Simulation of Ductile Crack Propagation in High-Strength Pipeline Steel Using Damage Models

The performance of engineering design of high-strength steel pipelines has revealed the necessity to revise current design procedures. Therefore, an improved and detailed comprehension of fracture mechanisms and development of failure prediction tools are required in order to derive new design criteria. In last decades the most successful failure prediction tools for steel structures subjected to various type of loading can be encountered in the field of damage mechanics. This paper aims to describe ductile fracture behavior of high-strength steel pipelines by applying three different damage models, Gurson-Tvergaard-Needelman (GTN), Fracture Locus Curve (FLC) and Cohesive Zone (CZ). These models are evaluated regarding their capability to estimate ductile crack propagation in laboratory specimens and linepipe components without adjusting the calibrated parameters. It can be shown that appropriate parameter sets can be identified to reproduce load-deformation and fracture resistance curves accurately. The strain rate effect on the fracture behavior is examined by dynamic tests on the BDWT specimens. Finally, the shortcomings of the applied models are pointed out with the reference to possible extensions and modifications.