Evaluation of Shear Fracture Propagation Property and Influence of Separation in High Strength Line Pipe

Abstract

High Strength Line Pipe Research Committee in the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan has conducted five full scale burst tests with air pressure of 12.0 MPa on pipes of 48 in. in diameter and 0.720 in. in wall thickness of API. grade X 70, made with both controlled rolled steels and quenched and tempered steels. The arrestability of the pipes for the propagating shear fracture can be evaluated by Charpy absorbed energy and is not influenced by the existence of separation. The critical Charpy energy for arresting the shear fracture depends on the distance in which the crack should be arrested, and this phenomenon is well explained by solving the equation which governs the change in the crack velocity. Under the present test condition, the critical Charpy energy is 180 J for the arrest within one pipe length and 130 J for the arrest within two pipe length.