Cyclic J integral using linear matching method

The extended version of the latest Linear Matching Method (LMM) has the capability to evaluate the stable cyclic response, which produces cyclic stresses, residual stresses and plastic strain ranges for the low cycle fatigue assessment with cyclic load history. The objective of this study is to calculate ΔJ through the LMM and suggest future development directions. The derivation of the ΔJ based on the potential energy expression for a single edge cracked plate subjected to cyclic uniaxial loading condition using LMM is presented. To extend the analysis so that it can be incorporated to other plasticity models, material Ramberg-Osgood hardening constants are also adopted. The results of the proposed model have been compared to the ones obtained from Reference Stress Method (RSM) for a single edge cracked plate and they indicate that the estimates provide a relatively easy method for estimating ΔJ for describing the crack growth rate behaviour by considering the complete accumulated cycle effects

Cyclic J-integral using the linear matching method

The extended version of the latest Linear Matching Method (LMM) has the capability to evaluate the stable cyclic response, which produces cyclic stresses, residual stresses and plastic strain ranges for the low cycle fatigue assessment with cyclic load history. The objective of this study is to calculate ΔJ through the LMM and suggest future development directions. The derivation of the ΔJ based on the potential energy expression for a single edge cracked plate subjected to cyclic uniaxial loading condition using LMM is presented. To extend the analysis so that it can be incorporated to other plasticity models, material Ramberg-Osgood hardening constants are also adopted. The results of the proposed model have been compared to the ones obtained from Reference Stress Method (RSM) for a single edge cracked plate and they indicate that the estimates provide a relatively easy method for estimating ΔJ for describing the crack growth rate behaviour by considering the complete accumulated cycle effects

Sensitivity study of crack driving force predictions in heterogeneous welds using Vickers hardness maps

Weld flaws often require an engineering critical assessment (ECA) to judge on the necessity for weld repair. ECA is a fracture mechanics based prediction of the integrity of welds under operating conditions. Adding to the complexity of an ECA is the occurrence of local constitutive property variations in the weldment (‘weld heterogeneity’). Their quantification is important to allow for an accurate assessment. Hereto, hardness measurements are widely adopted given their theoretical relation with ultimate tensile strength. However, various standards and procedures report a wide variety of different hardness transfer functions and additionally recognize substantial scatter in predictions of strength. Within this context, this paper investigates the suitability of hardness mapping to perform an accurate weld ECA. A finite element analysis has been conducted on welds originating from steel pipelines to simulate their crack driving force response using single-edge notched tension (SE(T)) specimens. Vickers hardness maps and hardness transfer functions are combined to assign element-specific constitutive properties to the model. The resulting crack driving force curves are probed against experimental results. The variable agreement between simulations and experiments highlights the need for further research into the characterization of local constitutive properties of heterogeneous welds. A hardness transfer procedure based on all weld metal tensile testing appears to be particularly promising