Alloy 718 Subsea Bolt in Relation to Surface Cracking: A Microstructural Perspective

The brittle fracture mode close to the surface of Inconel 718 subsea bolts is closely related to their nanostructure. When the bolts are used subsea under cathodic protection, hydrogen evolves. Intergranular precipitates and points of intersection of slip lines always held responsible for hydrogen enhanced decohesion. However, thus far, little attention has been paid to the bolts manufacturing method and to the characterization of the role of subsurface oversized nanoprecipitates on transgranular surface cracking. As-received subsea bolts were analyzed using multi-scale observation techniques such as focused ion beam milling, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and in-air strain rate tensile tests. The results further demonstrated that under identical API aging, there was a difference in the morphological precipitation and strength of 718 as a bolt and rectangular billet. For the 718 rectangular billets, discrete intergranular stable δ/MC carbides precipitate and only γ' of 10 - 20 nm was observed for the bulk and subsurface. Whereas, for the CRA subsea bolt, γ' was approximately 30 nm, γ" was 30 - 50 nm for the bulk (370 HV);γ' was approximately 50 nm and γ" was 50 - 100 nm at subsurface (400 HV). As-received subsea bolts were investigated at subsurface (10 μm from the surface) at the thread and shank region, which revealed transgranular sheared oversized ~50 nm γ' (with dislocation networks) and metastable γ" > 100 nm particles, respectively. Thus, an effort was made to develop the hydrogen-assisted surface cracking theory for bolts.

Influence of surface cracking,anchor head profile,and anchor head size on cast-in headed anchors in geopolymer concrete

In this study,the concrete cone capacity,concrete cone angle,and load–displacement response of cast-in headed anchors in geopolymer concrete are explored using numerical analyses.The concrete damaged plasticity(CDP)model in ABAQUS is used to simulate the behavior of concrete substrates.The tensile behavior of anchors in geopolymer concrete is compared with that in normal concrete as well as that predicted by the linear fracture mechanics(LFM)and concrete capacity design(CCD)models.The results show that the capacity of the anchors in geopolymer concrete is 30%–40%lower than that in normal concrete.The results also indicate that the CCD model overestimates the capacity of the anchors in geopolymer concrete,whereas the LFM model provides a much more conservative prediction.The extent of the difference between the predictions by the numerical analysis and those of the above prediction models depends on the effective embedment depth of the anchor and the anchor head size.The influence of concrete surface cracking on the capacity of the anchor is shown to depend on the location of the crack and the effective embedment depth.The influence of the anchor head profile on the tensile capacity of the anchors is found to be insignificant.

Coupling control on pillar stress concentration and surface cracks in shallow multi-seam mining

In order to ensure safe mining and reduce surface damage in shallow multi-seam mining,the failure characteristics of interburden strata with different coal pillars offset distances between pillars in the upper and lower seams,the distribution characteristics of stress concentration in coal pillars,and the development characteristics of stratum cracks and subsidence were investigated by physical and UDEC2D simulation.Meanwhile,the effect of different coal pillar offset distances on stress concentration of coal pillar and development of stratum cracks were studied.Based on those results,a formula for safe mining and reducing surface damage was established,which provided a theoretical basis for safe and environmentally friendly mining in shallow multi-seam.According to the results,the optimal coal pillar offset distance(the side to side horizontal distance of the upper and lower coal pillars)between the upper and lower coal seams was developed to reduce the stress concentration of coal pillars and surface damage.The results of this study have been applied in Ningtiaota coal mine and have achieved good results in safe and environmentally friendly mining.

Selection of Judging Indicators for Surface Morphology of Soil Crack under Different Development Degrees in Yuanmou Arid-Hot Valley Region

Quantification of complicated surface morphology of soil crack is a prerequisite and key to soil crack study. This paper takes soil crack quads in Yuanmou arid-hot valley region as examples, selecting several morphological indicators, and analyzes the soil crack＇s morphological features under various development degrees. By statistic analysis, three quantitative indicators for surface morphology are selected, namely soil crack area density, area weighted mean fractal dimension and connectivity index R, which can not only express the development intensity of soil cracks, but also effectively describe its morphological complexity and connectivity. The research results set a good base for the establishment of soil crack assessment system in Yuanmou arid-hot valley region.

Fractal characteristics of surface crack evolution in the process of gas-containing coal extrusion

In this paper, simulated experiment device of coal and gas outburst was employed to perform the experiment on gas-containing coal extrusion. In the experiment, coal surface cracks were observed with a high-speed camera and then the images were processed by sketch. Based on the above description, the paper studied the fractal dimension values from different positions of coal surface as well as their changing laws with time. The results show that there is a growing parabola trend of crack dimension value in the process of coal extrusion. Accordingly, we drew the conclusion that extruded coal crack evolution is a process of fractal dimension value increase. On the basis of fractal dimension values taken from different parts of coal masses, a fractal dimension of the contour map was drawn. Thus, it is clear that the contour map involves different crack fractal dimension values from different positions. To be specific, where there are complicated force and violent movement in coal mass, there are higher fractal dimension values, i.e., the further the middle of observation surface is from the exit of coal mass, and the lower the fractal dimension value is. In line with fractal geometry and energy theory of coal and gas outburst, this study presents the relation between fractal dimension and energy in the process of extruding. In conclusion, the evolution of crack fractal dimension value can signify that of energy, which has laid a solid foundation for the quantification research on the mechanism of gas-containing coal extrusion.

Quantitative assessment of the surface crack density in thermal barrier coatings

In this paper, a modified shear-lag model is developed to calculate the surface crack density in thermal barrier coatings（TBCs）. The mechanical properties of TBCs are also measured to quantitatively assess their surface crack density. Acoustic emission（AE） and digital image correlation methods are applied to monitor the surface cracking in TBCs under tensile loading. The results show that the calculated surface crack density from the modified model is in agreement with that obtained from experiments. The surface cracking process of TBCs can be discriminated by their AE characteristics and strain evolution. Based on the correlation of energy released from cracking and its corresponding AE signals, a linear relationship is built up between the surface crack density and AE parameters, with the slope being dependent on the mechanical properties of TBCs.

Monte-Carlo Simulation of Surface Crack Growth Rate for Offshore Structural Steel E36-Z35

The Monte- Carlo method is used to simulate the surface fatigue crack growth rate for offshore structural steel E36-Z35, and to determine the distributions and relevance of the parameters in the Paris equation. By this method, the time and cost of fatigue crack propagation testing can be reduced. The application of the method is demonstrated by use of four sets of fatigue crack propagation data for offshore structural steel E36-Z35. A comparison of the test data with the theoretical prediction for surface crack growth rate shows the application of the simulation method to the fatigue crack propagation tests is successful.

Asymptotic and numerical study of a surface breaking crack subject to a transient thermal loading

An asymptotic algorithm is applied to the problem of a finite, thermo-elastic solid containing a surface breaking crack, when the exterior surface is subjected to oscillatory thermal loading. This algorithm involves the study of a model problem. An analytical and numerical study of this model problem of a thermo-elastic half space containing a surface breaking crack and subjected to oscillatory thermal loading is presented. The crack surface is traction free. In particular, the amplitude of the stress intensity factor at the crack vertex is found as a function of the crack depth and the frequency of thermal oscillation.

SEMI-ELLIPTIC SURFACE CRACK IN AN ELASTIC SOLID WITH FINITE SIZE UNDER IMPACT LOADING

In this paper a semi-elliptic surface crack problem in an elastic solid of finite size under impact loading is investigated. An analysis is performed by means of fracture dynamics and the finite element method, and a three-dimensional finite element program is developed to compute the dynamic stress intensity factor. The results reveal that the effects of the solid＇s boundary surface, crack surface, material inertia and stress wave interactions play significant roles in dynamic fracture.

Elastic-plastic analysis of antiplane crack near crack surface region

The elastic-plastic stress distribution and the elastic-plastic boundary con- figuration near a crack surface region are significant but hard to obtain by means of the conventional analysis. A crack line analysis method is developed in this paper by consid- ering the crack surface as an extension of the crack line. The stresses in the plastic zone, the length, and the unit normal vector of the elastic-plastic boundary near a crack surface region are obtained for an antiplane crack in an elastic-perfectly plastic solid. The usual small scale yielding assumptions are not needed in the analysis.

Longitudinal surface cracks on continuous casting slabs of P and Cu containing container steel

The fact that the amount of the mold flux components differs at differentlocations on the cracking surface indicates that the longitudinal surface cracks are initiallyformed in the mold and are enlarged in the secondary cooling zone. Based on the hot ductilitymeasurement of two typical container used steels, it is known that the steels are in severeembrittlement state in the temperature range of 825-775 deg C. By means of increasing Cr/Ni platingthickness on the upper part of the mold, reducing mold heat flux, adopting new secondary coolingpattern, etc., the occurrence of the surface longitudinal cracks on the steel CC (continuouscasting) slabs has been significantly reduced.

METHOD FOR CALCULATION AND SIMULATION ON PROPAGATION OF SURFACE CRACK ON SPHERICAL VESSELS MADE OF STEELS

To avoid leaking or bursing by crack on surface of preddure vessels made of streels,a method for analyzing the principle of propagation of a surface crack is established,and used on a spherical vessel with program calculation and simulation,the program is written in QBASIC and the reaults are provided and discussed.

Surface crack imaging based on delayed temperature difference at symmetric points by laser spot thermography

Laser spot thermography is a novel technique for the detection of surface cracks with a laser to heat sample locally and with an IR camera to record the surface temperature distribution. Common methods to characterize cracks are only suitable for the situation that the laser scanning path is vertical to the crack. But due to the randomness of cracks,when the scanning path is parallel to the crack,surface cracks cannot be detected by these methods. To tackle this problem,a method is presented which is suitable for the situation that the scanning path is parallel to crack. The main idea is to evaluate the crack-caused asymmetries of the surface temperature distribution. The effect of temperature gradient and the maximum scanning interval are analyzed by a 2D simulation. A new crack imaging technique is presented that is based on delayed temperature difference at symmetric points to characterize the crack in the thermal image. Compared well with those obtained by the spatial first derivative method,experimental results are shown to efficiently prove this method.

Numerical Aspects of Isogeometric Boundary Element Methods:(Nearly)Singular Quadrature,Trimmed NURBS and Surface Crack Modeling

This work presents some numerical aspects of isogeometric boundary element methods(IGABEM).The behavior of hyper-singular and nearly-singular integration is first explored on the distorted NURBS surface.Several numerical treatments are proposed to enhance the quadrature in the framework of isogeometric analysis.Then a numerical implementation of IGABEM on the trimmed NURBS is detailed.Based on this idea,the surface crack problem is modeled incorporation with the phantom element method.The proposed method allows the crack to intersect with the boundary of the body while preserving the original parametrization of the NURBS-based CAD geometry.

STOCHASTIC PROPAGATION OF SEMI-ELLIPTICAL SURFACE CRACK

The semi-elliptical surface crack growth of structural components with uncertain material resistance under random loading is studied by using the stochastic averaging principle.The FPK equation governing the transition probability density function of crack lengths is derived.The analytical solution of the FPK equation for the case of that the equations for the crack growth in the surface and depth directions are uncoupled is obtained.The effects of the parameters of the stress process and of the material property on the behavior of semi-elliptical fatigue crack growth of the components with deterministic resistance to crack growth in the stationary Gaussian stress process are examined.The comparison of the analytical result with digital simulation shows the effectiveness of the present method.

Investigation on 3D fatigue crack propagation in surface-cracked specimens

In the present work the fatigue crack growth in AISI304 specimens is investigated experimentally. In 3D finite element analysis the virtual crack closure technique is applied to calculate distributions and variations of the stress intensity factor along the surface crack front. It is confirmed that the stress intensity factor along the surface crack front varies non-uniformly with crack growth. Crack growth rate is proportional to the stress intensity factor distribution in the 3D cracked specimen. The fatigue crack growth in surface cracked specimens can be described by the Forman model identified in conventional compact tension specimens. For crack growth in the free specimen surface the arc length seems more suitable to quantify crack progress. Geometry and loading configuration of the surface cracked specimen seem to not affect the fatigue crack growth substantially.

A NEW METHOD OF ANALYZING SURFACE CRACKS

The authors have developed a new line-spring boundary element method in the present paper, which combines the advantage of the line-spring model with that of the boundary element method. This method reduces the three-dimension problem of the surface cracks into a quasi-one-dimension problem and can be used to analyze the surface cracked plate under various loading conditions. In this paper theoretical analyses and numerical verifications are carried out. The calculated results are reported, which indicate that the present method is efficient and can be used to analyze the surface crack problem on a personal computer.

Study on fracture mechanics parameters of surface crack in overmatched weldments

In this paper, the J integral of surface cracks in overmatched weldments with different matching ratio has been investigated using direct evaluation method. The influence of matching ratio of joints on the crack driving forces (J integral, crack mouth opening displacement CMOD) and strain distributions along the contour have been discussed in detail. The results indicate that the comprehensive effects of crack position and the matching ratio of welded joint dominate the distribution of strain along the contour. Moreover, the crack driving force increases with the decrease of the matching ratios in overmatched weldments.

Laser repairing surface crack of Ni-based superalloy components

Surface crack of components of the cast nickel base superalloy was repaired with twin laser beams under proper technological conditions. One laser beam was used to melt the substrate material of crack, and the other to fill in powder material to the crack region. The experimental results show that the surface crack with the width of 0.1 ～ 0.3?mm could be repaired under the laser power of 3?kW and the scanning speed of 6 ～ 8?mm/s. The repaired deepness of crack region is below 6.5?mm. The microstructure of repaired region is the cellular crystal, columnar crystal dendrite crystal from the transition region to the top filled layer. The phases in repaired region mainly consisted of supersaturated α Co with plenty of Ni, some Cr and Al, Cr 23 C 6, Co 2B, Co Ni Mo, Ni 4B 3, TiSi and VSi. The hardness of filled layer in repaired region ranged from HV 0.2 450 to HV 0.2 500, and the hardness decreases gradually from the filled layer to joined zone.