21 January 2014

INTRODUCING CrackWISE VERSION 5

Isabel Hadley, Elvin Eren, Paul Brown, Hauwa Raji, Tyler London, TWI Ltd

Introduction

A new version of BS 7910, the UK flaw assessment procedure [1], was published in
December 2013, superseding the previous edition (published in 2005 and amended in
2007). BS 7910:2013 is a major revision with respect to the 2005 edition, particularly in the
clauses and annexes relating to fracture [2]. Amongst the new content are methods for
assessing the effects of overmatching and undermatching welds, for assessing crack tip
constraint and for incorporating the effects of residual stress.

Even a straightforward analysis to BS 7910 typically requires the use of multiple parametric
equations, to calculate (as a minimum) stress intensity factor (SIF) and reference stress
(ref). Whilst simple analyses of known flaws can in principle be carried out using standard
software tools such as spreadsheets, there is often a need to carry out complex and iterative
calculations. This is particularly pertinent to propagating flaws (for example, assessment of
fatigue crack growth or ductile tearing) and to the calculation of limiting conditions (for
example, the maximum tolerable flaw size in a structure under given conditions). Specialist
software is invaluable in performing, reporting, editing and archiving such complex
calculations, and it is for such situations that CrackWISE (CW) was developed.

History of CrackWISE

TWI has developed and marketed structural integrity software since the early 1990s, when
the DOS-based program CW was first released. Since then, the software has been
redesigned and re-released on several occasions [3], reflecting changes in both the
underlying procedure and the software/hardware platforms available to engineers at the
time. Figure 1 shows the progression over time of BSI assessment procedures and
associated software. It also reflects the fact that the earliest procedures were aimed primarily
at assessing structures containing known flaws, the size or type of which placed them
outside the limits prescribed by the appropriate fabrication code. The usual response to such
flaws would be repair or replacement, in order to avoid the ultimate possibility of structural
failure. Industrial experience, particularly in the field of offshore engineering, showed that PD
6493 could be used to assess such flaws as fit for purpose or not, with huge cost savings
accruing from the timely installation and commissioning of offshore equipment. As time
progressed, the emphasis has moved from avoiding failure towards predicting failure
conditions and margins against failure, optimising inspection techniques, interpreting service
failures and, where possible, quantifying reliability. The use of multi-level fracture
assessment, where the analysis type reflects the extent and type of input data available, is
just one example of how the procedures have developed over the years.

Development process

The software development process starts with the formulation of a vision document setting
out the feature of the software, the potential user and the user environment. In the case of
CrackWISE Version 5, for example, the main feature of the software was that it should be

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fully compatible with the fracture and fatigue clauses of the 2013 version of BS 7910. The
intended users (mainly TWI staff and TWI industrial members) are expert structural integrity
engineers who fully understand the potential and limitations of BS 7910. Whilst the software
itself is highly intuitive and user-friendly, it is emphatically not a black box, to be
interrogated with different inputs until a desirable answer is obtained. Conversely, the
development team have deliberately retained a white box (or glass box) approach that
allows users to select particular solutions, trace them back to the appropriate clause in BS
7910 and, on request, to view intermediate results. Reporting of the input, the solution
adopted and the output is in accordance with Annex H of BS 7910, ie traceable and
repeatable. Given that some aspects of BS 7910 are thoroughly validated through a
combination of long experience and full-scale tests, whilst others are new, or applicable only
to limited circumstances, or require further validation/justification, this is an important feature
of CW.

TWIs software development team features tight integration of software engineers, software
testers, and end users (including staff involved in the development of BS 7910) in order to
ensure both accurate interpretation and implementation of the procedure and a robust,
maintainable software architecture. Software quality assurance is certified by the TickIT
scheme, a software-specific implementation of ISO 9001. In the case of CW, this entails so-
called unit testing of each stress intensity solution and reference stress solution against a
Mathcad benchmark before each software build. This is followed by rigorous user
acceptance testing by experienced structural integrity engineers at TWI.

Features of CrackWISE version 5

The main feature of the new Version 5 of CrackWISE (CW5) is that it is compatible with the
fracture and fatigue clauses (and selected annexes) of BS 7910:2013. In other words, an
analysis carried out using CW5 is compatible with the document, and fully traceable to the
relevant clauses. Where the development team have chosen to add functionality not
currently cited in BS 7910, but considered to be convenient for users, (for example the
inclusion of stress concentration factors from sources other than BS 7910), this is clearly
stated.

The main differences between the 2005 and 2013 editions of BS 7910 (and hence between
CW4 and CW5) lie in the fracture assessment procedures. In particular, the fracture analysis
levels (1-3) of the 2005 procedure have been re-cast as Options 1-3 in the 2013 procedure;
this new hierarchy harmonizes in general with that of Revision 4 of R6, the UK nuclear
industrys flaw assessment procedure [4] and with many aspects of the European FITNET
procedure [5], although the three procedures (BS 7910, R6, FITNET) are not identical. The
yield behaviour of materials (ie whether or not they show discontinuities in the stress-strain
curve) is also considered more thoroughly than in previous editions. The Failure Assessment
Diagrams (FADs) in CW have changed accordingly, although the Level 2A/3A FAD has been
retained in CW5, so that users can re-visit calculations previously carried out using the 2005
procedure, without reloading CW4 (a comparison of old and new generic FADs for an
example material is shown in Figures 2a and 2b). Users will also be able to read in and edit
existing *.cw4d files, although there will inevitably be minor incompatibilities in the user
interface, so caution is required.

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The 2013 edition of BS 7910 contains several new annexes addressing aspects of fracture
not hitherto considered in BS 7910. For example, there is a new annex addressing crack tip
constraint, another quantifying the effects of weld strength mismatch (overmatch or
undermatch) and a third giving advice on NDT capability. Including these in CW5 and testing
them is a lengthy process. In developing CW5, priority has therefore been given to
developing those parts of the software that are essential for the automation of the new
fracture and fatigue clauses of BS 7910:2013, for example, the features that are already
available in CW4, but translated into the language of the new procedure. Additional
functionality will be supplied free of charge to users as and when it becomes available.

Features of CW5 that were immediately available to users at the CW5 release date are
summarised below:

Feature Already available Available in

in CW4? CW5?

Library facility, allowing analyses to be edited, Y Y

saved and transmitted as *.pdf files
Demo version, based on analysis of a surface Y Y
flaw in a plate
Automatic version checking of software via Y Y
internet, so that users are aware of updates
BS 7910:2013-compatible FADs N/A Y
BS 7910:2005-compatible FADs (in the case of Y Y
CW5, Level 2A/Level 3A FAD are also available
for backwards-compatibility with BS 7910:2005
Analysis of known flaws, using either single-point Y Y
values of fracture toughness or tearing resistance
curves
Calculation of critical parameters (flaw size, Y Y
applied stress, toughness etc)
Sensitivity calculation (inputs such as stress can Y Y
be varied, and the results plotted on a FAD)
Critical/sensitivity calculation Y Y
User-defined FAD (eg for Level 3C/Option 3 Y Y
analysis)
Calculation of characteristic Kmat using the Master N/A Y
Curve concept
Automation of Annex Q (residual stress Y Y (revised)
distribution)
Toolkits: Y Y
estimation of:
o fracture toughness from Charpy
energy,
o tensile properties from hardness,
o low-temperature tensile properties
from room-temperature data
o Above-ambient tensile properties
(ferritic and duplex stainless steels)
from room-temperature data,
SI/US unit converter
Toolkits:

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Feature Already available Available in
in CW4? CW5?

Automation of Annex T (guidance on NDT N/A Y

capability)
Effects of weld strength overmatch/undermatch N/A Y
on Lr and the FAD
Integrated misalignment calculator Y Y (improved)
Partial safety factors Y Y (updated)
Guidance on continuously/discontinuously N Y
yielding steels
Calculation of Kmat from CTOD N/A Y
Primary/secondary stress interaction Y Y (improved; both
and V factors
available)
Improved fatigue solver N/A Y
Note: N/A denotes not applicable

Although the fracture clauses and associated annexes have changed significantly between
the 2005 and 2013 editions, and thus between CW4 and CW5, there are many parts of both
the procedure and the software that will be very familiar to existing users for example, the
fatigue clauses have changed very little, and the basic flow of data through the analysis will
be recognisable to current CW4 users and intuitive to new CW5 users. An example of the
opening screen of CW5 is shown in Figure 3 the user is guided smoothly through the
inputs required (flaw description, materials properties and stresses) to the final results
screen.

Features being planned or considered for release in the near future include:

Incorporation of *.pdf copy of the BS 7910:2013 document in the software

Use of weight function methods for primary and secondary stresses
Incorporation of selected elements of API579-1/ASME FFS-1
Batch mode, allowing a larger matrix of calculations to be carried out than is currently
possible with sensitivity and/or critical modes of fracture calculation
User-defined K-solutions and reference stress solutions
Backwards solver for fatigue, allowing calculation of maximum tolerable initial flaw size in
combined fracture/fatigue cases
Probabilistic fracture solver
Life history facility, allowing the user to analyse a range of different conditions (eg
installation, start of operation, end of life) for a particular component, and transfer the
results automatically from one stage of the analysis to the next. This is intended for
situations in which variables other than flaw size (eg applied stress, wall thickness,
fracture toughness) vary over time.
Idealised stress-strain curve for continuously and discontinuously yielding steels, based
on yield and tensile strength
Assessment of flaws under mixed-mode loading

The priority for adding functionality will be decided by consultation with the CW5 User Group
(see below). Other plans for the medium and longer term are outlined below.

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Development of a CW5 user group

All users of CW5 will be invited to join a new User Group, which will communicate with the
CW5 development team via a dedicated web-based user platform, face-to-face and/or web-
based seminars. This will allow users to request and share information, to download
upgrades and to express their preference and priorities regarding software improvements.
However, we recognise that some users prefer to seek support (particularly for confidential
work), so the present system of user support via one-to-one e-mail communication will be
retained.

Updated training courses

The current TWI courses providing training in the application of BS 7910 (around three days)
and the use of CW (one day) have been revised to comply with the new procedure and
software. For existing users of BS 7910, a one-day update course covering the main
changes between the 2005 and the 2013 procedures (and between CW4 and CW5) is also
available.

Application of BS 7910 to pipeline girth welds

BS 7910 is a generic procedure that can be used for a wide range of structures, but one very
important current use is in the analysis of pipeline girth welds. Because of a combination of
factors, including high applied stresses during installation, and the use of high-strength
linepipe material (which in turn implies a high yield-to-tensile ratio and low wall thickness),
there are particular challenges in demonstrating adequate defect-tolerance in pipeline girth
welds using BS 7910. A TWI Group Sponsored Project has been launched [6] to address
some of these issues, with a view to developing a pipeline-specific annex to BS 7910. In
parallel with this, an exploratory study has shown the possibility of automatically generating
an FEA mesh of a girth weld containing a flaw, using a CW5-type interface. The appropriate
values of J-integral and limit load can then be calculated using an appropriate FEA code (in
this case, ABAQUS) and the results fed back to CW5. The advantage of this approach lies in
the ability to combine the speed of CW5 with the versatility of an FEA code. This FEA toolkit
will be made available as a consultancy service to TWI industrial members in due course.

Customisation

It is recognised that some users will have very specific requirements, such as the inclusion
of particular geometries, stress intensity factor solutions and toolkits. Customisation of CW5
will be available to users on a consultancy basis. However, the core features of CW5
(compliance with BS 7910 and a rigorous procedure for QA and testing) will be retained.

Summary

A new version of CrackWISE, CW5, has been released to coincide with the publication of
the new version of BS 7910:2013. The software has been comprehensively rewritten to
automate the extensive changes (relative to the 2005 edition) in BS 7910, and BS
7910:2005 has been withdrawn. CW5 will be released on an incremental basis, starting with
the functionality that CW4 already has, but translated into the language of BS 7910:2013 (for
example, the use of fracture options rather than levels). Some backwards-compatibility

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with BS 7910:2005 will be retained for comparative purposes for example, the Level 2A/3A
FAD will continue to be available (although it is not compatible with the 2013 version of BS
7910) and it is possible to read existing *.cw4d files into CW5 and run cases based on the
data therein.

References

1. BS 7910:2013, Guide to methods for assessing the acceptability of flaws in metallic

structures, BSI Standards Limited 2013
2. Hadley, I., Progress towards the revision of BS 7910, Proceedings of the ASME 2011
Pressure Vessels and Piping Division Conference, July 17-21 2011, Baltimore, Maryland
(PVP 2011-57307).
3. http://www.twi.co.uk/technical-knowledge/knowledge-summaries/advantages-of-
software-in-fitness-for-service-assessments/
4. R6: Assessment of the Integrity of Structures containing Defects, Revision 4, 2001, EDF
Energy, Gloucester, UK.
5. http://www.eurofitnet.org/
6. http://www.twi.co.uk/services/research-and-consultancy/group-sponsored-
projects/group-sponsored-projects-
list/?entryid7=393420&q=3374466%7eProposal%7e3374463%7eOil+and+Gas%7e

Figure 1 Development of BS 7910 and CrackWISE

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Figure 2a Example of FADs for continuously and discontinuously yielding materials at Level
2A of BS 7910: 2005

Figure 2b Example of FADs for continuously and discontinuously yielding materials at

Option 1 of BS 7910: 2013; tensile properties as for Figure 2a

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Figure 3 Example of CW5 screen