A Micromechanics Approach for Assessing the Applicability of Precracked Charpy Specimens to Determine the T0 Reference Temperature

Author(s):  
Rafael G. Savioli ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work describes an application of a micromechanics model for cleavage fracture to determine the reference temperature for pressure vessel steels from precracked Charpy (PCVN) specimens. A central objective is evaluate the effectiveness of the Weibull stress (σw) model to correct effects of constraint loss in PCVN specimens which serve to determine the indexing temperature T0 based on the Master Curve methodology. Fracture toughness testing conducted on an A285 Grade C pressure vessel steel provides the cleavage fracture resistance data needed to estimate T0. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for 3-D models of plane-sided SE(B) and PCVN specimens provide the evolution of near-tip stress field with increased macroscopic load (in terms of the J-integral) to define the relationship between σw and J from which the variation of fracture toughness across different crack configurations is predicted. For the tested material, the Weibull stress methodology yields estimates for the reference temperature, T0, from small fracture specimens which are in good agreement with the corresponding estimates derived from testing of much larger crack configurations.

Author(s):  
Claudio Ruggieri ◽  
Andrey P. Jivkov

Abstract This work describes a local approach to cleavage fracture (LAF) incorporating the statistics of microcracks to characterize the cleavage fracture toughness distribution in structural steels. Fracture toughness testing conducted on standard compact tension C(T) specimens for a 22NiMoCr37 pressure vessel steel provides the cleavage fracture resistance data needed to determine the measured toughness distribution. Metallographic examination of etched surfaces for the tested steel also provides the distribution of carbides, which are assumed as the Griffith fracture-initiating particles, dispersed in the material from which the cleavage fracture toughness distribution is predicted. Overall, the analyses conducted in the present work show that LAFs incorporating the statistics of microcracks are a viable engineering procedure to describe the dependence of fracture toughness on temperature in the DBT region for ferritic steels.


2006 ◽  
Vol 324-325 ◽  
pp. 283-286
Author(s):  
Xiao Sheng Gao ◽  
Gui Hua Zhang ◽  
T.S. Srivatsan

This paper presents a modified Weibull stress model, which accounts for the effects of plastic strain and stress triaxiality at the crack tip region. The proposed model is applied to predict cleavage fracture in a modified A508 pressure vessel steel. It is demonstrated that the Weibull modulus (m) remains constant in the temperature range considered, while the threshold Weibull stress (σw-min) decreases with an increase in temperature due to reduction of the yield stress and the scale parameter of the Weibull model (σu) increases with temperature reflecting the influences of temperature on both material flow properties and toughness. The proposed model accurately predicts the scatter of the measured fracture toughness data and the strong effects of constraint and temperature on cleavage fracture toughness.


Author(s):  
Claudio Ruggieri ◽  
Robert H. Dodds

This work describes a micromechanics methodology based upon a local failure criterion incorporating the strong effects of plastic strain on cleavage fracture coupled with statistics of microcracks. A central objective is to gain some understanding on the role of plastic strain on cleavage fracture by means of a probabilistic fracture parameter and how it contributes to the cleavage failure probability. A parameter analysis is conducted to assess the general effects of plastic strain on fracture toughness correlations for conventional SE(B) specimens with varying crack size over specimen width ratios. Another objetive is to evaluate the effectiveness of the modified Weibull stress (σ̃w) model to correct effects of constraint loss in PCVN specimens which serve to determine the indexing temperature, T0, based on the Master Curve methodology. Fracture toughness testing conducted on an A285 Grade C pressure vessel steel provides the cleavage fracture resistance (Jc) data needed to estimate T0. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for 3-D models of plane-sided SE(B) and PCVN specimens provide the evolution of near-tip stress field with increased macroscopic load (in terms of the J-integral) to define the relationship between σ̃w and J. For the tested material, the Weibull stress methodology yields estimates for the reference temperature, T0, from small fracture specimens which are in good agreement with the corresponding estimates derived from testing of much larger crack configurations.


Author(s):  
Diego F. B. Sarzosa ◽  
Rafael Savioli ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri ◽  
Andrey Jivkov ◽  
Jack Beswick

This work presents recent improvements in the micromechanical failure criterion based on the Weibull stress (σw) concept for prediction of cleavage fracture in ferritic steels. The model is applied in SE(B) specimens extracted from an ASTM A533 pressure vessel steel having different levels of stress triaxiality at the crack tip. Nonlinear 3D finite element models with dimensions matching the tested specimens were built to provide the necessary crack tip stresses at the fracture process zone for calculation of the σw-J evolution from wich the variation of characteristic toughness values (J0) between different cracked geometries can be estimated. Application of this methodology for the material used at this study is able to predict J0 for SE(B) specimens with very shallow crack size ratio a/W = 0.05, short crack a/W = 0.2 and deep crack a/W = 0.4. The reported fracture toughness values for specimens having very shallow crack size ratio is an additional contribution of this study.


2014 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael G. Savioli ◽  
Claudio Ruggieri

This work addresses an experimental investigation on the cleavage fracture behavior of an ASTM A285 Grade C pressure vessel steel. One purpose of this study is to enlarge previously reported work on mechanical and fracture properties for this class of steel to provide a more definite database for use in structural and defect analyses of pressurized components, including pressure vessels and storage tanks. Another purpose is to determine the reference temperature, T0, derived from the Master curve methodology which defines the dependence of fracture toughness with temperature for the tested material. Fracture toughness testing conducted on single edge bend SE(B) specimens in three-point loading extracted from an A285 Grade C pressure vessel steel plate provides the cleavage fracture resistance data in terms of the J-integral and crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) at cleavage instability, Jc and δc. Additional tensile and conventional Charpy tests produce further experimental data which serve to characterize the mechanical behavior of the tested pressure vessel steel. The experimental results reveal a strong effect of specimen geometry on Jc and δc-values associated with large scatter in the measured values of cleavage fracture toughness. Overall, the present investigation, when taken together with previous studies, provides a fairly extensive body of experimental results which describe in detail the fracture behavior of an ASTM A285 Grade C pressure vessel steel.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1224
Author(s):  
Maria S. Yankova ◽  
Andrey P. Jivkov ◽  
Rajesh Patel

Ductile-to-brittle-transition refers to observable change in fracture mode with decreasing temperature—from slow ductile crack growth to rapid cleavage. It is exhibited by body-centred cubic metals and presents a challenge for integrity assessment of structural components made of such metals. Local approaches to cleavage fracture, based on Weibull stress as a cleavage crack-driving force, have been shown to predict fracture toughness at very low temperatures. However, they are ineffective in the transition regime without the recalibration of Weibull stress parameters, which requires further testing and thus diminishes their predictive capability. We propose new Weibull stress formulation with thinning function based on obstacle hardening model, which modifies the number of cleavage-initiating features with temperature. Our model is implemented as a post-processor of finite element analysis results. It is applied to analyses of standard compact tension specimens of typical reactor pressure vessel steel, for which deformation and fracture toughness properties in the transition regime are available. It is shown that the new Weibull stress is independent of temperature, and of Weibull shape parameter, within the experimental error. It accurately predicts the fracture toughness at any temperature in the transition regime without relying upon empirical fits for the first time.


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