Mitigating Failures in Ferritic-Austenitic Dissimilar Metal Joints in Petrochemical Industry

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge A. Penso ◽  
Patrick Belanger
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Embrittlement ◽  
Petrochemical Industry ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Failure Mechanisms ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Temperature Cycling ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Consensus Methods ◽  
Dissimilar Metal ◽  
Creep Fatigue

There are several failure mechanisms that might affect ferritic-austenitic dissimilar metal welds (DMWs) in petrochemical plants and refineries. Examples are cracking due to creep, stress corrosion cracking (SCC), sulphide SSC, thermal fatigue, brittle fracture, pitting corrosion, and hydrogen embrittlement. Of these, creep, SCC, and hydrogen embrittlement are perhaps of greater interest. Industry has many lessons learned; however, still experiences high consequence failures. This work describes the most common failure mechanisms in dissimilar ferritic-austenitic welds and summarizes a guidance to prepare welding procedures and reduce the likelihood of failures. This guidance is based on a literature review and industry experience. The metallurgical characteristics of the damage observed in both service and laboratory test samples indicate that creep rupture is the dominant failure mode for Dissimilar Metal Welds (DMW) in some high temperature service conditions. However, it has also been observed that temperature cycling contributes significantly to damage and can cause failure even when primary stress levels are relatively low. Therefore, a creep-fatigue assessment procedure is required as part of a remaining life calculation. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2007 Fitness-For-Service standard includes a compendium of consensus methods for reliable assessment of the structural integrity of equipment containing identified flaws or damage. Part 10 of API 579-1 includes a method for protection against failure from creep-fatigue. In the assessment of DMW, a creep-fatigue interaction equation is provided to evaluate damage caused by thermal mismatch, sustained primary stresses, and cyclic secondary loads [Ref.1]. Failures due to hydrogen embrittlement cracking (HEC) mechanisms are not uncommon and are also described in this paper [Ref. 2]. Finally, a case history of a DMW failure in a steam methane furnace, which is common in the petrochemical industry, is described and shown as an example of a failure mitigation approach.

Comparison of Creep-Fatigue Fitness for Service Assessment Methods for Ferritic-Austenitic Dissimilar Welds

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge A. Penso ◽  
Radwan Hazime ◽  
Stephen Nungesser ◽  
Avraham Benatar
Keyword(s):  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Temperature Cycling ◽  
Material Behavior ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Nonlinear Material ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Consensus Methods ◽  
Creep Failure ◽  
Creep Fatigue

The metallurgical characteristics of the damage observed in both service and laboratory test samples indicate that creep rupture is the dominant failure mode for Dissimilar Metal Welds (DMW) in some high temperature service conditions. However, it has also been observed that temperature cycling contributes significantly to damage and can cause failure even when primary stress levels are relatively low. Therefore, a creep-fatigue assessment procedure is required as part of a remaining life calculation. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2007 Fitness-For-Service standard includes a compendium of consensus methods for reliable assessment of the structural integrity of equipment containing identified flaws or damage. Part 10 of this document includes a method for protection against failure from creep-fatigue. In the assessment of DMW, a creep-fatigue interaction equation is provided to evaluate damage caused by thermal mismatch, sustained primary stresses, and cyclic secondary loads. In this work, alternative methods based on the ductility exhaustion with creep-fatigue interaction R5 V2/3 and R5 V6 are compared to the API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 standard method. The validity of an elastic FEA with linear material behavior is evaluated based on comparing results from FEA with nonlinear material behavior. A 2.25Cr 1Mo to SS 347 dissimilar joint welded with alloy 625 in a hydroprocessing heat exchanger nozzle joint was selected for the analysis. A Finite Element (FEA) model is used to estimate the sustained and cyclic primary and secondary stresses and strains for this weld. The model includes details of the geometry, material properties, boundary conditions, and loads. The results from the FEA are post-processed using the fatigue methods described above. Lastly, a sensitivity study based on operating temperature is performed. The results of this work indicate that the predictions of the number of cycles and time in service to crack initiation and creep failure are not significantly different between various methods. However, the results of the R5 V2/3 method using linear elastic FEA become invalid at higher temperatures because of significant stress redistribution. The temperature sensitivity analysis clearly showed that the life of the weld is strongly influenced by the service temperature for this type of joint.

Structural Integrity Assessment of Weldments at High Temperature: A Proposed New Approach for R5

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. G. Smith ◽  
D. W. Dean ◽  
M. P. O’Donnell
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Fatigue Damage ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Fatigue Crack Initiation ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Integrity Assessment ◽  
Creep Fatigue ◽  
Match Effect

The majority of problems associated with the structural integrity of components, particularly those operating at high temperature, are associated with welds. The R5 procedures provide a comprehensive methodology for the assessment of structures operating within the high temperature creep regime. This includes advice on the modifications required to the basic procedure to account for weldments in creep-fatigue crack initiation assessments. The current approach is based on the use of a Fatigue Strength Reduction Factor (FSRF) which has a value according to the particular class of welded joint. The FSRF affects the calculation of creep and fatigue damage. However, the current approach can be excessively conservative for as-welded weldments which are the main type of weldments in plant. This paper outlines the proposed changes to R5, which seek to achieve the following objectives: • to simplify and clarify the current advice for creep-fatigue initiation assessments of weldments, whilst maintaining a conservative assessment procedure; • to have a robust procedure which can be applied to complex components and loading conditions. The new approach separates the FSRF into two components which are as follows: • the geometric strain enhancement due to the weldment geometry (if applicable) and the material mis-match effect between parent material and weld metal, which is called the Weld Strain Enhancement Factor (WSEF), and • the fatigue endurance reduction effect due to the presence of small imperfections (e.g. inclusions, porosity, etc.) in the weldment constituent materials, which is called the Weld Endurance Reduction (WER). The WSEF is used to determine the stress at the start of a dwell or hold period and, because it has a lower value than the FSRF (due to the removal of the WER), results in less conservative calculations of creep damage compared to the current procedure, which uses the full FSRF. For fatigue damage predictions, the modified route is broadly similar to the current route, since the combination of the WER and the WSEF in the modified route corresponds to the FSRF used in the current route. Assessments to demonstrate the improved endurance predictions using the proposed new approach have been performed on several creep-fatigue weldment features tests and examples are provided in this paper.

scholarly journals Characterization of Mechanical Heterogeneity in Dissimilar Metal Welded Joints

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4145
Author(s):  
He Xue ◽  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Shuai Wang ◽  
Jinxuan He ◽  
Hongliang Yang
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Welded Joints ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Material Interfaces ◽  
Mechanical Heterogeneity ◽  
Finite Element Software ◽  
Dissimilar Metal ◽  
Stress Changes

Dissimilar metal welded joints (DMWJs) possess significant localized mechanical heterogeneity. Using finite element software ABAQUS with the User-defined Material (UMAT) subroutine, this study proposed a constitutive equation that may be used to express the heterogeneous mechanical properties of the heat-affected and fusion zones at the interfaces in DMWJs. By eliminating sudden stress changes at the material interfaces, the proposed approach provides a more realistic and accurate characterization of the mechanical heterogeneity in the local regions of DMWJs than existing methods. As such, the proposed approach enables the structural integrity of DMWJs to be analyzed in greater detail.

Fracture Assessment of Flaws in Weldments using FITNET FFS Procedure: An Overview

2007 ◽  
Vol 345-346 ◽  
pp. 401-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Koçak ◽  
Stephen Webster ◽  
Isabel Hadley
Keyword(s):  
European Community ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Metallic Structures ◽  
Fracture Assessment ◽  
Basic Equations ◽  
Network Project

Recently a European community funded thematic network project (participation of 17 countries) FITNET (www.eurofitnet.org) has completed a new and unified engineering assessment procedure (FITNET FFS Procedure) of flaws in metallic structures and welds. This newly developed procedure (under CEN Workshop Agreement WA22) provides assessment rules for flaws or damage due to fracture, fatigue, creep and corrosion to demonstrate the structural integrity of the component. This paper gives an overview of the FITNET Fitness-for-Service (FFS) Procedure and specifically presents the features and basic equations of the Fracture Module. It also presents two brief examples for the validation of the procedure using laser welded specimens.

scholarly journals Physical modelling of failure in composites

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2071) ◽  
pp. 20150280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Talreja
Keyword(s):  
Composite Materials ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Failure Mechanisms ◽  
Local Stress ◽  
Physical Modelling ◽  
Stress Fields ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Composite Failure ◽  
Failure Theories

Structural integrity of composite materials is governed by failure mechanisms that initiate at the scale of the microstructure. The local stress fields evolve with the progression of the failure mechanisms. Within the full span from initiation to criticality of the failure mechanisms, the governing length scales in a fibre-reinforced composite change from the fibre size to the characteristic fibre-architecture sizes, and eventually to a structural size, depending on the composite configuration and structural geometry as well as the imposed loading environment. Thus, a physical modelling of failure in composites must necessarily be of multi-scale nature, although not always with the same hierarchy for each failure mode. With this background, the paper examines the currently available main composite failure theories to assess their ability to capture the essential features of failure. A case is made for an alternative in the form of physical modelling and its skeleton is constructed based on physical observations and systematic analysis of the basic failure modes and associated stress fields and energy balances. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Multiscale modelling of the structural integrity of composite materials’.

Creep-Fatigue Interaction Effects On Pressure-Reducing Valve Under Cyclic Thermo-Mechanical Loadings Using Direct Cyclic Method

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nak-Kyun Cho ◽  
Youngjae Choi ◽  
Haofeng Chen
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Fatigue Failure ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Critical Loading ◽  
Creep Fatigue ◽  
Pressure Reducing Valve

Abstract Supercritical boiler system has been widely used to increase efficiency of electricity generation in power plant industries. However, the supercritical operating condition can seriously affect structural integrity of power plant components due to high temperature that causes degradation of material properties. Pressure reducing valve is an important component being employed within a main steam line of the supercritical boiler, which occasionally thermal-fatigue failure being reported. This research has investigated creep-cyclic plastic behaviour of the pressure reducing valve under combined thermo-mechanical loading using a numerical direct method known as extended Direct Steady Cyclic Analysis of the Linear Matching Method Framework (LMM eDSCA). Finite element model of the pressure-reducing valve is created based on a practical valve dimension and temperature-dependent material properties are applied for the numerical analysis. The simulation results demonstrate a critical loading component that attributes creep-fatigue failure of the valve. Parametric studies confirm the effects of magnitude of the critical loading component on creep deformation and total deformation per loading cycle. With these comprehensive numerical results, this research provides engineer with an insight into the failure mechanism of the pressure-reducing valve at high temperature.

Structural Integrity Code and Regulatory Issues in the Design of High Temperature Reactors

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. O’Donnell ◽  
Amy B. Hull ◽  
Shah Malik
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Elevated Temperature ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Cyclic Creep ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Creep Fatigue ◽  
Asme Code ◽  
High Temperature Reactors ◽  
Gen Iv ◽  
Very High

Since the 1980s, the ASME Code has made numerous improvements in elevated-temperature structural integrity technology. These advances have been incorporated into Section II, Section VIII, Code Cases, and particularly Subsection NH of Section III of the Code, “Components in Elevated Temperature Service.” The current need for designs for very high temperature and for Gen IV systems requires the extension of operating temperatures from about 1400°F (760°C) to about 1742°F (950°C) where creep effects limit structural integrity, safe allowable operating conditions, and design life. Materials that are more creep and corrosive resistant are needed for these higher operating temperatures. Material models are required for cyclic design analyses. Allowable strains, creep fatigue and creep rupture interaction evaluation methods are needed to provide assurance of structural integrity for such very high temperature applications. Current ASME Section III design criteria for lower operating temperature reactors are intended to prevent through-wall cracking and leaking and corresponding criteria are needed for high temperature reactors. Subsection NH of Section III was originally developed to provide structural design criteria and limits for elevated-temperature design of Liquid-Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) systems and some gas-cooled systems. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and its Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) reviewed the design limits and procedures in the process of reviewing the Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR) for a construction permit in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and identified issues that needed resolution. In the years since then, the NRC, DOE and various contractors have evaluated the applicability of the ASME Code and Code Cases to high-temperature reactor designs such as the VHTGRs, and identified issues that need to be resolved to provide a regulatory basis for licensing. The design lifetime of Gen IV Reactors is expected to be 60 years. Additional materials including Alloy 617 and Hastelloy X need to be fully characterized. Environmental degradation effects, especially impure helium and those noted herein, need to be adequately considered. Since cyclic finite element creep analyses will be used to quantify creep rupture, creep fatigue, creep ratcheting and strain accumulations, creep behavior models and constitutive relations are needed for cyclic creep loading. Such strain- and time-hardening models must account for the interaction between the time-independent and time-dependent material response. This paper describes the evolving structural integrity evaluation approach for high temperature reactors. Evaluation methods are discussed, including simplified analysis methods, detailed analyses of localized areas, and validation needs. Regulatory issues including weldment cracking, notch weakening, creep fatigue/creep rupture damage interactions, and materials property representations for cyclic creep behavior are also covered.

scholarly journals Bridge Deck Load Testing Using Sensors and Optical Survey Equipment

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubo Cai ◽  
Osama Abudayyeh ◽  
Ikhlas Abdel-Qader ◽  
Upul Attanayake ◽  
Joseph Barbera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensor Network ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Structural Response ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Load Test ◽  
Load Testing ◽  
Deck Panels ◽  
Test Study ◽  
Deflection Analysis

Bridges are under various loads and environmental impacts that cause them to lose their structural integrity. A significant number of bridges in US are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, requiring immediate attention. Nondestructive load testing is an effective approach to measure the structural response of a bridge under various loading conditions and to determine its structural integrity. This paper presents a load-test study that evaluated the response of a prefabricated bridge with full-depth precast deck panels in Michigan. This load-test program integrates optical surveying systems, a sensor network embedded in bridge decks, and surface deflection analysis. Its major contribution lies in the exploration of an embedded sensor network that was installed initially for long-term bridge monitoring in bridge load testing. Among a number of lessons learned, it is concluded that embedded sensor network has a great potential of providing an efficient and accurate approach for obtaining real-time equivalent static stresses under varying loading scenarios.

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