Effects of weld strength heterogeneity on crack driving force in stress and strain based design scenarios

Stijn Hertelé, Noel O'Dowd, Matthias Verstraete, Koen Van Minnebruggen, Wim De Waele

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Weld strength mismatch is a key factor with respect to the assessment of a flawed girth weld. However, it is challenging to assign a single strength mismatch value to girth welds, which are generally heterogeneous in terms of constitutive behavior. The authors have recently developed a method ('homogenization') to account for weld strength property variations in the estimation of crack driving force response and the corresponding tensile limit state. This paper separately validates the approach for stress based and strain based assessments. Whereas homogenization is reliably applicable for stress based assessments, the strain based crack driving force response is highly sensitive to effects of actual heterogeneous weld properties. The sensitivity increases with increased weld width and decreased strain hardening behavior. For strain based design, a more accurate methodology is desirable, and large scale testing and/or advanced numerical modeling remain essential.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProduction Pipelines and Flowlines; Project Management; Facilities Integrity Management; Operations and Maintenance; Pipelining in Northern and Offshore Environments; Strain-Based Design; Standards and Regulations
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Electronic)9780791846131
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Event2014 10th International Pipeline Conference, IPC 2014 - Calgary, Canada
Duration: 29 Sep 20143 Oct 2014

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Biennial International Pipeline Conference, IPC
Volume4

Conference

Conference2014 10th International Pipeline Conference, IPC 2014
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityCalgary
Period29/09/143/10/14

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