Numerical ductile fracture prediction of circumferential through-wall cracked pipes under very low cycle fatigue loading condition

Abstract

In this paper, a method to simulate ductile crack growth under very low-cycle fatigue loading condition is given and simulation results are compared with published test data of compact tension specimens and circumferential through-wall cracked pipes. The damage model in simulation is based on the multi-axial fracture strain energy. Two parameters in the damage model are determined from tensile and fracture toughness data under the monotonic loading condition. The determined damage model is then used to simulate ductile crack growth in compact tension specimens subjected to cyclic loading with large-amplitudes and in full-scale through-wall cracked pipes subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading with two different load ratios. Predicted results show a good agreement with experimental results.