Understanding
FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
for Pipeline Crack Assessments
November 19, 2024 | Blade Energy Partners’ office | Houston

Register before November 5, 2024 and save $200!

Engineering critical assessments of pipelines with pipe body cracking and weld defects require an analysis of the line pipe fracture toughness property. There are various small-scale toughness testing methods and corresponding definitions of fracture toughness that can be applicable to pipeline assessments. The analyst must then choose from available fracture toughness data and testing methods a set that best corresponds to the type of engineering critical assessment and fracture behavior of the pipeline being evaluated.

A mismatch between the chosen pipe fracture toughness data, corresponding toughness test, and pipe fracture behavior at the location of the defect can result in unreliable assessments or overly conservative results.

OBJECTIVES

To present the origin and meaning of the various types of fracture toughness data, their applications to pipeline engineering critical assessments, and to demonstrate in a laboratory setting how toughness data are commonly measured using small-scale test samples.

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

Fracture toughness does not have a consistent meaning in the pipeline industry. This can lead to an assumed definition of material toughness that can be applied incorrectly in pipeline engineering critical assessments.  This course will present fracture toughness definitions and test methods applicable to pipelines, including ASTM testing standards that describe the J-integral, CTOD, KIC, and Charpy test methods. Small-scale specimen set up and testing will be demonstrated in a laboratory.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN

In this course we will cover:

• What controls fracture of pipelines under static and cyclic loading conditions
• Brittle cleavage and ductile micro void coalescence fractures
• Fracture toughness definitions: initiation, stable crack extension/stable fracture, and arrest
• Fracture toughness requirements in PHMSA regulations
• Engineering meaning of J-integral, CTOD, KIC, and Charpy toughness testing
• Effects of test specimen size, loading configuration, and temperature
• Correlations of Charpy toughness to initiation fracture toughness J-integral and CTOD
• Charpy to JR- Δa correlations
• Input fracture toughness options in failure stress models NG-18, Newman-Raju, CorLAS, API 579/ASME FFS, and MAT-8
• How toughness affects fatigue crack growth life predictions
• Options when fracture toughness data are unavailable for the pipeline of interest

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The course is intended for practicing pipeline engineers and analysts who are involved with performing engineering critical assessments of pipelines with planar defects.

INSTRUCTORS

Sergio Limón & Sam Tandon. Laboratory demonstration by Ken George and Ryan Milligan.