Sample records for weld toe cracks

1. Stress Intensity Factors For Toe Cracks In Fillet Welded Joints - Finite Element Modelling And Thermoelastic
Determination
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chan, S. W.; Oakley, Philip J.
1989-07-01
The application of fracture mechanics methods for assessing the significance of defects in welded structures or
components may require accurate determination of stress intensity solution for typical joint configurations (1). At
present, numerical methods such as finite element analysis are most widely used (2). Thermoelastic technique
(SPATE) is a new experimental technique based on the measurement of infra-red radiant flux emitting from the surface
of a body under cyclic stress. It has been shown from Refs. 3 and 4 that accurate stress intensity solutions can be
derived from SPATE results obtained by scanning a cracked body with simple geometry under mode I and mode II
loading. Hence the SPATE method offers an attractive alternative to numerical analysis, or a means of validating the
numerical methods. In addition, it is anticipated that the new technique could be used for analysing a cracked body with
complex geometries not easily analysed by numerical methods, for example semi-elliptical surface cracks in plates and
cylinders, or tubular connections with weld toe cracks.
2. Macroscopic Segregation and Stress Corrosion Cracking in 7xxx Series Aluminum Alloy Arc Welds
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Borchers, Tyler E.; McAllister, Donald P.; Zhang, Wei
2015-05-01
Arc welds of Al-Zn-Mg alloy with Al-Mg filler wire have shown a preferential macroscopic segregation of Mg and Zn to
the weld toes. Islands of large precipitates, which are observed in those solute-enriched weld toes, are identified as T
phase (Mg32(Al,Zn)49) using diffraction pattern analysis. The location of T precipitates consistently coincides with the
initiation site for stress corrosion cracking. Therefore, it is hypothesized that they induce the crack initiation due to
preferential dissolution.
3. Remote reactor repair: GTA (gas tungsten Arc) weld cracking caused by entrapped helium
SciTech Connect
Kanne, Jr, W R
1988-01-01
A repair patch was welded to the wall of a nuclear reactor tank using remotely controlled thirty-foot long robot arms.
Further repair was halted when gas tungsten arc (GTA) welds joining type 304L stainless steel patches to the 304
stainless steel wall developed toe cracks in the heat-affected zone (HAZ). The role of helium in cracking was
investigated using material with entrapped helium from tritium decay. As a result of this investigation, and of an
extensive array of diagnostic tests performed on reactor tank wall material, helium embrittlement was shown to be the
cause of the toe cracks.
4. Short cracks in piping and piping welds
SciTech Connect
Wilkowski, G.M.; Brust, F.; Francini, R.; Ghadiali, N.; Kilinski, T.; Krishnaswamy, P.; Landow, M.; Marschall, C.W.;
Rahman, S.; Scott, P. )
1992-04-01
This is the second semiannual report of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Short Cracks in Piping and
Piping Welds research program. The program began in March 1990 and will extend for 4 years. The intent of this
program is to verify and improve fracture analyses for circumferentially cracked large-diameter nuclear piping
with crack sizes typically used in leak-before-break analyses or in-service flaw evaluations. Only quasi-static loading
rates are evaluated since the NRC's International Piping Integrity Research Group (IPIRG) program is evaluating the
effects of seismic loading rates on cracked piping systems. Progress for through-wall-cracked pipe involved (1)

conducting a 28-inch diameter stainless steel SAW and 4-inch diameter French TP316 experiments, (2) conducting a
matrix of FEM analyses to determine GE/EPRI functions for short TWC pipe, (3) comparison of uncracked pipe
maximum moments to various analyses and FEM solutions, (4) development of a J-estimation scheme that includes the
strength of both the weld and base metals. Progress for surface-cracked pipe involved (1) conducting two experiments
on 6-inch diameter pipe with d/t = 0.5 and {Theta}/{pi} = 0.25 cracks, (2) comparisons of the pipe experiments to NetSection-Collapse predictions, and (3) modification of the SC.TNP and SC.TKP J-estimation schemes to include
external surface cracks.
5. Hot cracking during welding and casting
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cao, Guoping
Aluminum welds are susceptible to liquation cracking in the partially melted zone (PMZ). Using the multicomponent
Scheil model, curves of temperature vs. fraction solid (T-fS) during solidification were calculated for the PMZ
and weld metals (WMs). These curves were used to predict the crack susceptibility by checking if the harmful condition
of WM fS > PMZ fS exists during PMZ solidification and reduce the susceptibility by minimizing this condition. This
approach was tested against full-penetration welds of alloys 7075 and 2024 and it can be used to guide the selection or
development of filler metals. Liquation cracking in the PMZ in welds of Al-Si cast alloys was also investigated.
The crack susceptibility was evaluated by circular-patch test, and full-penetration welds made with filler metals 1100,
4043, 4047 and 5356. Liquation cracking was significant with filler metals 1100 and 5356 but slight with filler metals
4043 and 4047. In all welds, liquation cracks were completely backfilled, instead of open as in full-penetration welds of
wrought alloys 2219 and 6061. The T-fS curves showed that alloy A357 has a much higher fraction liquid for backfilling
before PMZ solidification was essentially over. Hot tearing in Mg-xAl-yCa alloys was studied by constrained rod casting
(CRC) in a steel mold. The hot tearing susceptibility decreased significantly with increasing Ca content (y) but did not
change much with the Al content (x). An instrumented CRC with a steel mold was developed to detect the onset of hot
tearing. The secondary phases, eutectic content, solidification path, and freezing range were examined. Hot tearing in
Mg-Al-Sr alloys was also studied by CRC in a steel mold. With Mg-(4,6,8)Al-1.5Sr alloys, the hot tearing susceptibility
decreased significantly with increasing Al content. With Mg-(4,6,8)Al-3Sr alloys, the trend was similar but not as
significant. At the same Al content, the hot tearing susceptibility decreased significantly with increasing Sr
6. Cooling analysis of welded materials for crack detection using infrared thermography
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rodrguez-Martin, M.; Lagela, S.; Gonzlez-Aguilera, D.; Arias, P.
2014-11-01
Infrared thermography offers a wide range of possibilities for the detection of flaws in welding, being the main difference
among them the thermal excitation of the material. This paper analyzes the application of an inexpensive and versatile
thermographic test to the detection of subsurface cracks in welding. The procedure begins with the thermal excitation of
the material, following with the monitoring of the cooling process with IRT (InfraRed Thermography). The result is a
sequence of frames that enables the extraction of thermal data, useful for the study of the cooling tendencies in the
defect and the non-defect zone. Then, each image is subjected to a contour lines algorithm towards the definition of the
morphology of the detected defects. This combination of data acquisition and processing allows the differentiation
between two types of cracks: toe crack and subsuperficial crack, as defined in the quality standards.
7. Technique to eliminate helium induced weld cracking in stainless steels
SciTech Connect
Chin-An Wang; Chin, B.A.; Grossbeck, M.L.
1992-12-31
Experiments have shown that Type 316 stainless steel is susceptible to heat-affected-zone (HAZ) cracking upon
cooling when welded using the gas tungsten arc (GTA) process under lateral constraint. The cracking has been
hypothesized to be caused by stress-assisted helium bubble growth and rupture at grain boundaries. This study utilized
an experimental welding setup which enabled different compressive stresses to be applied to the plates during welding.
Autogenous GTA welds were produced in Type 316 stainless steel doped with 256 appm helium. The application of a
compressive stress, 55 Mpa, during welding suppressed the previously observed catastrophic cracking. Detailed
examinations conducted after welding showed a dramatic change in helium bubble morphology. Grain boundary bubble

growth along directions parallel to the weld was suppressed. Results suggest that stress-modified welding techniques
may be used to suppress or eliminate helium-induced cracking during joining of irradiated materials.
8. Fatigue Crack Growth in Peened Friction Stir Welds
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Forth, Scott C.; Hatamleh, Omar
2008-01-01
Friction stir welding induces residual stresses that accelerates fatigue crack growth in the weld nugget. Shot peening
over the weld had little effect on growth rate. Laser peening over the weld retarded the growth rate: Final crack growth
rate was comparable to the base, un-welded material. Crack tunneling evident from residual compressive stresses.
2195-T8 fracture surfaces were highly textured. Texturing makes comparisons difficult as the material system is
affecting the data as much as the processing. Material usage becoming more common in space applications requiring
additional work to develop useful datasets for damage tolerance analyses.
9. On post-weld heat treatment cracking in tig welded superalloy ATI 718Plus
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Asala, G.; Ojo, O. A.
The susceptibility of heat affected zone (HAZ) to cracking in Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welded Allvac 718Plus
superalloy during post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) was studied. Contrary to the previously reported case of low heat
input electron beam welded Allvac 718Plus, where HAZ cracking occurred during PWHT, the TIG welded alloy is crackfree after PWHT, notwithstanding the presence of similar micro-constituents that caused cracking in the low input weld.
Accordingly, the formation of brittle HAZ intergranular micro-constituents may not be a sufficient factor to
determine cracking propensity, the extent of heat input during welding may be another major factor that influences
HAZ cracking during PWHT of the aerospace superalloy Allvac 718Plus.
10. Monitoring of solidification crack propagation mechanism in pulsed laser welding of 6082 aluminum
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
von Witzendorff, P.; Kaierle, S.; Suttmann, O.; Overmeyer, L.
2016-03-01
Pulsed laser sources with pulse durations in the millisecond regime can be used for spot welding and seam welding of
aluminum. Seam welds are generally produced with several overlapping spot welds. Hot cracking has its origin in the
solidification process of individual spot welds which determines the cracking morphology along the seam welding. This
study used a monitoring unit to capture the crack geometry within individual spot welds during seam welding to
investigate the conditions for initiation, propagation and healing (re-melting) of solidification cracking within overlapping
pulsed laser welds. The results suggest that small crack radii and high crack angles with respect to welding direction
are favorable conditions for crack healing which leads to crack-free seam welds. Optimized pulse shapes were used to
produce butt welds of 0.5 mm thick 6082 aluminum alloys. Tensile tests were performed to investigate the mechanical
strength in the as-welded condition.
11. Fatigue crack propagation behavior of stainless steel welds
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kusko, Chad S.
The fatigue crack propagation behavior of austenitic and duplex stainless steel base and weld metals has been
investigated using various fatigue crack growth test procedures, ferrite measurement techniques, light optical
microscopy, stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical profilometry. The compliance offset method
has been incorporated to measure crack closure during testing in order to determine a stress ratio at which such
closure is overcome. Based on this method, an empirically determined stress ratio of 0.60 has been shown to be very
successful in overcoming crack closure for all da/dN for gas metal arc and laser welds. This empirically-determined
stress ratio of 0.60 has been applied to testing of stainless steel base metal and weld metal to understand the influence
of microstructure. Regarding the base metal investigation, for 316L and AL6XN base metals, grain size and grain plus
twin size have been shown to influence resulting crack growth behavior. The cyclic plastic zone size model has been
applied to accurately model crack growth behavior for austenitic stainless steels when the average grain plus twin size

is considered. Additionally, the effect of the tortuous crack paths observed for the larger grain size base metals can be
explained by a literature model for crack deflection. Constant Delta K testing has been used to characterize
the crack growth behavior across various regions of the gas metal arc and laser welds at the empirically determined
stress ratio of 0.60. Despite an extensive range of stainless steel weld metal FN and delta-ferrite morphologies, neither
delta-ferrite morphology significantly influence the room temperature crack growth behavior. However, variations
in weld metal da/dN can be explained by local surface roughness resulting from large columnar grains and
tortuous crack paths in the weld metal.
12. Stress corrosion cracking of austenitic stainless steel core internal welds.
SciTech Connect
Chung, H. M.; Park, J.-H.; Ruther, W. E.; Sanecki, J. E.; Strain, R. V.; Zaluzec, N. J.
1999-04-14
Microstructural analyses by several advanced metallographic techniques were conducted on austenitic stainless steel
mockup and core shroud welds that had cracked in boiling water reactors. Contrary to previous beliefs, heat-affected
zones of the cracked Type 304L, as well as 304 SS core shroud welds and mockup shielded-metal-arc welds, were
free of grain-boundary carbides, which shows that core shroud failure cannot be explained by classical intergranular
stress corrosion cracking. Neither martensite nor delta-ferrite films were present on the grain boundaries. However, as
a result of exposure to welding fumes, the heat-affected zones of the core shroud welds were significantly
contaminated by oxygen and fluorine, which migrate to grain boundaries. Significant oxygen contamination seems to
promote fluorine contamination and suppress thermal sensitization. Results of slow-strain-rate tensile tests also
indicate that fluorine exacerbates the susceptibility of irradiated steels to intergranular stress corrosion cracking. These
observations, combined with previous reports on the strong influence of weld flux, indicate that oxygen and fluorine
contamination and fluorine-catalyzed stress corrosion play a major role in cracking of core shroud welds.
13. The cause of welding cracks in aircraft steels
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Muller, J
1940-01-01
The discussion in this article refers to gas welding of thin-walled parts of up to about 3 mm thickness. It was proven that
by restricting the sulphur, carbon, and phosphorous content, and by electric-furnace production of the steel, it was
possible in a short time to remove this defect. Weld hardness - i.e., martensite formation and hardness of the
overheated zone - has no connection with the tendency to weld-crack development. Si, Cr, Mo, or V content has no
appreciable effect, while increased manganese content tends to reduce the crack susceptibility.
14. Heat Sink Welding for Preventing Hot Cracking in Alloy 2195 Intersection Welds: A Feasibility Study
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Yang, Yu-Ping; Dong, Pingsha; Rogers, Patrick
2000-01-01
Two concepts, stationary cooling and trailing cooling, were proposed to prevent weld intersection cracking. Finite
element analysis was used to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of those two concepts. Both stationary and
trailing heat sink setups were proposed for preventing intersection cracking. The cooling media could be liquid nitrogen,
or pressured air knife. Welding experiments on the small test panel with the localized heat sink confirmed the feasibility
of using such a stationary cooling technique. The required cooling was achieved in this test panel.
Systematic welding experiments should be conducted in the future to validate and refine the heat sink technique for
preventing intersection cracking.