Development of a database of pipe fracture experiments

Abstract

Over the last 35 years, researchers worldwide have conducted hundreds—if not thousands—of pipe fracture experiments. In the early years, researchers focused their attention on studying the failure pressure and crack propagation behavior of axially cracked pipe loaded by internal pressure. The earliest work was sponsored by the oil and gas industry and, as such, involved relatively thin-walled, low toughness carbon steel pipes. This work was eventually followed up by efforts in the USA and Germany on nuclear piping with axial cracks. In recent years, attention has turned to understanding the behavior of circumferentially cracked nuclear piping subjected to both pressure and bending loads. The loading histories for these experiments range from the relatively simple case of quasi-static, monotonic displacement control to the more complex cases of dynamic cyclic loading, and pipe system experiments. In this paper, two of the leaders in this research, i.e. Battelle in the USA and MPA Stuttgart in Germany, have collaborated to develop a database of pipe fracture experiments. The database includes data from other organizations as well as the data from Battelle and MPA. In addition, as part of this paper, an example of how the database was used to assess the failure pressure of axially cracked pipe is given.