Development of fracture mechanics approaches to assessing the state of long-term operated defective pipes of main gas pipelines

Keywords

gas main pipeline, semielliptical crack, crack critical depth, stress intensity factor, fracture toughness.

Cite as

Kryzhanivskyi Ye. I., Hrabovskyy R. S., Tuts O. M., Mandryk O. M., Zapukhliak V. B., and Fartushok І. М. Development of fracture mechanics approaches to assessing the state of long-term operated defective pipes of main gas pipelines. Physicochemical Mechanics of Materials. 2025. 61(3), 077-083.

https://doi.org/10.15407/pcmm2025.03.077

Abstract

A modified method for assessing the technical state of defective pipes of long-term operated main gas pipelines is proposed, based on the analysis of degradation changes in 10G2BT and 17GS structural steels after more than 30 years of operation. The results of determining the mechanical characteristics of steels, fracture toughness, and residual hydrogen concentration are presented. It is established that the accumulation of microdamage in the pipe wall decreases strength, plasticity, and fracture toughness of the material, which significantly increases the risk of the pipelines sudden fracture. The results of experimental and computational studies characterizing the fracture conditions under which a crack-like defect spontaneously develops are obtained. The method integrates the linear and nonlinear fracture mechanics approaches, which include the J-integral method sensitive to operational factors and considers the geometry of defects.

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