Fatigue-Crack-Growth Behavior of Two Pipeline Steels

Abstract

The fatigue-crack-growth behavior of two types of pipeline steels, Alloy B [Fe-0.05C-1.52Mn-0.12Si-0.092Nb, weight percent (wt%)] and Alloy C (Fe-0.04C-1.61Mn-0.14Si-0.096Nb, wt%), have been investigated. Compact-tension (CT) specimens have been tested at various frequencies (10, 1, and 0.1 Hz) and different R ratios (0.1 and 0.5, R = P-min/P-max where P-min is the minimum applied load, and P-max is the maximum applied load) in air. It is concluded that higher R ratios lead to faster crack-growth rates (FCGRs), while frequency does not have much influence on FCGRs. Moreover, Alloy B tends to have better fatigue resistance than Alloy C under various test conditions in air.