A theory for accelerated slow crack growth in medium-density polyethylene fuel-gas pipes
In the present work, a new testing procedure is developed for medium density polyethylene (MDPE) fuel gas pipes to produce brittle fracture at laboratory scale within a shorter period of time as compared to existing procedures. In the proposed procedure, the intrinsic resistance of (MDPE) pipes is studied under fatigue mode and ambient environment. Because of the lack of theoretical foundations in the existing procedures, brittle fracture in such structural components is addressed using the crack layer formalism in order to assess the controlling damage mechanisms and extract characteristic parameters representative of the phenomena occurring as a result of failure. It is found that crack propagation behavior is split into a brittle regime which extends up to half of the specimen width and a ductile regime which controls most of the second half. Damage analysis revealed that the brittle regime is led by a craze zone which becomes diffuse and larger as ductility increases. Crack and its surrounding damage are treated as a single macroscopic entity called a crack layer (CL). The portion where damage accumulates under the effects of the stress field at the crack tip is defined as the active zone. This zone is a major energy sink and thus, controls the crack propagation rate. The driving force and the instability conditions for CL propagation are commonly given in terms of the energy available and the energy required for propagation which is expressed as the product of the resistance moment R{sub 1} and the specific enthalpy of damage. In the present case, the analysis is limited to the brittle regime which is of a great interest in the long-term failure of MDPE pipes under service conditions. Also, the analysis uses the entire brittle fracture history to evaluate the resistance moment for the crazing mechanism and to extract the specific enthalpy of damage {Psi}*.
- Research Organization:
- Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5875509
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Theory for accelerated slow crack propagation in polyethylene fuel pipes. Final report, April 1984-March 1987
Fatigue-accelerated brittle failure of polyethylene copolymer pipes. Annual report, April 1990-April 1992