Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113

Practical numerical analysis of a crack near a weld subjected

to primary loading and hydrogen embrittlement
A. Askari, S. Das
Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Detroit-Mercy, P.O. Box 19900, Detroit, MI 48219, USA

Received 28 April 2004; received in revised form 22 September 2004; accepted 2 December 2004

Abstract

Structural failures by fracture in oil and petroleum industries can have severe consequences both in terms of loss of life and of economics.
Material fabrication processes, such as welding and rolling, and plant environment, such as corrosive surroundings, lead to brittle fractures of
oil and petroleum industry structures. Structures, such as pressure vessels, are constantly exposed to hydrogen in the presence of high pressure
and moderate temperature. This leads to hydrogen embrittlement. Also, exposure to high pressure and temperature over time by itself ages the
material, and leads to temper embrittlement. Hydrogen and temper embrittlements are the primary causes for brittle fracture. In this paper, the
most common type of this complex interaction, namely that of the residual stresses in a welded thick wall pressure vessel subject to primary
loading and exposed to an atmosphere that contains hydrogen at elevated temperature, is discussed and analyzed. A real case of a crack in
a welded pressure vessel under high hydrogen partial pressure and moderate temperature is selected as a reference structure. A strategy that
involves both modeling and use of data from previous experiments is established that can help in assessing the service life of such a structure
that contains residual stress from processing, is cracked, and is exposed to a corrosive atmosphere.
2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Residual stress; Hydrogen embrittlement; Welding; Pressure vessels

1. Introduction ranges the interaction of residual stress with corrosion may

The most common types of structural members used in
petroleum industry are large pressure vessels that are used
for storage and processing of petrochemicals. It is common
practice to fabricate these vessels using fusion-welding pro-
cesses such as gas metal arc welding (GMAW). During fusion
welding, residual stresses are induced in the component near
the welded joint. This is due to the highly localized, non-
uniform, transient heating (and subsequent cooling), and the
non-linearity of material properties. These stresses may lead
to cracking just after welding and sometimes later, during the
intended service life. Particularly, tensile residual stresses
near the weld area and the heat-affected zone (HAZ) may
cause stress raising, fatigue failure, and fracture. Also, when
exposed to corrosive environments at certain temperature
pletely removed. Thus, the existence of high residual stresses
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 313 993 3380; fax: +1 313 993 1187.
E-mail addresses: alaskari@hotmail.com (A. Askari),
dass@udmercy.edu (S. Das).
lead to stress corrosion cracking due to toughness reduction
of the material, and embrittlement.
Hydrogen embrittlement is a special case of stress cor-
rosion cracking; it is most common in oil and petroleum
industries where hydrogen is used to improve product quality.
Hydrogen embrittlement is a form of surface decarburiza-
tion, internal decarburization, and/or inter-granular cracking
in steels that are exposed to elevated temperatures (above
205 C), and high hydrogen pressure. Hydrogen embrittle-
ment in combination with residual stresses is an irreversible
process that can cause permanent damage resulting in degra-
dation of the mechanical properties and subsequent failures.
Combination of fracture in a weld area and hydrogen embrit-
tlement may cause catastrophic failures if certain factors are
not controlled. Although residual stresses can be reduced
through post weld heat treatment (PWHT), they are not com-
in welds has been a concern in many welded structures since
it increases the crack driving force and reduces resistance

0924-0136/$ see front matter 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2004.12.005
2 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113
to brittle fracture. This combination of defects is commonly
observed in pressure vessels in petroleum and petrochemical
plants, especially in old generating reactors.
Fracture mechanics of welded structures under the effect
of hydrogen embrittlement has not been well addressed
and analyzed in literature. Researchers have studied both
stress corrosion cracking due to hydrogen attack and frac-
ture mechanics of welds, independently. In this work, a crack
near a weld, in a high-pressure kerosene-unifier reactor has
been selected to demonstrate the combined analysis of these
defects [1]. This reactor was made of 2 41 Cr1 Mo steel
and belonged to the Kuwait National Petroleum Company
(KNPC). After being in service for 4 years, the reactor expe-
rienced cracks at the inner wall in the HAZ. These cracks
were removed by grinding and the joint was re-welded. After
6 years, larger cracks reappeared in the HAZ at different loca-
tions of the vessel. The repair consumed a lot of time and
money but the problem was not solved. The internal pressure
of the vessel was then reduced from 19.3 MPa (2800 psi),
which was the designed operating pressure, to 8.96 MPa
(1300 psi) and the cracks were closely monitored. Not only
was this a temporary solution for the problem, it also low-
ered production capacity of the reactor. The lack of success
and the uncertainties associated with the techniques used in
addressing this problem indicates that a better procedure is
necessary. A procedure that can be used to confidently predict
the useful life of a reactor that has experienced some crack-
ing in the welded area is needed. For such a procedure to be
acceptable to the petroleum industry users, it should not only
be accurate but also be practical and cost effective. In this
paper, an approach is taken that uses a combination of fun-
damental analysis along with the use of empirical data. The
approach is easy to replicate and can be conveniently imple-
mented for other similar structures showing similar defects
but has some useful life still left in them.
2. The procedure to handle the problem
As described in the previous section, the goal of this work
is to establish a procedure to deal with the complex interaction
of phenomena associated with material processing, corrosive
atmosphere, and fracture that are active in this situation. This
procedure should predict the active life of the structure that
has residual stresses, a crack, and is exposed to a hydrogen-
enriched atmosphere.
As a first step, the multi-pass GMAW welding of a thick
plate of 2 41 Cr1 Mo steel is simulated by a finite element
commercial package ABAQUS [2] with the same weld-
ing parameters and procedure that was carried out on a
kerosene-unifier reactor of KNPC. This analysis enables us
to determine the residual stress induced in the structure at the
conclusion of the fabrication process. Heat treatment effects
are modeled through the same FEA package and residual
stresses after post weld heat treatment are calculated as part
of this simulation. The toughness of the material is then
degraded due to hydrogen and temper embrittlement using
the approach of Iwadate [3]. Primary loading due to internal
pressure of the vessel, bending moment and wind speed on the
reactor are applied on the structure. The combined effects are
analysed using the finite element method. Strip yield model
approach of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) is used
in this analysis to evaluate the stress intensity factor KI of the
cracked specimen. Finally, a fitness for purpose (FFP) anal-
ysis is preformed to assess the reactor integrity using data
obtained from previous steps. The result is then compared
with results obtained from previous work done on the same
pressure vessel [1]. The five steps described above can be
summarized as:
(1) welding process simulation;
(2) post weld heat treatment simulation;
(3) material property degradation due to hydrogen embrit-
tlement;
(4) stress analysis of the cracked specimen;
(5) fitness for purpose analysis.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic of the approach that is taken.
This figure also indicates what results are obtained from a
particular step and is fed into the next phase of the work. In
the next few sections, all the five steps are described in detail
along with relevant background information and the results
obtained from each step.
3. Welding simulation
Considerable efforts have been expended on developing
effective numerical techniques to simulate the welding of
various materials and geometry. In most of the earlier efforts,
researchers had tried to predict the thermal field and residual
stress fields accurately [46]. Later, these earlier efforts were
extended to tackle more complex issues such as phase trans-
formations and its effects, localized material property varia-
tions, etc. [712,17,18]. The primary goals of most welding
simulation efforts have been determination of residual stress
and associated distortion prediction.
Residual stresses develop during welding due to uneven
heating, subsequent cooling and uneven distribution of non-
elastic strains. During welding, heating causes the metal to
expand in a non-uniform fashion that could lead to yielding.
During cooling, the metal experiences non-uniform contrac-
tion that could lead to more yielding. These cycles of heating
and cooling cause the non-elastic strains to form, thus leading
to residual stresses.
Physical and mechanical properties of the material are
important factors influencing residual stresses in a weldment.
These properties include yield stress, modulus of elastic-
ity, Possions ratio, thermal expansion coefficient, thermal
conductivity, and specific heat. They are all temperature
dependent. Because of the significant temperature changes
involved with the welding process the material properties
vary widely during a single welding cycle. Most practical
 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113
Fig. 1. Schematic of the procedure used to handle the problem.
welding applications (especially when thicker geometries
are welded) involve multiple passes of the heat source. This
means that the heating and cooling cycle repeats over and over
leading to further complexities in the residual stress patterns.
Other important factors are plate geometry such as thick-
ness, and joint geometry such as weld depth, thickness, and
shape.
The welding process is a coupled thermo-mechanical pro-
cess. The thermal field strongly affects the residual stress
field. On the other hand, the stress field has a weak influ-
ence on the thermal field. Therefore, uncoupled analysis
works very well [4,5,12,13,17,18]. In this paper, the uncou-
pled thermo-mechanical analysis is carried out in two stages.
A non-linear transient thermal analysis is conducted first to
determine the entire temperature history generated during
welding. The temperature data file is then used as a thermal
loading input for subsequent mechanical (structural) analy-
sis. The finite element mesh and time steps for both the heat
flow analysis and stress analysis are identical. Fig. 2 shows
the numerical analysis procedure developed for this uncou-
pled non-linear system. The general-purpose finite element
package ABAQUS [2] is used for mesh generation as well as
for both thermal and residual stress analysis.
In this simulation, 2D finite element analysis is used to
simulate the 3D welding process since a quasi-steady state
exists in long welds under uniform welding speed [14,17,18].
Also, instead of considering the model to be a vessel, a
thick plate with the same dimension of the vessel and the
same welding edge preparation is considered in this model.
3
Although a pressure vessel with a curvature cannot be exactly
approximated as a flat plate, in this case the approximation
is acceptable since the diameter of the vessel is large in com-
parison to the wall thickness. The thickness of the plate is
210 mm and it requires many welding layers (passes). Since
the area of interest is near the bottom of the plate, i.e. the
inner wall of the vessel (where cracks occur), only this area
is simulated in the finite element model.
Residual stress calculation of weldments is non-linear and
time dependent (transient). To accurately model a multi-pass
weld with a large number of passes large amounts of com-
puter time and storage space are required. A major concern
for multi-pass welding of thick plates, therefore, is to develop
a finite element model that limits computational time with-
out sacrificing analysis accuracy. One of the techniques that
has been successfully used to model multi-pass welding is
known as lumping. Lumping involves grouping a number
of actual weld layers into single lumps for the purpose of
analysis. Many researchers, such as Rybicki et al. [15] and
Leung et al. [16], recommended the use this technique for
modeling multi-pass welding of a thick plate. A scheme of
lumping similar to Leung et al. [16] lumping is adopted in
this model since it helps to significantly reduce the compu-
tation time without much sacrifice in accuracy. The welding
area of this model is divided into six lumps. The original
weld joint can be seen in Fig. 3, and the simplified model
(showing the area chosen for this study) can be seen in
Fig. 4. The six lumps used in the analysis are also shown in
Fig. 4.
4 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113

Fig. 2. Numerical analysis procedures for an uncoupled thermo-mechanical analysis.

3.1. Thermal analysis

Transient non-linear thermal analysis is conducted for a

2D plate to determine the temperature history throughout
the plate. The transient temperature distribution is calcu-
lated using ABAQUS. Temperature dependent properties of
the material used in the thermal analysis are obtained from
ASTM A 387-D and are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Although
conduction is the same in all directions, convection within the
weld pool results in unequal heat transfer in two perpendicu-
lar directions. Using orthotropic conductivity within the weld
pool is an indirect way of accounting for convection effects.

Fig. 3. The welding joint of the pressure vessel. Fig. 4. Lumping the welded area near the inner edge into six lumps.
 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113
Fig. 5. The orthotropic conductivity of A 387-D used in the analysis.
Other temperature dependent properties of the material, such
as density and latent heat, are used in the analysis as well.
The welding area of interest is divided into six lumps. Each
lump comprises of two analysis steps, one prior to deposition
followed by a post deposition step. This defines a total of 12
steps to be carried out during welding. Gaussian distribution
[10] is used in each step to simulate the heat input for the
gas metal arc welding [5]. This is done using a FORTRAN
subroutine (called DFLUX). Also, convection and radiation
heat transfer from exposed surfaces is simulated for each step.
The post weld heat treatment was then imposed to the welded
material in two additional steps (more details in Section 4).
3.2. Stress (mechanical) analysis
Transient non-linear stress (mechanical) analysis is con-
ducted for the 2D plate to characterize the residual stress
distribution. Temperature dependent mechanical material
properties, such as Young modulus, Poissons ratio, thermal
expansion coefficient, and yield strength are used in this anal-
ysis. Temperature dependent properties of the material used
in the stress analysis are shown in Figs. 79.
The finite element mesh and steps in the stress analysis are
the same as used in the thermal analysis. Static type of stress
analysis is used in each step of the total 14 steps. These steps
are exactly the same as in the thermal analysis. The ABAQUS
program takes the temperature profile history and use it as an
input for the stress analysis as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 6. Specific heat of A 387-D as a function of temperature.
5
Fig. 7. Young modulus for ASTM A 387-D as a function of temperature.
Fig. 8. Yield strength for ASTM A 387-D as a function of temperature.
3.3. Results of the uncoupled thermo-mechanical
analysis
From the stress analysis all the stress components and all
the strain components (including elastic and plastic strains)
are obtainable. Here, we will discuss only the relevant data.
In this discussion, two words transverse and longitudi-
nal are used to denote two perpendicular directions. In the
context of describing welds the word longitudinal is nor-
mally used for the direction of the weld heat source travel
and the word transverse is used for the direction perpen-
dicular to the longitudinal (i.e. along the plate width). In the
context of describing a cylindrical pressure vessel, however,
the word longitudinal denotes the axial or length direc-
tion and transverse is used for the thickness of the wall.
For our work here, we have used the convention followed for
Fig. 9. Thermal expansion for ASTM A 387-D as a function of temperature.
6 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113

Fig. 10. Longitudinal, transverse, and Mises stresses at the bottom of lump 5 (Fig. 4, line 5).

Fig. 11. Longitudinal, transverse, and Mises stresses at the bottom of lump 6 (Fig. 4, line 6).

describing the pressure vessel, i.e. transverse will mean the
thickness direction of the plate and longitudinal will mean
perpendicular to transverse, i.e. in the length direction of the
pressure vessel.
Longitudinal and transverse stress results from some of the
weld deposition steps are reported here. Along with the lumps
shown in Fig. 4 some lines are shown as well. These lines are
numbered 16. At the conclusion of the stress analysis after
each lump is deposited, stress distributions are plotted along
these lines for further analysis. Since the most critical results
are the final residual stress results only the plots from the later
part of the analysis are being reported here. Figs. 10 and 11
show the longitudinal, transverse, and Mises stress distribu-
tions on the surface after the two lump depositions (lumps
5 and 6, respectively). Fig. 10 shows the stress distribution
along line 5 as drawn in Fig. 4. Fig. 11 shows the stress dis-
tribution along line 6 as drawn in Fig. 4. These figures show
longitudinal stress to have higher magnitude than the trans-
verse stress. The longitudinal and transverse graphs show
that the maximum stress occurs at the heat-affected zone.
The spike in the stress value in the HAZ shows this.
Figs. 12 and 13 show the effects of adding additional lumps
on the longitudinal stress at different locations of the weld-
ment at the bottom of lumps 4 and 5 (i.e. lines 4 and 5 in
Fig. 4). In general, as lumps are building up, the previously
deposited lumps reduce the maximum stress and smooth out
the stresses around the HAZ. The residual stresses do not
vanish, but it spreads out to avoid concentration of stresses at
the HAZ. The same conclusion may be drawn for transverse
stresses.

Fig. 12. The effect of adding the additional lumps on the longitudinal stress at the bottom of lump 4 (Fig. 4, line 4).
 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113 7

Fig. 13. The effect of adding the additional lumps on the longitudinal stress at the bottom of lump 5 (Fig. 4, line 5).

4. Post weld heat treatment
A post weld heat treatment is essential to reduce the inter-
nal stresses that are developed due to the welding process.
Heating and cooling must be done slowly and uniformly, usu-
ally 300 F/h, to avoid building up of additional stresses in
the weldment. The stress relief range for most carbon steels is
600650 C, and the soaking time is usually 1 h/in. of thick-
ness (ASME VIII [19]). For ASTM A 387-D, the stress relief
range is 675705 C for 1 h. For our analysis, two additional
steps are added to the ABAQUS weld model to simulate the
heat transfer associated with the PWHT cycle and the result-
ing stress distribution. Figs. 14 and 15 show the effects of
PWHT on the longitudinal residual stresses at different loca-
tions of the weldment for lumps 5 and 6. The same pattern is
noted for the transverse stresses but no figures are added here.
Residual stresses in the welded plate subjected to PWHT are
reduced to a much lower value, but not vanished. Also, PWHT
smoothed out the concentrated residual stress into a wider
area. So the high peak values are distributed more uniformly

Fig. 14. The effect of PWHT on the longitudinal stress at the bottom of lump 5 (Fig. 4, line 5).

Fig. 15. The effect of PWHT on the longitudinal stress at the bottom of lump 6 (Fig. 4, line 6).
8 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113
around the welding area. The final longitudinal stresses are
about 2838% of the yield strength of the material (310 MPa).
As per approximations made in some publications [29] it
passes the expected value (maximum of 30%). Yet these dif-
ferences of the percentage will not reduce the importance
of this analysis since they are small differences and the real
residual stresses are not under-estimated.
5. Hydrogen embrittlement
There are no favorable effects of hydrogen in steel. CrMo
steels are widely utilized for equipment employed in the
petroleum refinery and petrochemical industries and one of
the major problems encountered with these steels is high tem-
perature hydrogen attack. High temperature hydrogen attack
is an irreversible phenomenon and causes permanent damage
resulting in degradation of mechanical strength and ductility.
Consequently, it can lead to failures such as leakage, bursting,
fire, and explosion.
5.1. Mechanism of hydrogen attack
Hydrogen attack is caused by methane bubble nucleation,
growth, and ultimate link-up to form cracks along grain
boundaries [2022,25]. Hydrogen attack is a diffusion con-
trolled degradation process in which hydrogen damage is
preceded by an incubation period during which mechanical
properties are not significantly impaired. After this initial
period elapses, hydrogen attack damage can be detected by
results of deterioration of mechanical properties, especially
toughness and ductility. The incubation period varies with
the type of steel and the severity of the exposure condition.
Moderate temperature hydrogen embrittlement can be accel-
erated by secondary stresses such as thermal stresses or those
induced in cold work. So, in the presence of a welded joint
having relatively high residual stress, the hydrogen attack is
highly accelerated.
Both industrial experiences and prior research indicates
that post weld heat treatment of low alloy steel improves resis-
tance to hydrogen attack. Many experimental studies [23,24]
have been carried out to investigate the effect of heat treatment
on hydrogen attack. The diffusion of hydrogen, measured by
part per million (ppm), into the steel is an indirect indica-
tion of hydrogen attack damage. The greater the hydrogen
content, the greater the susceptibility to hydrogen attacks.
Post weld heat treatment stabilizes alloy carbide, reducing
the amount of carbon available to combine with hydrogen,
thus improving hydrogen attack resistance. As the post weld
heat treatment temperature increases, hydrogen attack resis-
tance is enhanced. In general, the hydrogen content is highest
when the exposed steel is not heat-treated and the hydrogen
content can be reduced by heat treatment. Hydrogen attack
cannot be reduced by heat treatment in two cases: first, when
there is high residual stress in the steel; second, when the
hydrogen diffused to the steel at high temperature (HTHA).
5.2. Hydrogen attack analysis
Various approaches have been used to evaluate hydrogen
attack behavior in steels and its relationship with the stresses,
temperature, hydrogen pressure, and microstructure. One of
the approaches was carried by Iwadate [3] based on experi-
mental data for 2.25 Cr1 Mo steels. He derived relationships
for the threshold stress intensity factor KIH and crack growth
rate due to hydrogen embrittlement by knowing the material
toughness and the embrittlement factor, J. His experimental
results are used in this study since the material and environ-
ment used in his research is the same as discussed in Iwadates
work [3].
Hydrogen content is an indirect indication of hydrogen
attack damage. Actually, the percentage of intergranular frac-
tures increase with the increase of hydrogen content [3]. In
the presence of a crack, however, a more common measure
that can be compared with fracture analysis, can be evalu-
ated using the hydrogen content as an input. This measure
not only quantifies the effect of hydrogen on the metal but
also has the same unit as the stress intensity factor in frac-
ture mechanics. This measure is the threshold intensity factor
of hydrogen (KIH ). But before evaluating KIH , the hydrogen
content should be obtained.
5.2.1. Hydrogen concentration
Solubility and diffusivity of hydrogen in steel varies
depending on the material type, vessel pressure, and service
temperature. For petrochemical vessels, austenitic stainless
steel must be used in contact with the corrosive environment
due to high resistance to this environment. For cost consider-
ations in design, the petrochemical vessel should be made of
two materials; namely ferritic steel (2 41 Cr1 Mo steel, A 387-
D) covered by an austenitic stainless steel overlay (A 347).
The thickness of the ferritic steel is about 205 mm, whereas
the austenitic stainless steel is about 5 mm.
The hydrogen diffusion in the A 387-D steel is analyzed
using one dimension mass diffusion analysis in ABAQUS.
The material properties of the two metals given by Fujii
[26] are strongly dependent on temperature and can be written
as follows ( is temperature in degree Kelvin).
Solubility of the clad metal (A 347):
Sw = 1288 e1078/ ppm mm N1/2
Diffusivity in the clad metal (A 347):
Dw = 9310 e6767/ mm2 /h
Solubility of the base metal (A 387):
Sb = 4300 e3261/ ppm mm N1/2
Diffusivity in the clad metal (A 387):
274 e1157/
Db = mm2 /h
1 + 0.00105 e3573/
 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113 9

Fig. 16. Hydrogen concentration distribution in base metal.

Fig. 16 shows the hydrogen concentration distribution in

the base metal. The maximum hydrogen concentration is
about 4.16 ppm located about 22.85 mm inside the base metal.
These results compare very well with those presented by the
experiment of Fujii [26], which are not plotted here since
they would appear almost indistinguishable from ABAQUS
results.

5.3. Hydrogen threshold stress intensity factor KIH

Iwadate et al. [3] discussed hydrogen embrittlement

behavior during long term services for 2.25 Cr1 Mo steel.
He estimated the remaining life of 2.25 Cr1 Mo reactor sub-
jected to hydrogen embrittlement by introducing hydrogen
threshold stress intensity factor KIH , and hydrogen-assisted
crack growth rate da/dt.
da
= 2.40 1024 KI11.7
dt
Fig. 17 shows the model he obtained from his experimen-
tal data for 2.25 Cr1 Mo steel. He used J-factor to estimate
the toughness degradation of material, i.e. fracture appear-
ance transition temperature (FATT) and KIH . The J-factor
is calculated from the brittle material chemical composition
as:
J = (Si + Mn)(P + Sn) 104
where Si is the percent of silicon content, Mn the percent of
manganese content, P the percent of phosphorous content,
and Sn is the percent of tin content.
The figure shows a sample data of how KIH is calcu-
lated for a J-factor of approximately 140 after 100,000 h of
operation. In this sample case, the KIH is obtained a little
less than 50. For our case, toughness degradation resulting
from temper embrittlement of 2 41 Cr1 Mo steel with a high
J-factor of 350 showed a fracture appearance transition tem-
perature of 135 C after 100,000 h of operation (Fig. 17). This
high J-factor is considered normal under the high corrosive
environment that the vessel is exposed to. Using the FATT
value, the degraded toughness due to temper embrittlement is
obtained to be 95 MPa m1/2 , from Fig. 17. Also, the hydrogen
Fig. 17. Evaluation of the possibility of hydrogen-assisted crack growth into
the base metal [3].
threshold stress intensity factor is obtained, from Fig. 17, to
be 30 MPa m1/2 .
In 1999, the KNPC reactor was decommissioned and dif-
ferent toughness tests were preformed for samples removed
from the rector. This resulted in a minimum toughness of
105 MPa m1/2 . This result compares well with estimated
toughness of 95 MPa m1/2 obtained in this section.
6. Fracture mechanics
Fracture is a failure mechanism that involves the unsta-
ble propagation of a crack under the single application of
load. Once the crack starts to extend the loading is such
that it continues to grow extremely rapidly. Failure by
fracture can occur at applied stresses significantly below
yield, and is frequently catastrophic. For failure to occur,
a stress raiser such as a pre-existing crack is required. At
the crack tip, a large plastic zone near yielding [27] con-
sumes most of the material toughness, thus reducing the
material resistance to fracture. Flaws near the weld area
behave similar to a sharp pre-existing crack. The welding
10 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113
Fig. 18. The one quarter symmetry of the plate and the FE mesh that is used to represent the quarter plate with crack.
area consists of large amount of residual stresses near yield-
ing.
6.1. Flaw size and applied stress on the Kero-reactor
In this research, a particular real case where a crack,
near a weld, in high kerosene-unifier reactor is selected
to perform the analysis. The flaw size and location are
provided by the ultrasonic flaw detection (UFD) test pre-
formed non-destructively. The crack is a surface type
located in the heat-affected zone and on the weld metal.
A schematic of the crack is shown in Fig. 18. The max-
imum depth of the crack is 25.4 mm (a), and the width
of the crack is 330 mm (2c). The vessel is subjected to
internal pressure that creates the primary stress. This pri-
mary stress is calculated using ASME codes for pressure
vessel (ASME VIII) [19]. These equations are based on
the stress distribution equations for pressure vessels. Cal-
culations are carried out for two pressure values, 19.3 MPa
(2800 psi) which was the design pressure, and 8.96 MPa
(1300 psi) the pressure at which the damaged reactor was
finally operated. The calculations lead to primary stress
of 76.81 MPa for the 8.96 MPa operating pressure, and a
primary stress of 167.46 MPa for the 19.3 MPa operating
pressure.
In addition to the primary stress, residual stress distri-
bution around the welding area is obtained as described in
Section 4. The residual stresses are added to the primary
stress, at different locations around the crack tip, to obtain the
total applied stress. The residual stresses for different loca-
tions are mapped according to the depth of the crack along
the semi elliptical crack.
6.2. Fracture analysis using nite element
A large plate with symmetric, centrally located, semi-
elliptical part-through crack is drawn, with the same dimen-
sion as that in pressure vessel, using ABAQUS. Symmetry
allows one quarter of the plate to be modeled, as shown in
Fig. 18. Line spring elements are used to estimate the stress
intensity factor, KI , as a function of position along the crack
front using primary stresses and residual stresses as the input
load. In this finite element model, a 2D analysis is used
for the inner side of the vessel, as shown in Fig. 18. The
crack depths, along the crack length, are superimposed on the
two-dimensional shell model. Concentrated loads are used to
translate the applied stress, and the residual stresses when
used, to uniform loads acting on the upper side of the shell
model.
The results of Table 1 show the importance of including
the residual stresses in the analysis. Even though the welded
plate is post weld heat treated, the remaining residual stresses
cannot be neglected in fracture analysis. The results shown
in Table 1 indicate that the crack should not propagate either
for the 8.96 MPa or for 19.3 MPa operating pressure, since
they have stress intensity factor below the fracture toughness
obtained in Section 5 (95 MPa m1/2 ). However, for 19.3 MPa,
Table 1
The three different cases used in fracture analysis by ABAQUS
8.96 MPa 19.3 MPa Residual KI (MPa m1/2 )
(1300 psi) (2800 psi) stress
27.58
56.06
92.13
 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113 11

the stress intensity factor of 92.13 MPa m1/2 is quite close to Table 2
the fracture toughness value. Summary of the required data to obtain the FAD diagram
Input variable Source Comment
Flaw type Ultrasonic test Through thickness, surface,
7. Fitness for purpose embedded
Primary stress Internal pressure Including wind and vessel
In circumstances where it is necessary to examine criti- weight effects
cally the integrity of fusion welded joints in new or existing Flaw geometry Ultrasonic test Crack depth and length
constructions by the use of non-destructive testing methods, Vessel geometry Design spec. Vessel thickness and
it is also necessary to establish acceptance levels for flaws circumference
Strength properties Material spec. Ultimate tensile strength, and
revealed. The derivation of acceptance levels for flaws in yield strength
welds is based on the concept of fitness for purpose. By this BS PD-6493 Elliptical integral value
principle, a weld in a particular fabrication is considered to be Mm BS PD-6493 Stress intensity magnification
adequate for its purpose provided the conditions to cause fail- factor
ure are not reached, after allowing for some measure of abuse Residual stresses Section 4 Maximum stress value along
certain depth
in service. Documents such as API 579 [28] and BSPD-6493 KI Section 6 Stress intensity factor
[29] provide guidelines to determine fitness for purpose in Material toughness Section 5 After subjected to temper
cracked components by adopting the failure assessment dia- embrittlement
gram (FAD).
FFP assessments are quantitative engineering evaluation BSPD 6493 [29] code that is most acceptable to the petroleum
to determine the suitability of damaged equipment for con- industries. The FFP diagrams can account for the effects of
tinued service. These assessments vary depending on the temper embrittlement but not the effects of hydrogen embrit-
required level of accuracy. There are three levels of assess- tlement. It has to be accounted for in a different fashion as
ment depending on the complexity and accuracy of the will be clear in the discussion of results.
desired analysis. Level 2, normal assessment, is based on Table 2 summarizes the required inputs to execute the C++
plane stress strip yield model approach. This level is the program in order to obtain the failure assessment diagram.
most common level used in petrochemical industries for its These inputs should be available on hand before executing
excellent cost effectiveness. To perform this assessment, two the program. Two cases of internal pressures are of major
dimensionless parameters Kr and Sr should be calculated first interest in this study. The first is the original working pressure
as follows: (19.3 MPa), as specified in the design stage, and the second
KI case is the modified working pressure (8.96 MPa), that was
Kr = +
Kmat recommended to avoid the crack propagation. The results
n from the FFP determination program for the two cases can
Sr =
f be seen from Figs. 19 and 20, respectively.
where KI is the stress intensity factor (obtained in Section Fig. 19 shows that the pressure vessel cannot safely
6), Kmat the material toughness measured by stress intensity operated under the design working pressure of 19.3 MPa
factor (obtained in Section 5), the plasticity correction fac-
tor [29], f the flow strength (average of yield and ultimate
strength yet maximum of 1.2 yield ), and n is the effective
net section stress varies depending on the flaw type [29].
Details of this calculation methodology are discussed in
[28] and [29] and are not repeated here. Quantities such as
the plasticity correction factor are related to other measurable
quantities through a set of factors in look-up tables and charts.
The equations presented here along with associated fig-
ures and charts [28,29] are necessary to evaluate the two
dimensionless variable, Kr and Sr . This requires a lot of com-
putations for one particular case, and these calculations must
be repeated for different input variables. To be more practical,
a C++ program is created to do all the calculations required
to evaluate the two dimensionless variables, Kr and Sr . In
addition to the pressure vessel and crack dimensions, this
computer program requires variables from the previous sec-
tions, such as the residual stresses, material toughness, and
stress intensity factor. Also, the computer program in this Fig. 19. FAD diagram for the original working pressure of 19.3 MPa
analysis works for different types of cracks and is based on (2800 Psi). The symbol () in the diagram indicates that the vessel is unsafe.
12 A. Askari, S. Das / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 113
Fig. 20. FAD diagram for the modified working pressure of 8.96 MPa
(1300 Psi). The symbol () in the diagram indicates that the vessel is safe.
for the present crack due to temper embrittlement alone.
The effect of hydrogen embrittlement is not included in
the fitness for purpose analysis. Fig. 20 shows the pressure
vessel could operate safely under the modified internal
pressure of 8.96 MPa for the present crack. The present
crack will not propagate due to temper embrittlement alone
under this internal pressure. Yet, this case needs to be further
analysed to see the effect of hydrogen embrittlement and to
predict the vessels remaining life.
The hydrogen-assisted crack growth rate (da/dt) for the 2 41
Cr1 Mo steel can be estimated using the following equation
[3]:
da
= 2.40 1024 KI11.7
dt
where the crack growth rate is in mm/h and the stress inten-
sity factor is in MPa m1/2 . Based on that equation, the crack
growth rate was 3.04 103 mm/year. This means that the
crack will grow slowly but not at a catastrophic rate. The
users of this vessel will have to carry out routine monitoring
of the crack.
8. Conclusion
In this work a systematic, step-by-step, methodology is
implemented that accounts for all the critical technical issues
associated with estimating the life of aging reactors. The
rationale for taking this approach has been explained at every
stage through citations of published literature. The approach
followed here is a very practical process because a judi-
cious mixture of fundamental numerical analysis and stan-
dard codes is used. The process outlined can be divided into
five steps:
(1) welding process simulation;
(2) post weld heat treatment simulation;
(3) material property degradation due to hydrogen embrit-
tlement;
(4) stress analysis of the cracked specimen;
(5) fitness for purpose analysis.
In this work, the process proposed is shown to provide
excellent recommendations about the life of a particular reac-
tor. The process, however, is very general and can be easily
adapted for other reactors. Although step 1 (welding pro-
cess simulation) is the most time consuming step it needs to
be carried out only once for one pressure vessel unless the
welding conditions are changed. Step 2 (PWHT simulation)
is similar to step 1 and does not need to be repeated unless the
heat treatment cycle is altered. Step 3 (material degradation
due to hydrogen embrittlement) is a simple step that can be
repeated rather easily if material composition changes or the
length of operation changes. Step 4 (stress analysis) consists
of a finite element analysis. The process is standard and the
analysis can be repeated easily for different geometry and
crack lengths. Step 5 (fitness for purpose) consists of some
tedious calculations but a C++ code has been developed so
that it can be repeated many times to try out many different
options. Overall this analysis can be easily used for other,
similar cases.
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