Experiments On Delayed Failure During Galvanizing Of Flame-Cut Structural Steels

Cracks have occasionally been found after hot-dip galvanizing of flame-cut structural beams. A project has been completed at CANMET to find the causes of this problem. Experiments have been designed to measure the time-to-failure of notched samples under near-constant load. Cracking during galvanizing is caused by liquid-metal embrittlement, and occurs for critical combinations of stress and susceptible material. Sources of stress are residual stresses including those from flame cutting, and thermal stresses from thermal gradients during hot dipping. Material susceptibility is related primarily to surface hardness, and correlates well with micro-hardness measured at 100 micrometres depth. Remedial measures to eliminate cracking require either reduction of the hardness below a critical level (270 Vickers), or reduction of residual and thermal stresses

Performance of Pipeline Steels in Sour Service

The demand for steel for the production of pipelines to transport gas and oil containing hydrogen sulphide prompted the development of steel that is resistant to hydrogen induced cracking (HIC)."/jats:p" "jats:p"During the past two decades, combined research efforts in the areas of product and process metallurgy have made it possible to satisfy most of the main requirements for grades X-42 and X-60 microalloyed steel for mildly acidic (pH = 5) H2S environments. Building on the experience acquired in the area of microalloyed steel for a mildly acidic (pH ∼ 5) H2S environment, the industry launched a program to develop steel that would satisfy new requirements for H2S-resistant pipelines under NACE conditions (TM0177, pH∼3). In order to develop these steels, it was necessary to define qualitatively and quantitatively the specific effects on H2S resistance of the multiple intrinsic parameters of the product itself as well as those resulting from the process."/jats:p" "jats:p"In this paper, data will be presented that have made it possible to relate the HIC performance of steels to chemical content, inclusion levels and thermomechanical treatment parameters

Comparison of quantitative damage characterization methodologies

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Comparison of quantitative damage characterization methodologies

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Integrity of Pipelines Transporting Hydrocarbons

This book describes technical and practical aspects of pipeline damage. It summarizes the phenomena, mechanisms and management of pipeline corrosion in-service. The topics discussed include pipelines fracture mechanics, damage mechanisms and evolution, and pipeline integrity assessment. The concept of acceptable risk is also elucidated and the future application of new knowledge management tools is considered

Grain Refinement of Permanent Mold Cast Copper Base Alloys

Grain refinement behavior of copper alloys cast in permanent molds was investigated. This is one of the least studied subjects in copper alloy castings. Grain refinement is not widely practiced for leaded copper alloys cast in sand molds. Aluminum bronzes and high strength yellow brasses, cast in sand and permanent molds, were usually fine grained due to the presence of more than 2% iron. Grain refinement of the most common permanent mold casting alloys, leaded yellow brass and its lead-free replacement EnviroBrass III, is not universally accepted due to the perceived problem of hard spots in finished castings and for the same reason these alloys contain very low amounts of iron. The yellow brasses and Cu-Si alloys are gaining popularity in North America due to their low lead content and amenability for permanent mold casting. These alloys are prone to hot tearing in permanent mold casting. Grain refinement is one of the solutions for reducing this problem. However, to use this technique it is necessary to understand the mechanism of grain refinement and other issues involved in the process. The following issues were studied during this three year project funded by the US Department of Energy and the copper casting industry: (1) Effect of alloying additions on the grain size of Cu-Zn alloys and their interaction with grain refiners; (2) Effect of two grain refining elements, boron and zirconium, on the grain size of four copper alloys, yellow brass, EnviroBrass II, silicon brass and silicon bronze and the duration of their effect (fading); (3) Prediction of grain refinement using cooling curve analysis and use of this method as an on-line quality control tool; (4) Hard spot formation in yellow brass and EnviroBrass due to grain refinement; (5) Corrosion resistance of the grain refined alloys; (6) Transfer the technology to permanent mold casting foundries; It was found that alloying elements such as tin and zinc do not change the grain size of Cu-Zn alloys. Aluminum promoted b phase formation and modified the grain structure from dendritic to equiaxed. Lead or bismuth reduces the size of grains, but not change the morphology of the structure in Cu-Zn alloys. The grain size of the Cu-Zn-alloy can be reduced from 3000 mm to 300 mm after the addition of aluminum and lead. Similar effects were observed in EnviroBrass III after the addition of aluminum and bismuth. Boron refined the structure of yellow brasses in the presence of iron. At least 50 ppm of iron and 3 ppm of boron are necessary to cause grain refinement in these alloys. Precipitation of iron from the melt is identified as the cause of grain refinement. Boron initiates the precipitation of iron which could not be explained at this time. On the other hand zirconium causes some reduction in grain size in all four alloys investigated. The critical limit for the zirconium was found to be around 100 ppm below which not much refinement could be observed. The mechanism of grain refinement in the presence of zirconium could not be explained. Grain refinement by boron and iron can remain over a long period of time, at least for 72 hours of holding or after remelting few times. It is necessary to have the iron and boron contents above the critical limits mentioned earlier. On the other hand, refinement by zirconium is lost quite rapidly, some times within one hour of holding, mostly due to the loss of zirconium, most probably by oxidation, from the melt. In all the cases it is possible to revive the refinement by adding more of the appropriate refining element. Cooling curve analysis (thermal analysis) can be used successfully to predict the grain refinement in yellow brasses. The precipitation of iron in the liquid metal causes the metal to solidify without undercooling. Absence of this reaction, as indicated by the time-temperature (t-T) and its first derivative (dt/dT) curves, proved to be an indicator of refinement. The viability of the technique as an on-line quality control tool was proved in two foundries. The method can also correctly predict the onset of fading. The corrosion resistance of the grain refined alloys was measured in two solutions having different hydrogen activities, pH 6 and pH8, and compared with the base alloys. Potentiodynamic polarization and long term weight loss experiments were conducted to evaluate the corrosion resistance. Cu-Zn alloys were evaluated for dezincification. In general, the grain refined alloys performed marginally better than the base alloys