Crack curvature under the weld toe in a tubular joint: a tree-dimensional numerical investigation

Bowness, D. and Lee, M.M.K. (1994) Crack curvature under the weld toe in a tubular joint: a tree-dimensional numerical investigation. In Proceedings of the Fourth (1994) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Osaka, Japan, April 10-15, 1994. International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers. pp. 664-669 .

Abstract

Fatigue tests on tubular joints have shown that as a crack propagates through the chord wall, it curves under the weld toe. This curvature has been largely ignored in previous studies, due to the extreme complexity of modelling, with simplified crack geometries modelled and assumptions made about the crack driving force. This paper reports a numerical investigation into crack curvature. Three dimensional solid finite elements are employed to explicitly model doubly curved semi-elliptical weld toe cracks in tubular joints. The results show good agreement with existing experimental data and provide a better understanding of fatigue crack growth.

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