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

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.

Author(s):  
Isabel Hadley

BS 7910, the UK procedure for the assessment of flaws in metallic structures, was first published almost 30 years ago in the form of a fracture/fatigue assessment procedure, PD6493. It provided the basis for analysing fabrication flaws and the need for repair in a rational fashion, rather than relying on long-established (and essentially arbitrary) workmanship rules. The UK offshore industry in particular embraced this new approach to flaw assessment, which is now widely recognised by safety authorities and specifically referred to in certain design codes, including codes for pressure equipment. Since its first publication in 1980, PD6493/BS 7910 has been regularly maintained and expanded, taking in elements of other publications such as the UK power industry’s fracture assessment procedure R6 (in particular the Failure Assessment Diagram approach), the creep assessment procedure PD6539 and the gas transmission industry’s approach to assessment of locally thinned areas in pipelines. The FITNET European thematic network, run between 2002 and 2006, has further advanced the state of the art, bringing in assessment methods from SINTAP (an earlier European research project), R6, R5 and elsewhere. In particular, the FITNET fracture assessment methods represent considerable advances over the current BS 7910 methods; for example, weld strength mismatch can be explicitly analysed by using FITNET Option 2, and crack tip constraint through Option 5. Corrosion assessment methods in FITNET are also more versatile than those of BS 7910, and now include methods for vessels and elbows as well as for pipelines. In view of these recent advances, the BS 7910 committee has decided to incorporate many elements of the FITNET procedure into the next edition of BS 7910, to be published c2012. This paper summarises the history of the development of BS 7910, its relationship with other flaw assessment procedures (in particular FITNET and R6) and its future.


Author(s):  
Isabel Hadley ◽  
Bob Ainsworth ◽  
Peter Budden ◽  
John Sharples

BS 7910, the UK procedure for the assessment of flaws in metallic structures, was first published some 30 years ago in the form of a fracture/fatigue assessment procedure, PD6493. Since then it has been regularly maintained and expanded, taking in elements of other publications such as the UK power industry’s ‘R6’ procedure (in particular the Failure Assessment Diagram or FAD approach), the creep assessment procedure PD6539 and the UK gas transmission industry’s approach to corrosion assessment of locally thinned areas in pipelines. Work is currently underway to prepare another major revision, this time incorporating many elements of the European flaw assessment procedure FITNET. Like its predecessor, the new BS 7910 is intended for use by a range of industry sectors for virtually any type of metallic structure or component. The procedures will cover damage and failure by fatigue crack growth, fracture, creep and corrosion, including Environmentally Assisted Corrosion. The objective in revising the procedures is to support the use of more advanced assessment methods, whilst preserving compatibility with previous editions of BS 7910 and retaining methods for preliminary analyses based on simple, conservative inputs. Features of the new BS 7910 will include adoption of new advanced fracture assessment procedures (taking account of crack tip constraint and weld strength mismatch where appropriate), revision of the residual stress annex, preparation of a new annex covering guidance on NDE, an enhanced library of K-solutions and reference stress solutions and greater compatibility with procedures such as R6 and FITNET.


Author(s):  
A. K. Motarjemi ◽  
M. Koc¸ak

In many critical industries such as nuclear, chemical and petrochemical industries, bi-material components in the form of clad plates are used due to their superior environmental and mechanical properties. During the service life of these bi-material components, cracks or crack-like defects may develop in the clad layer and penetrate into the substrate. The assessment of the integrity of such a cracked as well as complex structure would be an important task. Hence, this study is aimed at applying the recently developed European Structural Integrity Assessment Procedure (SINTAP) to a through thickness centre cracked clad steel wide plate to validate the procedure for this type of bi-material structure. Based on the available input data, various assessment levels as well as two different assessment routes, namely crack driving force (CDF) and failure assessment diagram (FAD), can be used for predicting the failure loads. In principle both routes should provide similar results and this has been verified by having very similar results for both SINTAP routes. Furthermore, the degree of conservatism has been reduced by using higher analysis levels of SINTAP.


Author(s):  
Peter J. Bouchard ◽  
Lyndon Edwards ◽  
Anastasius G. Youtsos ◽  
Roger Dennis

Finite element weld residual stress modelling procedures involve complex non-linear analyses where many assumptions and approximations have to be made by the analyst. Weld modelling guidelines for inclusion in the R6 defect assessment procedure are in preparation and will be accompanied by a series of validation benchmarks that can be used to evaluate the accuracy of weld modelling procedures and assess their suitability for use in fracture assessments. It is intended to base one of the benchmarks on a stainless steel bead-on-plate weldment that has been extensively studied by members of Task Group 1 of the NeT European Network project. This paper uses round robin residual stress measurements from the NeT project to derive a statistically based ‘best estimate’ distribution of transverse stress passing through the wall-section at mid-length of the bead-on-plate weldment. The accuracy of a state-of-the-art residual stress prediction is benchmarked against the best estimate measurements using a root mean square error analysis and comparisons of decomposed components of stress. The appropriateness of using the predicted residual stresses in fracture assessments is assessed by comparing stress intensity factors based on the measured and predicted distributions of stress. The results from these studies will be used to help establish accuracy targets and acceptance criteria for the welding benchmark.


Author(s):  
Kazuya Osakabe ◽  
Koichi Masaki ◽  
Jinya Katsuyama ◽  
Genshichiro Katsumata ◽  
Kunio Onizawa

To assess the structural integrity of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) during pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events, the deterministic fracture mechanics approach prescribed in Japanese code JEAC 4206-2007 [1] has been used in Japan. The structural integrity is judged to be maintained if the stress intensity factor (SIF) at the crack tip during PTS events is smaller than fracture toughness KIc. On the other hand, the application of a probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analysis method for the structural reliability assessment of pressure components has become attractive recently because uncertainties related to influence parameters can be incorporated rationally. A probabilistic approach has already been adopted as the regulation on fracture toughness requirements against PTS events in the U.S. According to the PFM analysis method in the U.S., through-wall cracking frequencies (TWCFs) are estimated taking frequencies of event occurrence and crack arrest after crack initiation into consideration. In this study, in order to identify the conservatism in the current RPV integrity assessment procedure in the code, probabilistic analyses on TWCF have been performed for certain model of RPVs. The result shows that the current assumption in JEAC 4206-2007, that a semi-elliptic axial crack is postulated on the inside surface of RPV wall, is conservative as compared with realistic conditions. Effects of variation of PTS transients on crack initiation frequency and TWCF have been also discussed.


Author(s):  
Michael Sheridan ◽  
David Knowles ◽  
Oliver Montgomery

The R5 volume 2/3 procedures [1] were developed by British Energy (now EDF Energy) to assess the high temperature response of uncracked metallic structures under steady state or cyclic loading. They contain the basic principles of: • Application of reference stress methods • Consideration of elastic follow up • A ductility exhaustion approach to calculate creep damage accumulation. These considerations represent a fundamental distinction from ASME BPVC Section III, Subsection NH [2]. This paper draws on literature review and experience to explain the principal differences in the limits of application, cycle construction and damage calculation between these codes/procedures focusing on creep-fatigue damage determination. The implications of the differences between the codes and standards are explored. The output of this work is aimed at two groups of structural integrity engineers; those using these codes and standards to assess existing conventional and nuclear plant, and also those looking to ASME and R5 to design Generation IV PWRs with design temperatures much elevated from those of Generation III and III+. The conclusions from this paper offer some practical guidance to structural integrity engineers which may assist in selecting the more appropriate procedure to assess creep-fatigue damage for a particular situation.


Author(s):  
Takuyo Kaida ◽  
Shinsuke Sakai

Concern about probabilistic approach for Fitness-For-Service (FFS) assessment has been growing over the last several years. The FFS assessment based on reliability helps to make a rational decision as to whether to run or repair the equipment. High Pressure Institute of Japan (HPI) formed a committee to develop a HPI FFS standard that can be used for pressure equipment with metal loss. This new standard provides an assessment procedure to evaluate structural integrity of components with metal loss based on reliability. This paper introduces the assessment procedure which is standardized and under preparation for publication, and the technical backgrounds. The standard provides information about limit state of pressure equipment, probabilistic properties of basic variables and target reliability. Probabilistic approach can be applied easily to metal loss assessment by using the standard.


2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Andonov ◽  
◽  
Dimitar Stefanov ◽  
Marin Kostov

A direct procedure is proposed for capacity assessment of prestressed concrete containment structures subjected to internal accident loads. The assessment procedure is based on graphical comparison between the structural capacity and the load intensity by plotting both parameters in the same “temperature gradient – overpressure” coordinate system. Furthermore, the capacity in terms of structural integrity and leak tightness is evaluated, corresponding to different limit states or performance levels. A new damage index is proposed in order to correlate the intensity of damages on the containment structure with the load intensity. The criteria for leak tightness and structural integrity are adopted for VVER-1000 containment structure. The ultimate pressure capacity, the failure mode and the capacity corresponding to different performance levels of the containment structure are assessed. The influence of the temperature load on the structure response is also studied. Conclusions are drawn on the VVER-1000 containment vessel overpressure capacity and its response to different design basis and severe accidents. The main failure mode and the critical zones of the structure are also determined.


Author(s):  
Jorge A. Penso ◽  
Patrick Belanger

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.


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