Fatigue crack growth behaviour of A5083 series aluminium alloys and their welded joints

We investigated the difference in fatigue behaviour between the aluminium alloys A5083-O and A5083-H321, which are used as structural components in ships and high speed craft. We obtained S–N curves for the base materials and the welded joints made of A5083-O. The relationships between the fatigue crack propagation rates and the stress intensity factor ranges ΔK, ΔK _eff and ΔK _RPG (Toyosada et al. in Int J Fatigue 26(9):983–992, 2004) were determined. Additionally, the evolution of fatigue crack growth for the base materials and the welded joints made of A5083-O was measured. We also carried out numerical simulations of fatigue crack growth for both base metals and their welded joints made of A5083-O. The difference in fatigue crack growth behaviour for each alloy and the validity of the numerical simulations of fatigue crack growth based on the RPG stress criterion (Toyosada et al. 2004) in the base materials and their welded joints was investigated.     

A computational approach for fatigue crack propagation in ship structures under random sequence of clustered loading

The authors have developed a simulation program, CP-System, for multiple cracks propagating in a three-dimensional stiffened panel structure, where through-the-thickness crack propagation is formulated as a two-dimensional in-plane problem, and the crack propagation behavior is simulated by step-by-step finite element analyses. In order to evaluate the fatigue lives of marine structures accurately, it is necessary to take into account the load histories induced by sea waves, which may be composed of a random sequence of certain clustered loads with variable stress range. In the proposed crack growth model, the crack opening and closure behavior is simulated by using the modified strip yielding model, and the effective tensile plastic stress intensity range, ΔK _RP, is calculated by considering the contact of plastic wake along the crack surfaces. The adequacy of the proposed crack growth model is examined by comparison with fatigue tests under non-constant-amplitude loading. The usefulness of the developed method is demonstrated for a ship structural detail under certain simulated load sequences. It is shown that the fatigue crack growth of a ship structure is significantly retarded due to the load interaction effects, so that the conventional method for fatigue life assessment may predict a relatively conservative fatigue life of a structure.     

Review of empirical and semi-empirical Y factor solutions for cracked welded tubular joints

The practical use of fracture mechanics has been established for use on large turbine and electric generator rotor components used in the atomic power generation and the aircraft industry. Application areas in the offshore industry have also been identified. Fracture mechanics is currently used at the design stage of offshore facilities. It provides the basis for fatigue life prediction, steel selection and tolerance setting on allowable weld imperfections. Fracture mechanics is also used during the operational stage of a structure to make important decisions on inspection scheduling and repair strategies and as a tool for establishing limits on operational conditions. Linear elastic fracture mechanics relies on the use of the stress intensity factor concept. The stress intensity factor is a very important fracture mechanics parameter. Therefore, the accuracy of any fracture mechanics model for the prediction of fatigue crack growth in offshore structures for example will depend very much on the accuracy of the stress intensity factor solution used. Several empirical and semi-empirical solutions have been developed over the years with varying degrees of accuracy. This paper presents a review of some of these methods and attempts to assess their accuracy in predicting Y factors for welded tubular joints by comparing predicted results with experimental data obtained from fatigue tests conducted on large scale welded tubular joints. The experimental results were conducted under simulated service conditions, using a jack-up offshore standard load history (JOSH). A comparison between the experimental and predicted results shows that there may be other factors, which influence fatigue crack growth under variable amplitude conditions. Some of these factors have been identified and discussed in this paper.     

具初始裂纹钢桥梁焊接构件疲劳裂纹扩展和疲劳寿命计算

钢桥梁构件因焊接缺陷或者在疲劳应力交互作用下萌生裂纹,钢桥梁构件因存在初始裂纹大大地降低焊接构件的疲劳性能.文中考虑到焊接构件往往会存在初始缺陷,研究了含初始缺陷的桥梁焊接构件的疲劳分析方法.在已有的大量含裂纹构件的疲劳实验工作基础上,结合课题组所做的焊接构件疲劳实验资料,假设初始裂纹焊接构件在疲劳裂纹扩展过程中裂纹形状保持为半椭圆形状;针对桥梁构件实际受力特征,由钢桥梁构件的高周疲劳损伤演化方程入手,考虑初始裂纹条件下裂纹前缘的损伤区的存在及其对裂纹扩展的影响,采用虚拟裂纹扩张方法推导了适用于钢桥梁构件的疲劳裂纹扩展分析的疲劳裂纹扩展率公式,建议了裂纹扩展和疲劳寿命数值计算方法.采用文中的计算方法,研究了已有的钢桥梁结构焊接构件疲劳实验的裂纹扩展过程和疲劳寿命的计算.计算结果表明:裂纹的扩展过程中裂纹的深度和表面半长度之比a/c是一个变化的数值,且在一定的a0/t0条件下,随着a0/c0的增加,循环次数逐渐增大.     

变幅载荷作用下焊接接头疲劳寿命预测方法

船舶与海洋结构物在其服役过程中受到波浪等载荷的交变作用而引起结构的疲劳损伤.检测结果表明船舶及海洋结构的疲劳热点部位大多数是在构件相互连接的焊缝焊趾处.因此,研究典型接头表面裂纹应力强度因子统一计算方法以及变幅载荷作用下表面裂纹扩展规律对船舶与海洋结构物的寿命预测是十分重要的.本文讨论了裂纹闭合及开口比的计算,在Newman有效应力强度因子计算方法的基础上,提出了考虑因素更全面的有效应力强度因子幅计算式以及变幅载荷作用下船舶与海洋结构物典型焊接接头疲劳裂纹扩展寿命预测模型.     

A probabilistic damage tolerance concept for welded joints. Part 1: data base and stochastic modelling

The present paper presents the necessary crack growth statistics and suggests stochastic models for a reliability analysis of the fatigue fracture of welded steel plate joints. The reliability levels are derived from extensive testing with fillet-welded joints for which the entire crack growth history has been measured, not only the final fatigue life. The statistics for the time to reach given crack depths are determined. Fracture-mechanics-derived crack growth curves are fitted to the measured experimental curves and the best fit defines the growth parameters involved for each test specimen. The derived statistics and distribution function for these parameters are used as variables in a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). In addition a Markov model is developed as an alternative stochastic model. It is a Markov chain for which the discrete damage states are related to chosen crack depths in the material. This model works directly with the experimental time statistics. It is a “stochastic bulk approach” not involving any random variables or fracture mechanics modeling. Both models are fitted to the data base and scaled to in-service conditions. Both methods are compared and discussed. The aim is to provide data for the variables used in a MCS and to develop a Markov chain for fast reliability calculation, especially when predicting the most likely influence of numerous future inspections.     

Fatigue analysis of butt welded AH36 steel joints: Thermographic Method and design S–N curve

The traditional methods of fatigue assessment of welded joints have some limitations, and are extremely time consuming. In order to overcome these difficulties, the Thermographic Method (TM), based on thermographic analyses, has been applied to predict the fatigue behaviour of butt welded joints, made of AH36 steel, largely used in shipbuilding. Experimental tests have been carried out to assess the fatigue capability in terms of S–N curves and fatigue limits. The predictions of the fatigue capability obtained resorting to the Thermographic Method show a good agreement with those derived from the traditional procedure. Moreover, the fatigue design recommendations were compared to the experimental data in order to analyse the reliability of the codes.     

Experimental and numerical modelling of ductile crack propagation in large-scale shell structures

This paper presents a combined experimental–numerical procedure for development and calibration of macroscopic crack propagation criteria in large-scale shell structures. A novel experimental set-up is described in which a mode-I crack can be driven 400 mm through a 20(+) mm thick plate under fully plastic and controlled conditions. The test specimen can be deformed either in combined in-plane bending and extension or in pure extension. Experimental results are described for 5 and 10 mm thick aluminium and steel plates. By performing an inverse finite-element analysis of the experimental results where the simulated crack growth is forced to correspond to the experimental observations, empirical criteria for ductile crack propagation emerge very clearly. Using the experiments with edge crack specimens (ECS) in combined in-plane bending and extension, crack propagation criteria are developed for steel and aluminium plates, mainly as curves showing the critical element deformation versus the shell element size. These derived crack propagation criteria are then validated against a separate set of experiments considering centre crack specimens (CCS) which have a different crack-tip constraint. The applicability of the often-used equivalent strain criterion is discussed versus a more rationally based criterion which takes into account the stress tri-axiality. A large-scale grounding experiment is also simulated showing very good agreement with measurements. The performance of the proposed model is in general good and it is believed that the presented results and experimental–numerical calibration procedure can be of use in practical finite-element simulations of collision and grounding events with the use of shell elements. As discussed, the paper provides a clean framework for further development of macroscopic crack propagation criteria in large-scale plate structures.     

Flexural fatigue behavior of butt-welded circular concrete-filled double skin steel tube (CFDST)：Experimental study and numerical modeling

Detailed understandings on the fatigue behavior of the concrete-filled double skin steel tubes (CFDSTs) under multiaxial stress states are essential to promote their applications in marine structures. A systematical investigation consisting both the experimental study and the according numerical modeling has been conducted. Physical tests were carried out to investigate the flexural fatigue behavior of the butt-welded hollow steel tubes (HSTs), concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) and CFDSTs, in which the development of fatigue cracks and the fatigue life were captured. The feasibility of applying the existing S–N curves originally obtained from the HSTs to the constitutive steel tubes within the CFDSTs has been consequently verified. A two-stages simulation method was developed to analyze the full range development of fatigue cracks based on both the damage mechanics and the extended finite element method (XFEM). The influence of the multiaxial stress states on the fatigue behavior for the constitutive steel tubes was studied quantitatively, considering the offshore application scenarios where the steel tubes within the CFDSTs were subjected to larger external hydrostatic pressure or internal transmitted content pressure. The results show that the existence of the infilled concrete can effectively improve the fatigue behavior of the steel tubes. The life prediction models for both the fatigue crack initiation stage and propagation stage have been proposed, where the crack initiation life of the steel tube may reduce by 30% when its stress triaxiality increases from 0.36 to 0.48.     

Remaining fatigue life assessment of corroded mooring chains using crack growth modelling

Failures caused by the combined actions of fatigue, corrosion and wear are important safety concerns for mooring chains used on floating structures in the oil and gas industry. Prediction of remaining corrosion fatigue life based on surface condition could therefore be a useful tool for the continued safe operation of corroded chains. This paper investigates the use of crack growth modelling for estimating the remaining corrosion fatigue life of mooring chains that exhibit significant pitting corrosion damage. A crack growth modelling approach is used to produce remaining fatigue life estimates for a selection of severely pitted mooring chains. Using fatigue crack growth rate test results for grade R4 high strength mooring chain steel, empirical crack growth laws are presented for free corrosion and cathodic protection conditions at load ratio R = 0.1. Two different methods for establishing equivalent cracks from surface scans of corrosion damage are presented. The mooring chains are proof loaded as part of their manufacturing process. Residual stresses introduced during this process have therefore been determined by finite element analysis and accounted for in the fatigue crack growth predictions. One of the equivalent crack models, accounting for the single dominant corrosion pit, provided quite accurate fatigue life predictions when compared with full scale test results.     

复杂载荷作用下潜艇结构疲劳裂纹扩展预报方法

统一疲劳裂纹扩展模型是课题组在McEvily模型基础上提出来的,它将疲劳裂纹扩展的3个扩展区域统一起来,并能解释更多的疲劳试验现象.本文介绍了统一疲劳裂纹扩展模型的基本表达式.将此模型与焊缝焊趾表面裂纹应力强度因子的计算方法结合起来,探讨复杂载荷作用下潜艇结构疲劳裂纹扩展预报方法.将服从Weibull分布的随机载荷系列编排为升序、降序载荷谱及随机载荷谱,预报潜艇锥柱结合壳焊缝焊趾处表面裂纹在3种载荷谱下的疲劳裂纹扩展情况,并分析随机载荷谱下载荷次序效应及初始裂纹尺寸对疲劳裂纹扩展行为的影响.结果表明,载荷次序效应对潜艇结构疲劳寿命的影响很明显,且合理的确定初始裂纹尺寸对潜艇结构的疲劳寿命预报是非常重要的.     

肘板趾端表面裂纹在随机波浪载荷作用下的疲劳扩展预报

肘板趾端是船舶与海洋结构的疲劳热点。文章用三维有限元分析了趾端表面裂纹应力强度因子修正系数的变化规律,并与BS7910推荐的典型节点表面裂纹应力强度因子公式计算结果作了对比,结果表明趾端表面裂纹应力强度因子沿深度方向的放大系数和T型节点相差很小,而表面端点应力强度因子修正系数则当裂纹长度在肘板厚度范围内时和T型节点相差很小,超出后则相差较大。以某客滚船上肘板趾端应力范围长期分布服从Weibull分布,产生系列均值为零的应力幅,应力强度因子分别采用有限元结果和BS7910中T型接头公式进行计算,采用单一曲线模型计算该趾端表面裂纹的裂纹扩展。计算等效应力强度因子幅时,考虑焊接残余应力的影响。计算结果表明以T型接头的公式计算趾端表面裂纹应力强度因子和有限元结果相差很小。建议将T型节点表面裂纹应力强度因子计算公式用于趾端表面裂纹应力强度因子的计算,并采用单一曲线模型对随机波浪载荷下作用下船舶典型节点疲劳裂纹的扩展寿命进行了预报。     

疲劳裂纹扩展模型中表征裂纹闭合水平参数的确定

借助7075-T 6铝合金、6013铝合金以及0.45w t%碳钢的疲劳试验数据,结合上述材料的力学性能参数,通过非线性最小平方拟合方法,研究了表征裂纹闭合水平参数k对疲劳裂纹扩展率的影响。研究结果表明,对于宏观裂纹范围内的疲劳裂纹扩展,参数k只要大于某个值就对疲劳裂纹扩展率无影响;而对于小裂纹阶段的疲劳裂纹扩展,参数k对疲劳裂纹扩展率的影响较明显,因此参数k的大小主要取决于小裂纹扩展数据。依据0.45w t%碳钢疲劳试验数据,相应参数k的建议值为6 000m-1。     

Fatigue life prediction of welded stiffened 350WT steel plates

The propagation of fatigue cracks under constant amplitude cyclic loading was studied in welded stiffened steel plates. The residual stresses in the stiffened plates were measured using the neutron diffraction strain-scanning technique. A finite element model of the stiffened plate was constructed to simulate the residual stresses by an uncoupled thermal and thermo-mechanical analysis. Both the finite element model and the neutron diffraction measurements indicated that in general the residual stresses were tensile near the welded stiffeners and compressive between the stiffeners and ahead of the starter notch tip. Fatigue testing indicated that the fatigue crack growth rates of the stiffened plates were in general lower than that of a corresponding unstiffened plate, especially near the notch tip where compressive residual stresses existed. Both the finite element method and Green's function predicted the fatigue crack growth rates with reasonable accuracy.     

Crack growth direction effects on corrosion-fatigue behaviour of offshore wind turbine steel weldments

In this study corrosion-fatigue tests have been conducted on fracture mechanics specimens extracted from an S355 G10+M structural steel welded plate. The tests have been performed on compact tension specimens with the crack tip located in the heat affected zone. The corrosion-fatigue test results from this study have been compared with the data available on the base metal as well as air tests on the same material. Moreover, the obtained results have been compared with the corrosion-fatigue data available in the literature on a wide range of steels and also the fatigue trends for welded joints in free-corrosion condition recommended in the BS7910 Standard. The effect of the specimen orientation, with respect to the weld region, is also examined in this study and it has been found that higher corrosion-fatigue crack growth rates are generally observed in the tests with 0° orientation. The results have also shown that the corrosive environment has significant effects on the fatigue crack growth acceleration at the beginning of the tests; however, as the crack propagates, the environmental damage effect on crack growth behaviour becomes less pronounced. The results presented in this study are discussed in terms of improvement in the structural integrity assessment of offshore wind turbine monopiles.     

Fatigue resistance of welded steel tubular X-joints

High-cycle fatigue experiments are performed on welded tubular steel X-joints, with braces and chord of equal diameter. They are scaled-down joints, used extensively in offshore wind platforms. Three different welding procedures are considered in specimen fabrication: manual, fully-automatic and manual with HFMI post-weld treatment. Τwo possible locations for crack initiation were identified: chord “crown” and “in-between location”, also verified by numerical calculations and fractography of failed specimens. Monotonic loading tests on fatigue-cracked specimens showed good performance in terms of ultimate strength and deformation capacity, despite the presence of through-thickness cracks. The results are compared with predictions from relevant design standards.     

450MPa级船体钢焊缝疲劳试验研究

通过对450MPa级船体用钢母体试件、焊缝试件在波浪随机载荷和均方根等效载荷下的疲劳裂纹扩展规律的试验和模拟计算，结果表明用均方根等效载荷替代波浪随机载荷下的疲劳裂纹扩展规律是一种安全有效的方法，并且焊缝金属在抵御疲劳裂纹扩展方面优于母材金属。     

基于累积递增塑性变形的船体裂纹板断裂韧性研究

裂纹尖端张开位移（CTOD）是评估结构材料韧性以及分析低周疲劳破坏引起的裂纹扩展的重要参量。文章结合Dugdale模型,以裂纹尖端累积塑性应变为控制参量,提出了一个循环载荷下含裂纹船体板的CTOD计算模型;利用有限元法模拟了裂纹尖端累积塑性应变、平均应力、裂纹长度等相关因素影响;结合最小二乘法拟合出了基于累积塑性应变、平均应力比以及裂纹长度的两阶多项式。文中基于累积塑性应变的CTOD计算模型为正确评估循环载荷下船体板的累积塑性破坏提供了一种新途径。     

循环载荷下考虑累积塑性影响的船体板CTOD理论及数值模拟研究

裂纹尖端张开位移(CTOD)是研究大范围屈服的低周疲劳破坏的重要参数之一,其值可反映结构材料抵抗低周疲劳裂纹形成和扩展的能力,是评估结构材料韧性的重要参量以及分析低周疲劳破坏引起裂纹扩展的主要控制参量。文章基于弹塑性断裂力学理论,从循环J积分着手,以裂纹尖端累积塑性应变为重要参量,建立循环载荷下船体板CTOD理论模型,并在有限元模拟中分析了应力比、应力幅等相关因素影响。将本模型结果与有限元计算结果进行了比较,发现结果吻合良好。结果表明：在考虑累积塑性影响下,该模型能较好地反映在循环载荷下船体板CTOD的变化规律,同时也为正确评估循环载荷下船体板低周疲劳破坏与累积塑性破坏两种破坏模式耦合作用的总体断裂破坏提供了途径。     

Historical review of research on brittle crack propagation arresting technology for large welded steel structures developed in Japan with the application of Kca parameters

In response to the concern of increased risk of brittle fracture accompanying the recent enlargement of container ships, experimental research is being conducted to investigate brittle crack propagation arrest properties in Japan. The objective is to obtain the required toughness of the material to arrest brittle crack propagation in a 100-mm thick plate, which is considered to be the maximum thickness used in such applications. The use of K_ca as a method for determining arrest toughness is a main difference with respect to methodologies employed in Europe and the United States. In this review, we compare the approaches for determining brittle crack propagation arrest properties that are used in Japan with those used in Europe and the United States. Moreover, we review recent research trends, particularly with respect to the background and development of K_ca parameters.With regard to the industrial application techniques concerning arrestability of brittle crack propagation in steel plates, studies in the ship and storage tank research fields date back to after World War II, while some attention is also seen for nuclear power and line pipes. These research procedures were initially established in Europe and the United States, but was first adopted by Japan. However, soon after, Japan and the time when the research fell downward due to progress of steel manufacturing technology and defect management technology. Since then, research has actively resumed, and original contributions are being realised. The background of this work in Japan, and the creation of the K_ca concept will be explained herein. Further, the background of research on brittle crack propagation arrest properties in very large container ships, determination philosophy for deriving demand values, and ultrawide brittle crack propagation tests in the study of 75-mm thick material and their results are described. In both of the scenarios considered, i.e. one in which cracks are generated from the top of the hatch side coaming and arrested on the upper deck, and the other wherein brittle cracks occur at the upper deck end and are arrested in the hatch side coaming, the required K_ca was found to be 6000 N/mm^3/2.