3rd International ASRANet Colloquium 10 12th July 2006, Glasgow, UK.

SUPER-DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL: A CASE STUDY OF INCORPORATING ANISOTROPIC MATERIAL PROPERTIES INTO RELIABILITY ASSESSMENTS
N. C. Renton, W. F. Deans & M. J. Baker.

University of Aberdeen, U.K.

ABSTRACT
Tubular components used in high-pressure, high-temperature (HT-HP) oil wells require materials with robust mechanical properties and high corrosion resistance to withstand the in-service conditions. A number of applications have made use of super-duplex stainless steel. The material has a highly anisotropic microstructure and as a result its in-service performance depends on the orientation of the applied loading. This study examines the failure mode of ductile fracture from a pre-existing crack and the application of probabilistic structural reliability techniques to the problem. The materials elastic-plastic fracture behaviour in two orientations is investigated using standard test specimens with diering crack depths. The results show that the measured Ji is geometery dependent and that SDSS has a higher crack resistance for radial aws. The limit state function for the tangency condition of the R-curve for an axial aw under hoop stress is developed, and the experimental results analysed to quantify the crack resistance term. The results can be used to carry out an assessment of the probability of tubular failure by ductile fracture.

1.

INTRODUCTION

The development of high-temperature, high pressure (HT-HP) oil wells has seen the application of high strength corrosion resistant alloys in the manufacture of downhole casing and tubing components to cope with the combined demands of highly corrosive production uids, and large applied hoop and tensile stresses. One such material is super-duplex stainless steel (SDSS). The duplex grades of stainless steel are twophase materials, containing nominally equal volumes of austenite and ferrite achieved via their chemical composition and thermomechanical processing during manufacture. With 0.2% proof stresses of around 900MPa and ultimate tensile strength in excess of 1050MPa, combined with excellent corrosion resistance, the material is ideally placed to cope with the demands of HT-HP service [1][2].

However, recent in-service tubing failures at stresses well within design limits have highlighted gaps in the understanding of the initiation and propagation of cracks in the material in chloride containing environments [3][4]. The extreme in-service conditions, coupled with the relative small population of HT-HP wells introduce a number of uncertainties into the engineering problem which can be examined successfully using a probabilistic structural reliability approach. Defects can be introduced into the material via in-service problems such as fatigue or stress corrosion cracking. While these time-dependent phenomena are of interest, this study investigates the catastrophic failure mode of ductile fracture from a pre-existing crack. Elasticplastic fracture mechanics problems have been characterised using the J-integral. Unlike more brittle materials, unstable and catastrophic fracture of elastic-plastic materials does not occur at some critical value of the J-integral. Instead,

J A ( Fc , a)

J R (a a0 )

steels. Seamless casing and tubing components manufactured from the duplex grades are forged and typically have hot and cold mechanical treatments applied creating elongation of the austenite islands in the ferrite matrix. The result is a highly anisotropic microstructure that can lead to the ratio between crack resistances of dierent orientations being as great as 2.5:1 [8]. Any attempt to model failure from an initial aw using the tangency condition must therefore reect the properties of the material in that orientation.

Jc
J-Integral

J A ( F2 , a)

J A (F1, a)

Ji
a

a0
Crack Length, a

ac

Figure 1: The tangency condition for failure

unstable tearing only occurs if the following conA second challenge arises in the experimendition is met: tal measurement of the J-a curve. The dJR dJA (1) traditional approach to measuring fracture da da mechanics parameters such as the J-integral This is known as the tangency condition of the is to use small standard geometry specimens J-a curve and is sometimes referred to as the in the belief that their fracture behaviour is transferable to full scale structural components R-curve approach. [9][10]. The elastic-plastic nature of SDSS, The l.h.s of equation (1) is a material property and the comparatively small size of the wall that represents the materials crack resistance cross-section of tubular components means a to an incremental amount of crack growth, and transferable measurement of crack resistance is the r.h.s is the applied energy or crack driving not guaranteed using the standard procedures force. Carrying out a probabilistic failure set out in the ASTM and BSI codes [11][12]. assessment requires an understanding of both This geometery dependence of J-a curves sides of the above equation, and their possible has been noted in the literature [8][13][14], the variation. The R-curve approach is summarised practical consequence of which is the possible in Figure 1, which shows the material curve overestimation of the stress required to cause JR (a a0 ) and three dierent J-integral curves unstable tearing from environmental or fatigue for three dierent applied forces F1 < F2 < Fc induced aws. as a function of crack length. Stable tearing initiates at F1 and unstable tearing at Fc . This paper describes an investigation into the effect of microstructural anisotropy on the fracture There is large body of work aimed at modelling mechanics behaviour of an SDSS used for tubuthe applied J-integral, JA for dierent tube and lar manufacture and the transferability of expercrack geometeries using nite element codes imentally measured SDSS crack resistances. The [5][6][7]. Characterising the crack resistance of study reviews previous work in the area of SDSS SDSS has received less attention and contains material properties and the limitations of the Ja number of challenges. These challenges integral to characterise crack growth in elasticare centred on the anisotropic nature of the plastic materials. An experimental procedure microstructure of the duplex family of stainless for single specimen measurement of the J-a

curve is set out, involving the use of nominally identical single-edge notched bend (SENB) specimens with dierent initial starting crack lengths machined from two dierent orientations of the tubular wall. The results of the tests are presented, together with a discussion and conclusions with a view to improving the understanding of the failure of the material in HT-HP conditions and its modelling for the purposes of reliability assessment.

and nitrogen and nickel in higher quantities in the austenite. However, the dierences in composition are relatively small with no more than 16% between the composition of the two phases for any one individual element [1]. The addition of small amounts of nitrogen signicantly strengthens the austenitic phase producing superior mechanical properties [15][16][17] and can lead to the austenite being the harder phase. In addition to the chemical composition, microstructure morphology and crystallographic texturing as a result of thermomechanical processing play an important role in determining the materials mechanical properties. In common with many duplex grades, the SDSS of interest in this study has anisotropic and inhomogeneous microstructure. This is demonstrated in Figure 2 which contains two micrographs taken using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) from the radial (Y-Z) and axial (X-Z) planes as dened in BS7448-4 [12]1 A detailed review of all aspects of the duplex grades including super-duplex is contained in the previously mentioned references [1][2].

2.

FRACTURE MECHANICS CHARACTERISATION OF SDSS

2.1 DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL

The modern duplex grades of stainless steel are a high strength, low nickel alternative to traditional austenitic grades, and higher nickel alloys. The lower nickel content achieves signicant cost and weight savings over alloys with comparable corrosion resistance. The high strength is achieved through the materials twophase microstructure which contains nominally equal volumes of austenite and ferrite, normally in the form of multi-grained austenite islands 2.2 EFFECT OF ANISOTROPY ON TENSILE AND FRACTURE surrounded by a ferrite matrix. BEHAVIOUR The dierence between the duplex and superduplex grades is one of chemical composition based on the use of an empirical pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) which combines the percentage weight of chromium, molybdneum, tungsten and nitrogen to give: P REN = Cr + 3.3(Mo + 0.5W) + 16N (2)

Duplex grades with a PREN greater than 40 are known as super-duplex. The typical chemical composition of various duplex grades is contained in table 1. The chemical composition of the two phases varies as a result of chemical partitioning. Chromium, molybdneum and tungsten exist in higher quantities in the ferrite,

The eect of anisotropic microstructure on global material properties of duplex stainless steel has been studied in the literature. The anisotropy in the tensile properties of coldrolled duplex sheet with elongated austenite islands in the direction parallel to rolling was investigated separately by Makinde and Ferron [18] and Hutchinson et al [19]. Both studies found an increase of approximately 10 percent in the 0.2% proof stress and ultimate tensile strength in the direction perpendicular to rolling direction. The physical reason behind the result was the presence of crystallographic texturing: the preferential alignment of active
1

See gure B.2 (b) pg 40 of [12]

STANDARD UNS UNS UNS UNS UNS S 32304 S 31803 S32760 S32750 S32740

TRADE MARKS SAF 2304 SAF2205 Zeron100 SAF 2507 SMDP3W

Cr %b.w. 23.0 22.0 25 25 25

Ni %b.w. 4.0 5.3 7.0 7.0 6.7

Mo %b.w. 0.2 3.0 3.6 3.8 3.1

N %b.w. 0.1 0.16 0.25 0.27 0.26

Others %b.w. 0.7W 2.0W

PREN 25 35 41 42 43

DUPLEX GRADE Low alloy Med alloy Super Super Super

Table 1: Comparison of chemical compositions of dierent grades of duplex stainless steel.

(a) Radial Plane

(b) Axial Plane

Figure 2: The anisotropic microstructure of SDSS slip-planes of the two-phases in a particular direction, introduced by the cold rolling of the material. This eect outweighed the expected mechanical bering in the direction of the elongated microstructure. The tubular material of interest to this study is also cold-worked at the last stage of the manufacturing process, and there is the potential for some degree of crystallographic texturing in the material. The crack resistance of a 25Cr 4Ni 0.34N duplex stainless steel was investigated by Kolednik et al [8]. Three separate planes of a solution-annealed forged rod were tested using compact tension specimens denoted A, B, and C which correspond to BS7448-4 fracture planes (Z-Y),(X-Z) and (Y-Z) respectively2 . Figure
The rst letter in the BS7448-4 [12] fracture planes denotes the direction perpendicular to the crack plane, and the second to the direction of crack propagation.
2

3 demonstrates the relation of these planes to the tubular component of interest to this study. The gure shows the reference axes, two views of the same pipe component containing an axial aw and radial aw, and the orientation of the microstructure. Note that the Z direction is not absolute, but perpendicular to the tube surface. Kolednik et al used the direct-current potential drop technique to measure crack growth and a value of the J-integral, Jqi the quasi-initiation point, to characterise the initiation of stable tearing in three specimens machined from the rod. The reported value of Jqi measured for each plane was 200kJ/m2 for A, 450kJ/m2 for B, and 200kJ/m2 for C3 . The energy dissapation rate D was also examined in [8]. D is the total crack resistance of the material to an incremental amount of crack growth, and is closely
3

table 3, pg 3311 of [8]

Z X Y

Axial flaw

Radial flaw

Radial flaw Axial flaw Z

Figure 3: Flaw geometery and microstructure orientation in relation to tubing component related to the gradient of the J-a R-curve via While the study contained in [8] is of use the specimen depth W , the initial crack length in understanding the role of microstructural anisotropy, it is of limited use to a reliabila0 , and the geometery factor : ity analysis as only single specimen results are dJR D (3) quoted. In addition, the results of Jq i and D apda W ao pear to have been rounded without quoting the where is equal to 2 for SENB. D was found exact results gained. The heterogeneous nature to peak at crack initiation, then decrease to a of the microstructure suggests there will be varilimiting value after a short amount of crack ation in the measured value of Ji for nominally growth to a value approximately equal to 2000, identical specimens which needs to be quantied. 5000, and 2000kJ/m2 for planes A, B and C The results presented in [8] suggest that the respectively4 . crack resistance of duplex stainless steels for a radial aw in a tubular component would be These dierences in crack resistance are at- 2.25-2.5 times greater than that for an axial tributed to the anisotropic microstructure in aw orientated longitudinally in the pipe. Axial [8]. It is reported that the crack propagated aws are then of more concern than radial preferentially in the more brittle ferrite or along ones, and indeed this seems to be reected by ferrite/austenite boundaries thus avoiding the the in-service experience noted in [3][4] where more ductile austenite in specimens A and C. axial aws have propagated by tearing following The mechanism suggested for the increase in J initial environmental attack.
qi

in specimen B is that the crack front is forced to cross the more ductile austenite islands in order to propagate.

2.3 FRACTURE MECHANICS PARAMETERS The crack resistance of duplex stainless steel can be characterised using a number of different parameters. The main requirement is

Kolednik et al [8] were unable to conrm if steady state values of D were achieved in their experiments as they only measured relatively short amounts of crack propagation.

that the parameter used to characterise the materials behaviour is transferable: small laboratory specimen results should reect the behaviour of full-scale tubular components. The two traditional parameters used are the Jintegral and the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD). This study will focus on the J-integral. The problem for a single parameter approach is the known dependence of the measured initiation value Ji on the degree of constraint present at the crack-tip [13][14]. In practice, this means that laboratory tests using standard single-edge notched bend (SENB) or compact tension (CT) specimens may not reect inservice performance. The phenomena behind this eect are of interest and have been studied in detail by Stamp and Kolednik [20]. First, an energy balance across a single specimen during an increment of crack extention is considered: D Rtot

Wel = Uel can be found from the compliance of the machine + specimen. This approach is demonstrated graphically in Figure 4. It is this technique that leads to the geometry dependance of the measured value of the crackdriving force at initiation Ci .

U
A F

U pl U el

Load, F (kN)

U pl
U el

q'

Load Line Displacement, q (mm)

1 d(Wpl + ) B d(a) The part of the external energy being used by 1 d(U Wel ) = C (4) non-reversible processes is denoted Upl , and the B d(a) J-integral is estimated using an equation of the The terms Rtot and C are the total crack growth form5 : resistance and crack driving force, respectively. JR = Jel + Jpl (5) On the l.h.s, Wpl is the total non-reversible Upl strain energy required to cause an incremental =G+ amount of crack growth, is the surface energy, BN (W a0 ) 2 and B is the specimen thickness. On the r.h.s, K Upl JR = + (6) U is the total elastic and plastic strain energy E BN (W a0 ) applied to the specimen and Wel the reversible elastic energy. where G is the elastic energy release rate, BN is the eective width of the specimen, K is The r.h.s is used to measure experimentally the the stress intensity factor, and E is the elastic l.h.s. since tearing occurs when Rtot = C which modulus for either plane stress or plane strain via equation (1) is equivalent to the tangency conditions. condition of the J a curve. In the standard ASTM and BSI single specimen measurement In using this method to determine a transfertechniques [11][12], U is the area under the 5 Both the stress intensity K and the ligament length force vs load-line displacement curve, and
(W a) can be corrected for crack growth.

Figure 4: Plastic and Elastic Energies from the Load vs Load Line Displacement Curve.

SENB Specimen

Process Zone Close-Up

1. Fracture process zone 2. Plastic strain zone (fracture)

Crack-tip blunting Cup and Cone Ductile Surfaces

3. Plastic strains from bending 4. Plastic strains from roller

Void nucleation and growth

Roller

Figure 5: Non-reversible processes occuring in an SENB specimen during ductile fracture. The formation of shear lips at the specimen able material property, the unstated assumption edges Wpl,slant being made is that the plastic component of the external energy applied is being used entirely by the fracture process so that Up = Wpl . An This list is not exhaustive. Some of these proanalysis of the dierent physical phenomena cesses are highlighted in the diagram shown in that contribute to Up demonstates that this is Figure 5. U is given by: p not the case. Upl = Wpl,cbl + Wpl,sf + Wpl,v + Wpl,l Elastic-plastic materials such as SDSS experi+ Wpl,lig + Wpl,lat + Wpl,slant (7) ence signicant amounts of plastic deformation distant from the crack tip. The following It is possible to separate the energy components non-reversible processes contibute to Up : of Up into those that are geometery independent, and those that are not. To formalise this, a new Crack-tip blunting prior to initiation of frac- expression is proposed: ture, Wpl,cbl Up = Wpl + pl (8) Creation of new fracture surfaces in the fracture process zone, Wpl,sf where Wpl represents the sum of plastic strain energies that are independent of specimen geom The energy consumed in the fracture proetry, and pl is the sum of plastic strain energies cess zone by void nucleation and growth that do vary as the geometry of the specimen, ahead of the crack tip,Wpl,v and the remaining ligament, change. Using the Plastic deformation local to the process physical phenomena identied in equation (7) gives: zone, W
pl,l

Plastic deformation in the ligament ahead of the plastic zone of the fracture process, Wpl,lig .

Wpl = Wpl,cbl + Wpl,sf + Wpl,v pl = Wpl,lig + Wpl,lat + Wpl,slant + Wpl,l

(9) (10)

Lateral contraction of the specimen at the This analysis has an important practical conseedge, Wpl,lat , and quence: any experimental measurement of the

J-integral using the load-line displacement approach may overestimate the amount of energy required to achieve the tangency condition. This can occur if the specimen geometery does not match either the real aws crack-tip constraint or ligament size, resulting in a increase in pl over what would be experienced in the real component.
Z Specimen A X

was used to allow the direct measurement of crack resistance during crack growth, and to study the variation of crack resistance between specimens. SENB specimens were machined from a 7-inch diameter tubular manufactured from coldworked SDSS for use in the three-point bend test procedure using a 100kN Instron 1185. The single specimen technique requires the measurement of crack growth a during the test. This was achieved using a direct current potential drop technique (DCPD). To investigate the issues raised in the previous section, two variables relating to the specimens were examined: Orientation: Two nominally identical groups of 18 side-grooved SENB specimens (36 in total) were machined from two dierent orientations in the pipe. Notch Depth: Within each orientation group, three dierent notch depths were used. The two specimen orientations are shown in Figure 6 relative to the tubular. The two groups of specimens are denoted H and V. The H specimens simulate the behaviour of an axial aw in the tube, the V specimens simulate a radial aw. The test matrix is shown in Table 2, with the number of specimens of each orientation and initial crack size a0 . Specimen Initial Crack Depth (a0 ) Orientation 2mm 4mm 6mm (Y-Z) H 6 6 6 (X-Z) V 6 6 6

Z W Y

Specimen B

Figure 6: Orientation of H and V specimens with

respect to the tube, showing fatigue pre-cracks.

This section has highlighted the need for a careful investigation of the fracture behaviour of the cold-worked SDSS used in seamless tubing manufacture. Of particular interest is the effect of microstructure anisotropy on crack resistance, the transferability of standard experimental measurements of the J-integral, and the physical variation of such measurements for use in a structural reliability assessments. An experimental procedure was developed to address these issues. 3. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

In the present research, the experimental Table 2: Test Matrix of SENB specimens. measurement of J-a curves was carried out using BS7448-4 [12] and ASTM 1820-05 [11] as guidance. The single specimen procedure The DCPD system used in this study was

developed using published studies on the use of the DCPD technique in R-curve determination contained in [21][22]. The background noise of the measured voltage across the crack was 40V which corresponded to a crack depth resolution of 100m. Load-line displacement q was determined using the indirect method outlined in Annex C, Figure C.3 of [12].

to maximum load. A polynominal t of the R-curve was then used to identify the point of initiation. An example J-a curve from horizonal specimen #6 with initial crack size of 2mm is shown in Figure 7.

Two example curves from H and V specimens with the same initial starting crack of 2mm are shown in Figure 8. The full set of results for Ji The three-point bend tests were carried out on for both orientations is presented in Figure 9. the Instron in displacement control mode at 2 1.0mm/min. All relevant data from the Instron, the DCPD equipment, the LVDT and the strain 1.8 gauge meter were recorded using an 8-channel H Specimen V Specimen computerized data-logger.
1.6

4.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
2

1.4

The raw data from the tests was processed according to the single specimen J-a R-curve procedure set out in the ASTM standard [11].
1.4 1.2 1

J ( MJ/m )

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4
J 0.2BL

J (MJ/m )

0.8 0.6 0.4

0.2 0
Ji

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

Crack Growth, a (mm)

0.2 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6

Crack Growth, a (mm)

Figure 8: J-a experimental R-curves for an H and V specimen with a0 = 2mm.

Figure 7: J-a experimental R-curve for H specimen #6 showing Ji and J0.2BL .

4.2 VARIATION The results presented in the previous section were analysed using a statistical analysis giving sample mean x(Ji ), sample standard deviation s(Ji ), and sample coecient of variation (COV). The results of the statistical analysis are presented in Table 3. Using Students t-test on the data, the results show signicant dierences

4.1 J-a CURVES The determination of Ji was done by a combination of strain gauge measurement and maximum load fractography, which conrmed that 0.1mm of crack growth occured prior

0.6 V Specimens H Specimens Power (V Specimens) Power (H Specimens)

0.5

J i = 1.5483 (a 0) -1.2994
0.4

J i ( MJ/m )

0.3

0.2

0.1

J i = 1.0745 (a 0) -1.2382
0 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7

Initial Crack Length, a o (mm)

Figure 9: Experimental Ji values describing the initiation of stable tearing for H and V specimens
Specimen Type H V Ratio of V/H x(Ji ) MJ/m2 0.346 0.442 1.279 a0 = 2mm s(Ji ) MJ/m2 0.038 0.056 COV 0.111 0.127 x(Ji ) MJ/m2 0.172 0.234 1.361 a0 = 4mm s(Ji ) MJ/m2 0.032 0.027 COV 0.189 0.115 x(Ji ) MJ/m2 0.118 0.133 1.127 a0 = 6mm s(Ji ) MJ/m2 0.012 0.008 COV 0.103 0.063 -

Table 3: Statistical Analysis of Ji results for H and V specimens between the H and V specimens at the 99% as a limit state function. This section describes condence level. the development of such a function for the tubular failure mode of ductile fracture. The experimental results presented in the previous section are then discussed with reference to 5. FORMULATION OF their role in modelling the various parts of the LIMIT STATE FUNCTION limit state function. The results of the experimental programme shed new light on the structural integrity of SDSS tubulars. The rst comment on the overall results is the obvious need for a probabilistic approach. The onset of stable tearing Ji has a COV of between 0.063 and 0.189, with the higher values observed at smaller initial crack sizes. The tube shown previously in Figure 3 has a wall thickness t dened by the outer and inner radius dimensions R0 and Ri so that t = R0 Ri . This paper is concerned with the application of an internal pressure P creating a hoop stress h . Tensile and bending stresses are not considered. As a result, only an axial aw A probabilistic structural reliability analysis will be examined. requires the engineering problem to be written

It is assumed that a crack-like aw is present on the external surface of the tube, with an axial orientation as shown in Figure 3. The aw geometry is dened by its depth a and its length on the surface 2c. The ratio a/2c is, for the moment, assumed xed for all crack depths. For a given crack geometry and initial size a0 , the tangency condition described in the introduction can be written as a limit state function as follows: dJR dJA M= (11) da da where M takes its usual meaning as a scalar random variable such that M 0 correponds to failure and M = 0 describes the boundary between a safe operating region and the failure region. This expression can be developed by examining the crack resistance and crack driving force terms individually. Begining with the crack resistance term, the Rcurves generated in the experiments show that, for any given value of a0 , JR is a function of crack growth a and that there is random variation of JR for a given a between nominally identical specimens. JR is then dened as a random variable described by its distribution function whose moments are themselves a function of two other variables: Initial crack size a0 Crack growth a = a a0 The random behaviour of JR is demonstrated in Figure 10 which shows two separate JR curves for two dierent initial crack sizes a1 < a2 . The R-curves are denoted JR1 (a a0 ) and JR2 (a a0 ). The value of the J-integral at initiation Ji is shown for both curves as a random variable denoted Ji1 and Ji2 respectively.

J-Integral

J R1 (a a0 )

f J i1 ( J )
E[ J i | a0
E[ J i | a0

J R 2 (a a0 )

a1 ]
a2 ]

f Ji 2 ( J )
0

a0

a1
Crack Length, a

a0

a2

Figure 10: The random nature of JR curves. length a0 and crack growth a a0 are required to evaluate the probability that the limit state function M is less than or equal to zero. The experimental results in this study go some way to achieving this, and will be discussed in the next section. For a given crack length a(i) = a0 + a corresponding to a given load F(i) and point on the LLD curve q(i) : JR(i) =
2 KI(i)

Upl(i) BN (W a(i) )

(12)

For side-grooved SENB specimens: KI(i) = F(i) S W 1.5 (BBN )0.5 E = g1 (a(i) /W ) (13)

where, S is the span length between rollers, E is the elastic modulus, and is Poissons ratio. Equations (14) and (13) can be substituted into (12) which can then be incorporated back into the limit state function expression M. These equations demonstrate that dJR /da can be measured experimentally, subject to the The types of distributions and the relationships transferability problem discussed earlier in the between the moments E[Ji ]k , E[JR (a a0 )]k paper. (where k = 1, 2, 3....), and the initial crack

E (1 2 )

(14)

The crack driving force term in M is also re- 5.1 EFFECT of MICROSTRUCTURAL quired to complete a probabilistic structural reANISOTROPY liability analysis. For a given crack geometery, JA can be split into its elastic and plastic com- The SEM analysis of the microstructure shown in Figure 2 in combination with the work refponents: erenced in [8][14][19] suggested crack resistance JA = Jel + Jpl (15) would be dependent on orientation. The experi2 mental results conrm that an orientation eect K = I + Jpl (16) is present in the SDSS investigated in this study. E Figure 8 shows the two main eects observed: For the axial aw problem in the SDSS tubular KI is expressed by: The initiation value for stable tearing Ji is KI = g1 a(i) /W h a(i) (17) (18) greater in the V specimens. P R0 KI = g1 (a(i)/W ) a(i) (R0 Ri ) The gradient of the J-a curve is also greater in the V specimen demonstrating a higher incremental crack growth resistance. The V-specimens correspond to the (Y-Z) crack plane which replicates a radial aw in the tube. The results for all specimens, summarised in Figure 9, conrm these eects at all three initial crack lengths.

The statistical analysis of the results given in Table 3 shows that the ratio of the V and H specimen sample means x(Ji ) was between 1.12 1.36 depending on initial crack size. Provided the specimen results are transferable in the fracture mechanics sense, then the tube will demonstrate a 12 36% increase in Ji for a radial aw compared with an axial aw. This increase is caused by the crack propagating This study has been focussed on the materials preferentially in the ferrite regions and along crack resistance term. It is one thing to dene ferrite/austenite phase boundaries in the H JR as a random variable, but another to quan- specimens. tify the distribution that describes its random nature. The experimental results of the previ- It is interesting to note that while there is a ous section give direction on how to model two considerable dierence between the two planes, eects that have a large impact on the variation it is far smaller than the 250% measured by of JR - microstructural anisotropy and geometry Kolednik et al [8]. The main reason for this dependent plastic strains on JR . The experimen- is likely to be the fact that the tubular SDSS tal results will now be examined in this context. material is heavily cold-worked whereas the study in [8] used solution annealed material. This reinforces the need to treat SDSS grades individually: Thermo-mechanical processing is

where g1 (a(i)/W ) is the geometry function quoted in [12] evaluated at the current crack depth a(i) , P is the internal pressure, and R0 and Ri the internal and external radii of the tube. The applied Jpl requires nite element solution, either directly, or using a polynomial of the type published in the literature6 . Whichever approach is used, some model error should be expected since FE codes rely on the full stress-strain curve for the material to estimate the value of the J-integral. SDSS contains two phases with their own separate tensile properties. The eect of this on FE estimates of JA is not clear, but some residual modelling error will be incorporated.

See [23] as an example

as important as chemical composition.

The variation in the test results was also affected by the anisotropy. A comparisson of the sample standard deviation s(Ji ) for both V and H specimens shows a smaller amount variation in the V specimens at both 4 and 6mm nominal initial crack lengths. The COV for V specimens was 0.127 for nominal 2mm a0 reducing to 0.063 at 6mm a0 . The COV of the H specimens shows Understanding the variation within the groups no relationship with a0 , although the lowest is dicult due to the small sample sizes. However, the analysis in Section 2 suggests a possible COV is for the nominal 6mm a0 . eect of crack depth on the variation in Ji . ReMicrostructural anisotropy is also responsible for call that Upl = Wpl + pl . The ligament reduces the dierence in s(Ji ) between the two orien- as the initial crack size increases, with a corretations. The crack propagates by a number of sponding reduction in pl as a result. Since Wpl dierent mechanisms in the (X-Z) plane being cannot change with crack size (it is a material tested by the H specimens. Note the varia- property), then the proportion of Upl made up tion in the incremental data points between the from Wpl increases with increasing a0 . As a retwo specimen types in Figure 8. Localised areas sult deeper cracks should have a higher sensitivof austenite can cause higher incremental crack ity to microstructural heterogeniety. However, growth resistances leading to the higher varia- shallower cracks Upl will be susceptible to geometry variation which results in varying amounts tion in Ji for the H specimens. of pl . It is dicult to tell from the experimental results which of these eects is dominant. 5.2 EFFECT OF CRACK DEPTH The analysis of experimental measurement of the J-integral via Up means that some form of geometry dependence in the results was expected. Figure 9 conrms that the measured Ji is strongly dependent on a0 . As the ligament decreases, so too do the geometry dependent terms in pl . This leads to a decrease in the measured Ji , with close to a 50% reduction from a0 = 2mm to a0 = 6mm in the H specimens and a 70% reduction in the V specimens over the same range. This powerful result highlights a practical point of primary importance to modelling the failure of tubulars manufactured with an elastic-plastic material such as SDSS. Standard laboratory specimen test results are not immediately transferable to real cracks. The laboratory specimen 5.3 JR MODELLING SUGGESTIONS The results suggest a number of steps that must be taken to model SDSS tubular failure using probabilistic reliability techniques. Recognising the eect of microstructural anisotropy, radial and axial aws must be modelled using separate limit state functions. Section 5 contains a development of the limit state of interest to this project, that of an axial aw subjected to a through wall hoop stress. Evaluating the limit state function described in this paper requires the distributions of the random variables identied. The experimental work presented can be used to derive a relationship between the expectation of Ji and initial crack length a0 .

geometry must be aligned to the real crack in the component, otherwise the amount of pl measured in the test will be dierent to that experienced in-service. If the real crack being analysed is greater in depth than the initial crack size in the laboratory specimen then the critical force required Fc to cause failure may be overestimated which is undesirable.

A least squares best-t line of a power law form has been plotted through all of the Ji data points for each specimen type V and H. This gives the (V ) (H) following empirical relations between Ji , Ji and 2(mm) a0 6(mm): E Ji
(V )

The incremental crack growth resistance is higher in the (X-Z) plane for a radial aw. There was a higher level of variation in the (Y-Z) plane (axial aw) due to the ability of the crack to move over longer distances in ferrite before arresting at localised areas of high austenite content. To carry out a structural reliability analysis two separate limit state functions are required - one for each orientation. Non-reversible energy measured during a standard J-a test contains two separable components - the geometry independent Wpl and geometry depedent pl . pl varies with starting ligament size in sidegrooved SENB specimens. There is a 50% reduction in Ji in the (Y-Z) plane from a0 = 2mm to a0 = 6mm and a 70% reduction in the (X-Z) plane over the same range. Standard tests must be performed at the crack depth of concern to avoid over or under-estimation of the behaviour of real components.

= 1.5483 a0

1.2994

for radial aws (19)

E Ji

(H)

= 1.0745 a0

1.2382

for axial aws (20)

The relationship between E Ji and a0 is less clear from the current results. Further tests are in progress to develop a suitable expression for variation. These results will form part of an attempt to evaluate the probability of failure using the limit state function for an axial aw developed in this section. Future work will see the experimental results used to develop distributions for the variables contained in dJR /da. The crack driving force dJA /da will also be studied using existing FE studies of the form contained in the previously mentioned references [5][6][7].

The use of probabilistic structural reliability techniques require detailed understanding of the physical nature of materials such as SDSS, and This paper has examined how to incorporate mihave an important role to play in the successful crostructural anisotropy of a cold-worked superdevelopment of challenging HT-HP oil wells. duplex stainless steel tube into a probabilistic structural reliability assessment. The main conclusions reached during the theoretical and ex- ACKNOWLEGEMENTS perimental sections are: 6. CONCLUSIONS The authors would like to thank Shell U.K. (Ltd) The crack resistance of SDSS is random in for their nancial and technical support during nature and requires a probabilistic approach this project. to modelling failure. The microstructural anisotropy means REFERENCES E Ji is 12 36% higher for a V specimen (radial aw) over an H specimen (axial [1] J. Charles. The duplex stainless steels: materials to meet your needs. In J. Charles aw).

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