Estimation Procedures for J and CTOD Fracture Parameters Experimental Evaluation Using Homogeneous and Mismatched Pin-Loaded SE(T) Specimens

Author(s):  
Gabriel P. de Oliveira ◽  
Gustavo H. B. Donato

Experimental evaluation of geometry-dependent material’s fracture resistance using constraint-designed SE(T) specimens has proved to be an accurate option to assess the structural integrity of pipelines and pressure vessels reducing excessive conservatism. In this context, this work presents procedures for experimental J-integral and CTOD (δ) evaluation using the eta (η) method applied to tension pin-loaded SE(T) specimens made of homogeneous materials and also containing mismatched joints. Initially, the conceptual background is presented, followed by the description of the refined non-linear finite element models developed, which provide the necessary evolution of load with increased load-line and crack mouth opening displacement. As results, are presented η factors for J-integral estimation and CTOD calculations, which are not available in current standardized procedures. The main objective is to allow fracture resistance experimental evaluation using specimens of different a/W-ratios, material flow properties, weld joint configurations and levels of weld strength mismatch. The main motivation is the possibility of enhancing accuracy of pressure vessels and piping integrity assessments, since these later present very close fracture conditions if compared to SE(T) specimens. The present results, when taken together with previous developments, extend the knowledge about the use of pin-loaded SE(T) specimens. The reader should enhance the studies about the topic with the complimentary paper with the same title beginning but involving clamped SE(T) specimens.

Author(s):  
Felipe C. Moreira ◽  
Gustavo H. B. Donato

Experimental evaluation of geometry-dependent material’s fracture resistance using constraint-designed SE(T) specimens has proved to be an accurate option to assess the structural integrity of pipelines and pressure vessels reducing excessive conservatism. In this context, this work presents procedures for experimental J-integral and CTOD (δ) evaluation using the eta (η) method applied to tension clamped SE(T) specimens made of homogeneous materials and also containing mismatched joints. Initially, the conceptual background is presented, followed by the description of the refined non-linear finite element models developed, which provide the necessary evolution of load with increased load-line displacement and crack mouth opening displacement. As results, are presented a variety of η factors for J -integral and CTOD calculations, which are not available in current standardized procedures. The main objective is to allow fracture resistance experimental evaluation using specimens of different a/W-ratios, material flow properties, weld joint configurations and levels of weld strength mismatch. The main motivation is the possibility of enhancing accuracy of pressure vessels and piping integrity assessments, since these later present very close fracture conditions if compared to SE(T) specimens. The present results, when taken together with previous developments, extend the knowledge about the use of clamped SE(T) specimens. The reader should enhance the studies about the topic with the complimentary paper with the same title beginning but involving pin-loaded SE(T) specimens.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 264-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Read ◽  
B. I. Petrovski

The combined effects of weld-strength-mismatch and crack size on strength and ductility were studied experimentally using tensile panels. Two high-strength, low-alloy steel base metals were welded with two different electrodes to produce a specimen matrix which contained one each of undermatched, normal-matched, and overmatched welds and one base metal. Two nominal crack sizes were used in two different locations, the weld center and the heat-affected-zone. The basic observable quantities were the strength and ductility of the tensile panels. Measurements of the applied J-integral were performed by instrumenting a contour on the specimen surface with strain gages. It was demonstrated that cracks reduce weld strength in proportion to their area, but that their effect on ductility can be much larger, far out of proportion to the crack area. Overmatched welds were observed to shield cracks from plastic strains when the cracks had a relative area of about 2.5 percent of the cross section; but this effect was lost for cracks with a relative area of 12.6 percent. The J-integral measurements indicated that the differences in behavior among the various weld-strength-mismatch conditions could be explained by the applied J-integral, without the need to invoke differences in fracture resistance. The measured values of fracture resistance, in units of J-integral and crack-mouth-opening-displacement, were comparable for three-point-bend specimens of all the specimen types.


Author(s):  
Gustavo H. B. Donato ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work presents an exploratory development of J and CTOD estimation procedures for welded fracture specimens under bending based upon plastic eta factors and plastic rotation factors. The techniques considered include: i) estimating J and CTOD from plastic work and ii) estimating CTOD from the plastic rotational factor. The primary objective is to gain additional understanding on the effect of weld strength mismatch on estimation techniques to determine J and CTOD fracture parameters for a wide range of a/W-ratios and mismatch levels. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain models of SE(B) fracture specimens with center cracked, square groove welds provide the evolution of load with increased load-line displacement and crack mouth opening displacement which are required for the estimation procedure. The results show that levels of weld strength mismatch within the range ±20% mismatch do not affect significantly J and CTOD estimation expressions applicable to homogeneous materials, particularly for deeply cracked fracture specimens. The present analyses, when taken together with previous studies, provide a fairly extensive body of results which serve to determine parameters J and CTOD for different materials using bend specimens with varying geometries and mismatch levels.


Author(s):  
Xian-Kui Zhu ◽  
Brian N. Leis

Fracture toughness and J-R curves of ductile materials are often measured under the guidance of ASTM standard E1820 using the single specimen technique and the elastic unloading compliance method. For the standard single-edge notched bend [SENB] specimens, the load, load-line displacement (LLD), and crack-mouth opening displacement (CMOD) are required being measured simultaneously. The load-CMOD data are used to determine the crack extension, and the load-LLD data together with the crack extension are used to determine the J-integral values in a J-R curve test. Experiments have indicated that the CMOD measurement is very accurate, but the LLD measurement is difficult and less accurate in a fracture test on the SENB specimen. If the load-CMOD records is used to determine the crack extension and the J-integral values, experimental accuracies for the J-R curve testing would be increased, and the test costs can be reduced. To this end, this paper develops a simple relationship between LLD and CMOD that is used to convert the measured CMOD record to the corresponding LLD data, and then to calculate the J values for a growing crack in a J-R curve test on the SENB specimen using one single specimen technique. The proposed method is then verified by the experimental data of J-R curves for HY80 steel using the SENB specimens and the load-CMOD data only. The results show that the proposed method is more accurate and more cost-effective for the J-R curve testing.


2014 ◽  
Vol 592-594 ◽  
pp. 1160-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Sundaresan ◽  
B. Nageswara Rao

The life expectancy or failure of aerospace pressure vessels is evaluated by the critical stress intensity determined by the crack growth resistance curve of a material. Load versus crack mouth opening displacement data is generated from the Compact Tension specimens made from the weld joints of maraging steel rocket motor segments. The steps involved to generate critical stress intensity factor is explained. A power law is adopted to model the crack extension in terms of stress intensity factor and determine the maximum failure load of weld specimens. Maximum failure loads of CT specimens obtained by test and analysis are presented.


Author(s):  
Timothy S. Weeks ◽  
Jeffrey W. Sowards ◽  
Ross A. Rentz ◽  
David T. Read ◽  
Enrico Lucon

This paper reports an extension of a previous study that compared methods of evaluating J by the crack mouth opening displacement and by surface strain gradients. Here, the surface strain gradients are measured by three-dimensional digital image correlation. The results herein represent a small test matrix that involved evaluation of the J-integral for clamped single-edge notched tensile specimens from API 5L X65 base-metal, weld metal and the adjacent heat affected zone; the J-integral was evaluated by a standardized procedure utilizing the crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) and by the contour integral method on an external surface strain contour. Digital image correlation provides sufficient full-field strain data for use by this method and is considerably more robust than surface-mounted strain gage instrumentation. A series of validity checks are presented that demonstrate that the data are useful and valuable. Experimental determination of the J-integral is not limited to thoroughly analyzed test geometries and may be achieved with limited instrumentation. Furthermore, the method described does not require a determination of crack size nor any instrumentation that requires access to the crack mouth.


Author(s):  
Gustavo H. B. Donato ◽  
Rodrigo Magnabosco ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work presents an exploratory development of J estimation procedures for deep and shallow cracked tension SE(T) specimens based upon plastic eta factors which incorporate the effects of weld strength mismatch. The considered technique includes estimation of J from plastic work. The primary objective is to derive estimation procedures which are applicable to determine J fracture parameters for a wide range of a/W-ratios, material flow properties and different levels of weld strength mismatch using clamped SE(T) specimens of varying geometries. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain models provide the evolution of load with increased load-line displacement and crack mouth opening displacement, which are needed to determine the estimation procedures. Laboratory testing of a welded structural steel using SE(T) specimens provide the data needed to evaluate J evolution for the welded joints based upon the proposed methodology. The crack driving force evolution is compared against the results obtained using plastic eta factors for homogeneous specimens and demonstrates the importance of considering mismatch effects on crack-tip stress fields and fracture parameters. The present analyses, when taken together with previous studies, extend the body of results which serve to determine J integral using tension SE(T) specimens with varying geometries and mismatch levels.


Author(s):  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work investigates application of the η-factor (which bears direct connection with laboratory toughness measurements) on accurate and robust estimates of J for clamped single edge notch tension (SE(T)) specimens made of homogeneous and welded materials using load-displacement records. Very detailed nonlinear finite element analyses for plane-strain models provide the evolution of load with increased load-line displacement and crack mouth opening displacement to define the applied load as a separable function dependent upon crack geometry, material deformation and mismatch level. The procedure enables determining the corresponding separation parameters for each specimen geometry thereby allowing evaluation of factor η derived from a load separation analysis. The study shows that η-factors based on load-displacement records defining the plastic area provide effective and accurate toughness measurements for clamped SE(T) fracture specimens. The analyses also revealed that η-factors for clamped SE(T) fracture specimens based on load-line displacement (LLD) records and plastic area are relatively insensitive to weld strength mismatch. Overall, the present results provide a strong support to use η-based procedures in toughness measurements using clamped SE(T) fracture specimens.


Author(s):  
Sutham Arun ◽  
Andrew H. Sherry ◽  
Mike C. Smith ◽  
Mohammad Sheikh

This paper presents the results of a structural integrity assessment of a large-scale test undertaken as part of the EU programme STYLE on a repair welded pipe containing a circumferential through-thickness crack. The pipe was manufactured from two Esshete 1250 stainless steel pipes joined by a girth weld containing a deep repair. A through-thickness circumferential pre-crack was introduced to the centre of the repair prior to testing in four-point bend. The assessment used a finite element model created in Abaqus, with the weld residual stress introduced by an iterative technique. Linear elastic fracture mechanics was used to evaluate the stress intensity factor KI for the defect and elastic-plastic analyses were performed to characterise the crack driving force J along the crack front. The predicted crack mouth opening displacement as a function of load was compared with the test results and the derived variation in J used to predict crack initiation and growth. The results predicted the global behaviour of the test to within approximately 7% at final load, and the position of maximum crack growth. However, the final extent of crack extension is under-predicted. Reasons for this underprediction are suggested.


Author(s):  
Guowu Shen ◽  
William R. Tyson ◽  
James A. Gianetto ◽  
Dong-Yeob Park

In BS 7448, Part 2, the stress intensity factor, J-integral and crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) equations developed for evaluation of fracture toughness of a homogeneous material using experimentally measured quantities, such as load-load line displacement, are applied to SE(B) specimens with yield-strength-mismatched welds. The accuracy of this procedure was studied by Gordon and Wang using finite element analysis (FEA). Recently, the so-called “η factor” method for J-integral evaluation of SE(T) specimens with weld-center-line-cracked and yield-strength-mismatched welds was studied by Ruggieri using detailed FEA calculations and the load separation method proposed by Paris et al. For application to strain-based design of pipelines, CANMET has developed equations to evaluate J-integral and CTOD resistance curves for clamped SE(T) specimens of homogeneous materials using experimentally measured load and crack-mouth-opening displacement (CMOD) in a single-specimen procedure similar to that in ASTM E1820. In the present study, the accuracy of using these equations for J-integral evaluation of clamped SE(T) specimens with weld-center-line-cracked and strength-mismatched welds was studied. It was found that the errors in J and CTOD using the equations developed for SE(T) specimens of homogenous materials for these strength-mismatched welds are similar to those for SE(B) specimens with the same weld geometry and mismatch level as reported by Gordon and Wang. It was also found that using the higher of the strength of base and weld metals σY (= (σYS+σTS)/2), (i.e. (σY)w for overmatching and (σY)B for undermatching) in converting J to CTOD gives reasonable and conservative CTOD evaluations for specimens with weld-center-line-cracked and yield-strength-mismatched welds.


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