Surface to Through-Wall Crack Transition Model for Axial Cracks in Pipes

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that a subcritical surface crack, due to PWSCC, can transition to a through-wall crack with significant differences between the inner diameter and outer diameter crack lengths. This behavior has been observed for both circumferential and axial cracks. Recently, a surface to through-wall crack transition model has been developed for circumferential cracks using existing K and COD solutions for non-idealized circumferential through-wall cracks. In this paper, a similar crack transition model was developed for axial cracks. As a first step, a study was conducted to define the appropriate crack front shape for non-idealized axial through-wall cracks. Then, elastic finite element analyses were carried out to develop K and COD solutions using these crack front shapes. The newly developed solutions were utilized for the crack transition model. The present crack transition model includes a criterion for transitioning the final surface crack to the initial non-idealized TWC. This criterion determines when the transition should occur (based on surface crack depth) and determines the two crack lengths (at ID and OD surfaces) of the initial non-idealized TWC. Furthermore non-idealized TWC growth can be conducted using the proposed model. Example results (crack length and COD) obtained from the proposed model were compared to those obtained from the natural crack growth simulations. Results presented in this paper demonstrated the applicability of the proposed model for simulating axial crack transition.