great benefit to Oil and Gas engineers. In this paper, complementary residual stress measurement techniques are used to obtain near surface and through-thickness residual stress distributions in a fully circumferential butt welded pipe. The deep hole drilling (DHD) method was used to obtain the axial and hoop residual stresses along radial lines through the pipe wall. Near surface measurements on the outer surface of the pipe were obtained using the incremental centre-hole drilling (ICHD) method. The measurements were made only at limited points in and adjacent to the circumferential weld. In order to estimate the complete residual stress field present in the pipe, a mapping procedure utilising a finite element (FE) method was implemented. This entailed introducing the measured residual stresses into a FE model of the pipe as an initial condition and allowing redistribution. Naturally, the stresses at the measurement locations should remain at their initial values. Consequently, the method was developed to allow redistribution while retaining the measured values. The paper provides these estimates of the full residual stress state present in the pipe based on this mapping procedure. The FE model was then used to simulate the influence of various sizes of flaw on the mapped residual stresses field. An assessment of the acceptability of areas of loss of the wall thickness in internally pressurised pressure vessels was then performed.


Author(s):  
Karim Serasli ◽  
Remi Romac ◽  
Douglas Cave

Girth welded pipes such as those located offshore on platforms in the North Sea are subjected to highly corrosive environment. The need to consider welding residual stresses in the assessment of the fitness for service and damages to these pipes when investigating local corrosion damages across a welded region is therefore important for the operators of the platforms and the manufacturers of the pipes. This paper presents a review of work carried out to ascertain the welding residual stresses present within a thin-walled girth welded pipe mock-up made from steel API 5LX Grade 52. The mock-up was manufactured to replicate typical pipes used to convey gas, oil and water through the platforms. The mock-up was of diameter 762mm and of thickness 19mm. The incremental deep hole drilling (iDHD) technique and the contour method were applied to characterize the residual stresses in the weld and heat affected zone of the specimen. The results of these measurements are presented and compared to highlight agreements and discrepancies in the measured residual stress distributions using these different techniques. Most residual stress measurement methods are limited in terms of their stress and spatial resolution, the number of measurable stress tensor components and their quantifiable measurement uncertainty. In contrast, finite element simulations of welding processes provide full field distributions of residual stresses, with results dependent on the quality of the input conditions available. As measurements and predictions are not often the same, the true residual stress state is therefore difficult to determine. In this paper, through-thickness residual stress measurements are made using the contour and iDHD methods and these residual stresses measured using the iDHD technique are then used as input to a residual stress mapping technique provided within a finite element analysis to reconstruct the residual stress field in the whole specimen. The technique is applied iteratively to converge to a balanced solution which is not necessarily unique. The solution can then be reused for further simulations and residual stress analyses, such as corrosion simulation. Results of the reconstruction are presented here.


2011 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 291-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayeed Hossain ◽  
Ed J. Kingston ◽  
Christopher E. Truman ◽  
David John Smith

The main objective of the present study is to validate a simple over-coring deep-hole drilling (oDHD) residual stress measurement technique by utilising finite element simulations of the technique. A number of three dimensional (3D) finite element analyses (FEA) were carried out to explore the influence of material removal and the cutting sequence during the deep-hole drilling (DHD) residual stress measurement process on the initial residual stress field. Two models were considered in the study. First, the residual stress field predicted in a rapid spray water quenched solid cylinder was used as the initial stress field for the DHD FE model. The DHD reconstructed residual stresses were compared with the initial FE predicted stresses. Different cutting sequences and different dimensions were systematically simulated before arriving at an optimum solution for the oDHD technique. The oDHD technique significantly improved the spatial resolution and was applied in a second model consisting of a 40mm thick butt-welded pipe. The DHD reconstructed residual stresses compared very well with the initial FE predicted weld residual stress thereby validating the oDHD technique.


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